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The OnePlus 2 pushes the boundaries of how cheap a flagship phone can be
- bruceb 11y agoThe competitiveness of the Android handset market gets even more brutal. 4.7" to 5.5" is flooded with phones that are that are $199-$399. This is not including models that are 12+ months old that are discounted but still have solid specs.
- pja 11y agoHeck, my Nexus 4 is still perfectly usable. The only real motivation for me to upgrade is LTE (which has finally rolled out to my city in the UK).
- yCloser 11y agoOnePlusOne was interesting mainly because it had cyanogenmod. I can't wait to read reviews about OxygenOS. (but I have to say: cyanogen was much more interesting)
- mfjordvald 11y agoOxygenOS is being made by the Paranoid Android team. These guys definitely know what they're doing. Expect a more minimal experience with UX optimizations aimed at features users use daily.
- wtbob 11y agoI'm really sad that it won't have CyanogenMod; that was the biggest reason that I purchased a One. It's a real shame that there was that whole fight over exclusivity in India (IIRC, it sounds like CM's fault, but I'm not 100% certain). I'm interested to read details of how the fingerprint unlock works. Remember that a fingerprint reader is insufficient to be secure, as fingerprints are low-entropy and relatively public.
- beefsack 11y agoIf they don't lock it down and is similar to the One, then it should be incredibly easy to switch to CM. I'm running CM12.1 on my One at the moment and it's leaps and bounds better than the stock CM11S ROM that comes with the device.
- patrickdavey 11y agoI have been slightly paranoid to flash mine (came from China I think and not quite correctly installed as the OTA updates don't take with a signature mismatch). If you have the time - can you tell me 1. Are they easy to brick? 2. Is there a decent guide for updating? Thanks!
- eyko 11y agoJust back it up, fastboot unlock, and flash a recovery image. You'll thank yourself you did it. As per your questions: 1. Not that easy to completely brick. If you try to flash the wrong recovery or boot, it will fail to start even in recovery mode (bricked?). I've done that to mine, but I was still able to boot it up while tethered (I have two phones and I inadvertently used the image for my other phone on my One Plus). 2. Loads of guides on their forums or google in general. Also, Nexus 4 or 5 guides are the same procedure, just replacing with the relevant images and ROMs (the OnePlus One's codename is Bacon, in case you're looking at what roms to download).
- wtbob 11y agoHave you found a trustworthy source for the holo interface for CM12?
- deleted 11y ago[deleted]
- danieldk 11y agoI think Asus deserves some credit here as well for selling a 4GB RAM Intel Atom phone with dual SIM and SD card slot for comparable prices: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asus_ZenFone#ZenFone_2 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asus_ZenFone#ZenFone_2 Of course, as usual, their own skin and who knows how long you get updates.
- kijin 11y agoForget updates, you can even run full-blown Windows 10 and Office on that beast. If only it came with Windows apps and drivers to use the phone-related features... http://www.greenbot.com/article/2946255/windows-7-running-on-an-asus-zenfone-2-is-too-cool-not-to-share.html http://www.greenbot.com/article/2946255/windows-7-running-on...
- userbinator 11y agoThat's being done with KVM, so it's not really booting and running Win7 natively on the phone (the hardware is probably not close enough to a PC to be able to do this) but inside a VM. You can find people running various other versions of Windows (and even MS-DOS) on an Android phone, again as a VM.
- 4lun 11y agoNo NFC, which seems like an odd choice. Wonder how much that shaved off the manufacturing cost. http://www.androidpolice.com/2015/07/27/oneplus-says-it-dropped-nfc-from-the-oneplus-2-because-oneplus-one-owners-werent-using-it/ http://www.androidpolice.com/2015/07/27/oneplus-says-it-drop...
- sergiotapia 11y agoDisappointed with the invite system again. Did the first version no sell well enough?
- tudborg 11y agoThe opposite. To little supply for the demand. They used the invites to "throttle" the purchase rate to be able to keep up. They probably thought an invite system was a better aproach than a weekly free-for-all aka. SuiciDDOS against the webshop. Hopefully, this time supply will be significantly higher, meaning the invite system will be removed as soon as they know they can keep up with demand.
- tomjen3 11y agoEven if that only takes six months the phones isn't going to be interesting by the time you can actively purchase it.
- dingaling 11y agoI think it's more to do with manufacturing and inventory management. With the invitation system they can smooth-out demand and prevent peaks until manufacturing is well underway. Of course one of the ways in which it smooths demand is to turn people away; I was interested in a Meizu Ubuntu phone until I learned I had to 'compete' for the privilege of giving them my money. Same with the original OPO, by the time I won an invitation ( after waiting several months ) I had gone and bought an LG G3.
- kijin 11y agoGive me a 4.5-inch phone with slightly lower specs (a battery-saving 720p screen would be enough at that size) for less than $300, and I'm sold. For the time being, though, I'm going to wait out the "my phone is bigger than your dick" game that everyone and their dog seems to be engaged in. 175 grams is way too heavy to carry around in a pocket, let alone hold with one hand for more than a few minutes. And yet everyone competes in the already overcrowded "flagship" market instead of trying to find a niche. I hope at least some manufactorers will return to their senses before my 4.27-inch, 107-gram Galaxy S4 Mini begins to feel unbearably slow.
- zphds 11y agoYou could pick up the Nexus 5. I switched to OPO from Nexus 5 and it had the perfect dimensions. Lightweight and great for one-hand usage. The battery is a bummer though.
- kijin 11y agoThe maximum screen size I'm looking for is 4.5 inches, maybe 4.7 if the bezel is very thin. Maximum weight: around 120 grams. The Nexus 5 is bigger and heavier than that, but I'm keeping it near the edge of my radar in case I have no other choice. <rant> LG recently began to market the Gram, a series of high-end ultrabooks that weigh less than 1000 grams. Why on Earth is nobody trying to market medium-to-high-end phones that weigh less than 100 grams? </rant>
- tdkl 11y agoSony z3 compact is the one you're looking for. Sadly it's one of the dying breed of non huge phones with flagship specs and good software (just don't upgrade to Lollipop, it's junk).
- kijin 11y ago4.6 inches and 129 grams! We're getting closer... As for the software, I don't really care as long as I can wipe it and replace it with Cyanogenmod. Just checked and it seems that Cyanogenmod supports the Z3 Compact. Thanks for the suggestion.
- userbinator 11y agoIt has a removable back, but no removable battery or expandable storage? I can sort of understand if the back wasn't removable... but on this one, it is. In this price range you can find many other Android phones which do have those features. Here's one, for example: https://www.fastcardtech.com/Elephone-P7000-Android-Phone.html https://www.fastcardtech.com/Elephone-P7000-Android-Phone.ht...
- TeMPOraL 11y agoI'm completely disappointed with the way phone market evolves. I don't want a cheap phone, I want a phone that works. I want my phone to have enough memory and processing power to handle its operating system without hiccups. It is ridiculous that even a $700 phone can just start lagging on you. I want my phone to have it all - Bluetooth, WiFi, IrDA, accelerometer, thermometer, barometer, SD card, double SIM, removable battery; all sensors and standard protocols and features that companies use now to segment markets. I don't see a reason for a phone to not to have it all other than vendors trying to extract more money from people by forcing them to choose the least inferior option. But fuck it, I'll pay even $1000+, just create a phone that works. And I want a tool, not a fitness toy for bored first-worlders. Double, no - triply so for wearables. People ask me why I just bought a Pebble instead of one of those shiny touch-screen "smart"watches. It's simple - I want a tool, not a glorified pedometer. While I think a touchscreen would be really welcome, still, Pebble seems to be the only wearables company that wants to make something useful instead of shiny. But I am yet to find such a comapny for phones themselves. It's disheartening when you compare what we know we can do with what is actually done because of business reasons.
- tudborg 11y agoAlthought that might be your preference, I'm fairly certain very few people feel the same. I too want a phone that "works", but I'd never pay $1000+. I can live with some sacrifices if i can get a Good Enough phone for ~$400. And imo, OnePlus One is fits the bill quite well. I was sceptical about no SD card and the non-removable battery, but when the battery lasts for days, and i have 64GB eMMC and online backup, I found I don't need those things anyway.
- ghshephard 11y agoI think there is a huge market of people who wouldn't think twice of paying $1000 for, even among those who aren't really wealthy. Include me in that market. My smartphone is my most important possession, and I use it more than anything else that I own, including my laptop. With reasonably good care, a smart phone will last for 2 years, and, at that time, have 50% of its original value. So - if a really solid smartphone was available for $1500, that is $750 over 24 months, or $31/month. There are a lot of things that I pay $31/month for, that don't give me the same value as my smartphone, that I would happily give up to get a world-class best-of-breed experience. And realize, we are comparing with a "good enough" $400 phone - which would probably only have 25% of it's value ($100) after 2 years - so, $300/24 month or $12.50/month, so what we are really asking ourselves, is do we want to spend $12.50 for a good enough phone, or $31/month for a best-in-class phone. I'm certainly willing to pay the extra $19/month.
- NietTim 11y agoI'm sorry but, 400 bucks is cheap now? It's a great phone for the price, don't get me wrong, but I think 400 bucks is a lot of money.
- darklajid 11y ago'Cheap' is used in a specific context here. The headline says 'how cheap a _flagship_ phone can be'. There are cheaper phones out there. Would you name them among 'flagship' devices?
- pjc50 11y agoWhat's the minimum spec to be considered "flagship?"
- roel_v 11y agoWell it's not a lot (as in 'a lot lot') of money for large amounts of people, especially amongst those who would buy a phone that you can only buy online and for which you need to go through an 'invite' system. "Cheap" is always a relative concept, so I'm not sure what it is you're complaining about.
- rtpg 11y agoFlagship phones for other brands are usually in the $700 range. So it's cheap for a flagship at least..
- sphix0r 11y agoIt's cheap for what you get. Try comparing it to an iPhone, specs and price.
- almightysmudge 11y agoIf it's anything like the Oneplus One it's a buggy ill supported piece of crap.
- rjcz 11y agoI take it you own one and would like your objective opinion. What exactly was wrong with it?
- almightysmudge 11y agoI was in a bit of a mood with it when I commented, but for good reason. A couple of the problems I've had :- When the battery drained, it refused to boot past the "cyanogen" boot screen. Twice. A common problem that required a factory reset. Would say it's charged to 100%, until the moment the USB was removed and it instantly went to 4%. Every time, no matter whether it had been drained, or charged when turned on/off. Again, factory reset fixed it. Wont vibrate more than once with the OnePlus official flip cover when calls are incoming on silent mode. WhatsApp vibrations cant be turned off since CM12 upgrade. Doesn't do 4G in Europe. There's probably a carrier whom it does work with, but from my last bit of research there isn't in the UK. Perhaps Three though. I've used CM happily on other handsets, and encountered far fewer and far less frustrating. However if you're marketing a phone specifically to be used with CM, I'd expect a lot more QA to be put into it. If you're happy with a "hackable" phone and you're willing to put up with missing calls, disappearing notifications, private lock screen notifications showing message contents still, then it's not a bad way to waste £300, but I want a reliable phone I dont have to fight with, so I'm sacking it off very soon.
- deleted 11y ago[deleted]
- smcl 11y agoIs anyone else in the "My perfect phone would be my current one but with a battery that easily lasts 3+ days" boat? I've currently got an iPhone 5S, and I can achieve this with those portable USB chargers. I've no need for any of the other features which new generations of smartphones are adding (multi-core\multi-ghz processors, huge amounts of RAM etc), though there's perhaps a killer app round the corner which will advantage of this. Otherwise I cannot see myself replacing my 5S in the next couple of years (except for Apple dropping support, or me dropping it in my beer)
- icelancer 11y agoWhen mobile OS gets good enough to export HDMI (and a docking bay) and use it as a desktop-type replacement, then I'll want a more badass phone. Unfortunately the thing I care about the most (slow-motion / high frame rate video recording) isn't being pushed by anyone but Apple, which means the current 120/240 FPS sensors that Apple uses will be the peak of technology. Very disappointed Android or others didn't push this; it has implications for machine vision and other externalities that make the price of some of the most interesting tech (high sampling rate video for computer vision and other related industries). Oh well.
- smcl 11y agoThis maybe shows why these manufacturers are having a tough time pleasing us all - you and I have substantially different use cases for our phones! I like having a nice-ish camera that behaves well in lower light situations, but that's it as far as the camera goes. The high frame-rate functionality just isn't something I've ever used or needed. I have seen a few videos of people playing "catch" with slightly clumsy\not-so-bright dogs, which in slow motion is pretty hilarious and I'm thinking of getting a dog soon so this may change :)
- crdb 11y agoDepending on how heavy your use is, you should look at the Xiaomi Mi4i. I picked it up as a Nexus 5 replacement solely for the ridiculously large battery (3100mAh or 72% more than the similarly sized iPhone 6 and still 6% more than the 6 Plus). It's slimmer and more solid (the N5 has a tendency to get dented), and arguably has better specs (it definitely deals with Skype, my only performance hog, much better). When I was in the market, there was nothing that came close in terms of battery life. IRL it has been alright, if I read a book and check emails most of the time it will die in about 32 hours but going into town for meetings (i.e. only using maps, email and the odd Kindle), I've found it only lost 30% battery/day. Cost me around 205 USD including shipping and a 6 month warranty, but if it breaks I'll just buy another one. It's only 1/5th the cost of an iPhone... The Xiaomi portable chargers are also pretty neat. I don't know about US availability as it appears most things Xiaomi are directly ripped off Apple and there's probably copyright issues. Check out the Mi Note to see what I mean...
- moondowner 11y ago"features a 5.5-inch, 1080p screen" I hope it's not the same screen as in the One... Other than that, it looks like a good improvement.
- vinceyuan 11y ago> For $300, you got a well-made, nice-looking phone with cutting-edge hardware and few compromises to be found I don't think it is nice-looking. It's not ugly. It's just normal. It looks very similar to some Android phones.
- SimplyUseless 11y agoIn all of the comments, I see a lot of excitement about the "features" the company is able to pack for a "low" cost. I would like to say this in simplest possible way -- One plus one support model and execution is poorest of all phone makers -- The emphasis and culture in the company is to grow fast without concern towards individuals paying still very high prices for their phones but not getting the worth. The half life of the phone is lower than market and people do face issues when the OS changes are pushed without a good amount of testing. One plus one forums are inundated with people all over the world having hardware issues and the insufficient support they have been receiving. The founder Carl Pei has made commitments to improve support however the progress has fallen short on promises. One Plus One ended up being a huge lesson for many customers. One plus two would just end up being another phone without company getting its act together.
- tdkl 11y agoSounds like a Nexus by Google, so ...
- mike-cardwell 11y agoNo NFC? Guess I'll have to stick with my OnePlus One if I want to continue to use PGP safely on my phone - https://grepular.com/An_NFC_PGP_SmartCard_For_Android https://grepular.com/An_NFC_PGP_SmartCard_For_Android