August 5, 2014: OnePlus is a new firm that has already announced an Android biggie with the launch of the OnePlus One smartphone. It can be said that this handset is definitely a stiff competitor to the other predominant manufacturers including Samsung, LG, Sony, HTC and others as it has the same specifications as in the other high-end offerings, but it is priced at $299. Now, let us take a look at the review of the OnePlus One below.
Design
The OnePlus One appears to be bigger as it boasts of a large 5.5 inch display thereby it will not be the first choice for single handed operation. But, it has a nice plastic back with a soft touch finish that is slightly rough as well. It weights in at 162 grams and measures 8.9 mm in thickness making it an average smartphone in terms of sleekness.
The OnePlus will provides StyleSwap back covers with several attractive designs which makes the OPPO Find 7 like design of the device even more customizable.
Display
The 5.5 inch display carries a FHD screen resolution of 1920×1080 pixels translating to a pixel density of 401 pixels per inch that is pretty impressive for a decent quality. Other smartphones in this price range arrive only with HD 720p displays making the OnePlus One pretty impressive with FHD resolution. This makes the IPS LCD screen very sharp with good color reproduction. Also, it is layered with Corning Gorilla Glass 3 coating for scratch resistance. The display also incorporates Touch On Lens technology which eliminates the gap between display and touch like in OGS and makes it 300% more shatter proof.
Software
The OnePlus One uses the open source community version of Android called CyanogenMod. Usually, Android device users will have make lot of changes to get this version of Android, but this handset gets it out-of-the-box. Of course, it looks similar to Android with lot of more scope for the users to fiddle with than in the normal Android.
A part of the CyanogenMod that is very much accessible is the themes as there is a themes browser app that is pre-installed in the OnePlus One. This shows the custom looks that can be given to the handset with dozens of stuff to choose from.
Interestingly, the OnePlus One will be one of the phones that will receive the Android L update later this year as the CyanogenMod is based on the upcoming iteration of Google’s mobile OS.
Performance
The OenPlus One employs a quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 processor ticking at 2.5 GHz clock speed that eradicates lags while playing games. This is paired with 3 GB of RAM to ensure a decent speed when the games and multimedia content are stored on the internal storage of the phone and in multi-tasking. However, the CynaogenMod 11S software in the OnePlus One experiences some occasional visual glitch due to bugs.
Camera
OnePlus One comes with a decent camera set for its pricing as it uses a 13 MP primary snapper at its back paired with a 5 MP front-facer onboard. The main camera will not get optical stabilization or other camera centric high-end features, it has good contrast detection that can result in sharp good looking shots. The low light shots do appear a bit grainy, but they are not too bad as they are acceptable.
Likely most good smartphons, this one also gets shooting modes such as panorama, HDR and creative filters, but it cannot compete with the top-tier cameras in Galaxy S5 or Xperia Z2.
The front-facing 5 MP camera is a standout feature that is noteworthy. It products slightly saturated colors, but it is acclaimed as a selfie camera keeping the users with the trend.
Other Specs
Apart from the specifications that have been mentioned above, the OnePlus One arrives with 16 GB or 64 GB of internal storage options that cannot be expanded as there is no micro SD card slot. Also, it runs on Android 4.4.2 KitKat operating system and houses a non-removable 3,100 mAh battery that is likely to last for a solid day and a little longer as well.
Conclusion
The OnePlus One is a great smartphone that is priced affordably. But, the handset experiences a few issues such as software bugs. The firm should be releasing the device earlier as it failed to do so even after the great hype it was subjected to. Otherwise, the handset is sure to create a ripple effect in the smartphone arena with its low pricing.
