It was not long ago that you had to fork out an exorbitant sum of money to own a flagship smartphone. Thanks to Chinese handset makers this is no longer the case.
One maker that has made waves is OnePlus – its first phone, the OnePlus One, was crowned the flagship killer last year.
In this review we will be checking out the successor, aptly named OnePlus 2, to see if it can fill up the boots vacated by the One.
Key changes
The OnePlus 2 is a little different from its predecessor – the sides are made of aluminium while the back is curved.
The back is the same Sandstone Black we loved on the One, which makes the phone nice to grip thanks to the sandpaper texture.
OnePlus has done a great job with the fingerprint sensor – it’s fast, accurate, and unlocks the device even when the screen is off, which makes perfect sense.
Interestingly, it has an Alert Slider button that lets you change the setting for notifications – all, priority only and none. It’s also cool that it’s a dual SIM smartphone, something which more and more flagship devices are starting to feature.
It has a rather generous 4GB RAM and 64GB internal memory, which is a good thing because like most new Android devices, it doesn’t come with an external memory card slot.
While it’s a welcome addition, you will not be able to use your old micro USB cables and accessories but this is only to be expected.
Under the hood
The OnePlus 2 has a Snapdragon 810 quad-core 1.82GHz Cortex-A57 + quad-core 1.56GHz Cortex-A53. OnePlus has lowered the clock speed to prevent overheating issues with the Snapdragon chip, but it hasn’t helped much.
We have encountered this issue with almost all devices running on the chip and it’s an uncomfortable experience – the OnePlus 2 heats up within five minutes of photo taking or gaming.
It runs on Android 5.1 Lollipop with the Oxygen user interface (UI). The UI is noticeably light compared to other manufacturer’s. For instance, it doesn’t have a dedicated photo gallery app and instead relies on the Google Photos app.
It may seem drastic but it’s a lot better than cramming the phone with unnecessary apps, as bloatware is a common issue with most Androids.
It also has a few useful gesture controls when the phone is on standby mode. For example, double tapping the screen will wake up the device and drawing a V shape will turn on the flash(light).
Another thing that we particularly liked about the OS is the ability to switch to Dark Mode.
Android Lollipop has a bright and colourful UI, which may not be everyone’s cup of tea – this mode switches to a darker interface and is especially great if you miss the earlier Android versions.
The smartphone, however, lacks NFC (near-field communications) which is rather surprising as the OnePlus 2 is a flagship device.
Sharp shooter
The smartphone features a 13-megapixel main camera while the front-facing unit is a 5-megapixel affair.
As mentioned earlier, it runs mostly on Google apps and there is no exception here as the default photography app is Google Camera.
Photos captured were generally sharp with accurate and natural-looking colours, although the camera did not handle moving subjects particularly well.
We loved the amount of detail captured with Clear mode, which takes a series of pictures and consolidates them. This is a useful feature to have when capturing scenic views.
The HDR mode was a little less impressive, as it was a bit slow in capturing shots compared to other top smartphones.
To test the OnePlus 2’s gaming capabilities, we played with games such as the graphics intensive and resource hungry NBA 2K14. It played fine without any lag.
What was really impressive was the battery life – the power drain was not as bad as some of the popular flagships.
The smartphone managed to last a respectable 1.5 days of moderate usage with the device continuously connected to WiFi or mobile data. However, the battery is non- removable.
Conclusion
One of the main reasons why the OnePlus One was so appealing was because it offered flagship features at a very reasonable price (which was RM1,199 at launch here).
Pros: No bloatware; easy to customise; value for money.
Cons: Heats up easily; USB C not widely supported yet.
OnePlus 2
(OnePlus)
Android smartphone
Operating system: Android 5.1 (Lollipop)
Processor: Quad-core 1.82GHz Cortex-A57 + quad-core 1.56GHz Cortex-A53 CPU
Network: 4G LTE
Camera: 13 megapixels with dual LED flash, optical image stabilisation, laser autofocus, 5-megapixel front-facing camera
Display: 5.5in (1,080 x 1,920 pixels)
Memory: 64GB internal storage, 4GB RAM
Connectivity: Bluetooth 4.1, USB 2.0 Type C, WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac; WiFi Direct; DLNA
Battery: 3,300mAh lithium-ion
Size: 151.8 x 74.9 x 9.9mm
Weight: 175g
Price: RM1,788
Rating: 4 stars
Review unit courtesy of OnePlus (oneplus.net) & Maxis Bhd (www.maxis.com.my)
One maker that has made waves is OnePlus – its first phone, the OnePlus One, was crowned the flagship killer last year.
In this review we will be checking out the successor, aptly named OnePlus 2, to see if it can fill up the boots vacated by the One.
Key changes
The OnePlus 2 is a little different from its predecessor – the sides are made of aluminium while the back is curved.
The back is the same Sandstone Black we loved on the One, which makes the phone nice to grip thanks to the sandpaper texture.
OnePlus has done a great job with the fingerprint sensor – it’s fast, accurate, and unlocks the device even when the screen is off, which makes perfect sense.
It also has the standard Recent and Back touch-sensitive buttons on either side of the home key. What we like here is the level of customisation – if you are used to having the back button on the right side, you can easily switch the keys. Or if you prefer having on-screen buttons, you can do that as well.
Chic: The sides are made from aluminium for a sleeker look.
It has a rather generous 4GB RAM and 64GB internal memory, which is a good thing because like most new Android devices, it doesn’t come with an external memory card slot.
This OnePlus is also one of the few new Androids to feature USB Type C port – the charging cable is reversible just like the Apple lightning cable for iPhones and iPads.
The OnePlus has a USB-C port - you no longer have to fumble with the charging cable as it's reversible.
While it’s a welcome addition, you will not be able to use your old micro USB cables and accessories but this is only to be expected.
Under the hood
The OnePlus 2 has a Snapdragon 810 quad-core 1.82GHz Cortex-A57 + quad-core 1.56GHz Cortex-A53. OnePlus has lowered the clock speed to prevent overheating issues with the Snapdragon chip, but it hasn’t helped much.
We have encountered this issue with almost all devices running on the chip and it’s an uncomfortable experience – the OnePlus 2 heats up within five minutes of photo taking or gaming.
It runs on Android 5.1 Lollipop with the Oxygen user interface (UI). The UI is noticeably light compared to other manufacturer’s. For instance, it doesn’t have a dedicated photo gallery app and instead relies on the Google Photos app.
It may seem drastic but it’s a lot better than cramming the phone with unnecessary apps, as bloatware is a common issue with most Androids.
It also has a few useful gesture controls when the phone is on standby mode. For example, double tapping the screen will wake up the device and drawing a V shape will turn on the flash(light).
Another thing that we particularly liked about the OS is the ability to switch to Dark Mode.
Android Lollipop has a bright and colourful UI, which may not be everyone’s cup of tea – this mode switches to a darker interface and is especially great if you miss the earlier Android versions.
The smartphone, however, lacks NFC (near-field communications) which is rather surprising as the OnePlus 2 is a flagship device.
Sharp shooter
The smartphone features a 13-megapixel main camera while the front-facing unit is a 5-megapixel affair.
As mentioned earlier, it runs mostly on Google apps and there is no exception here as the default photography app is Google Camera.
The Sandstone Black back cover has a sandpaper texture that's nice to the touch.
We loved the amount of detail captured with Clear mode, which takes a series of pictures and consolidates them. This is a useful feature to have when capturing scenic views.
The HDR mode was a little less impressive, as it was a bit slow in capturing shots compared to other top smartphones.
To test the OnePlus 2’s gaming capabilities, we played with games such as the graphics intensive and resource hungry NBA 2K14. It played fine without any lag.
What was really impressive was the battery life – the power drain was not as bad as some of the popular flagships.
The smartphone managed to last a respectable 1.5 days of moderate usage with the device continuously connected to WiFi or mobile data. However, the battery is non- removable.
Conclusion
One of the main reasons why the OnePlus One was so appealing was because it offered flagship features at a very reasonable price (which was RM1,199 at launch here).
That appeal is somewhat lost with the OnePlus 2 as it carries a higher price tag (RM1,788), although to be fair this is probably due to the current exchange rate and GST.
Also, while the OnePlus 2 is undoubtedly a great device, it felt a little underwhelming because we expected much more after the impressive One.Having said that, it’s still a solid smartphone that’s well worth the price, as there is much to like about it like the design, breezy UI and battery life.
Pros: No bloatware; easy to customise; value for money.
Cons: Heats up easily; USB C not widely supported yet.
OnePlus 2
(OnePlus)
Android smartphone
Operating system: Android 5.1 (Lollipop)
Processor: Quad-core 1.82GHz Cortex-A57 + quad-core 1.56GHz Cortex-A53 CPU
Network: 4G LTE
Camera: 13 megapixels with dual LED flash, optical image stabilisation, laser autofocus, 5-megapixel front-facing camera
Display: 5.5in (1,080 x 1,920 pixels)
Memory: 64GB internal storage, 4GB RAM
Connectivity: Bluetooth 4.1, USB 2.0 Type C, WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac; WiFi Direct; DLNA
Battery: 3,300mAh lithium-ion
Size: 151.8 x 74.9 x 9.9mm
Weight: 175g
Price: RM1,788
Rating: 4 stars
Review unit courtesy of OnePlus (oneplus.net) & Maxis Bhd (www.maxis.com.my)
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