OnePlus launches the OnePlus One: Initial Thoughts
by Joshua Ho on April 23, 2014 3:04 AM EST- Posted in
- Smartphones
- Android
- Mobile
Edit: In the time since the initial launch, there's been confirmation that the OnePlus One does in fact support 802.11ac. It's a single spatial stream part, Qualcomm's WCN3680.
In what has possibly been the most hyped-up launch in recent history, OnePlus has finally unveiled their new One. This is a smartphone that shares a great deal with the Oppo Find 7a, and it has been announced that Oppo is the company that will produce this phone. For those that haven't followed this company, OnePlus is a start-up that was founded last year in December by Pete Lau, former VP at Oppo.
To start off, this is a phone with a 5.5" 1080p display from JDI (Japan Display Inc.), and ships with a 2.5 GHz Snapdragon 801, which clearly shows the high-end aspirations for this phone. The rest of the specs can be seen below.
| Oppo Find 7a | OnePlus One | |
| SoC |
MSM8974ABv3 2.3 GHz Snapdragon 801 |
MSM8974ACv3 2.45 GHz Snapdragon 801 |
| RAM/NAND | 2 GB LPDDR3, 16GB NAND + microSD | 3GB LPDDR3, 16/64GB NAND |
| Display | 5.5” 1080p IPS LCD (JDI) | 5.5” 1080p IPS LCD (JDI) |
| Network | 2G / 3G / 4G LTE (Qualcomm MDM9x25 UE Category 4 LTE) | 2G / 3G / 4G LTE (Qualcomm MDM9x25 UE Category 4 LTE) |
| Dimensions | 152.6 × 75 × 9.2 mm, 170 grams | 152.9 x 75.9 x 8.9 mm, 162 grams |
| Camera |
13MP (4128 x 3096) Rear Facing, 1/3.06" CMOS size (Sony IMX214), F/2.0, 5MP FFC w/ F/2.0 aperture |
13MP (4128 x 3096) Rear Facing, 1/3.06" CMOS size (Sony IMX214), F/2.0, 5MP FFC w/ F/2.0 aperture |
| Battery | 2800 mAh (10.64 Whr) | 3100 mAh (11.78 Whr) |
| OS | Android 4.3 with ColorOS | Android 4.4 with CyanogenMod 11S |
| Connectivity | 802.11a/b/g/n/ac + BT 4.0, USB2.0, GPS/GNSS, MHL, DLNA, NFC | 802.11a/b/g/n/ac + BT 4.1, USB2.0, GPS/GNSS, MHL, DLNA, NFC |
| SIM Size | MicroSIM | MicroSIM |
As shown above, the Find 7a and the OnePlus One are extremely similar phones outside of a few key areas, with a thinner and somewhat lighter build on the OnePlus One, along with a larger battery, deletion of the microSD slot and a unibody construction that prevents easily swapping batteries. OnePlus has also detailed their curved back design, which goes from 4.6mm on the edge to 8.9mm in the middle, which means that the design is curved similarly to the One (M8) and other HTC designs, although without the associated pyramidal internal stack that would increase volumetric efficiency for such a design.
OnePlus is also pushing their dual stereo speakers, both of which are placed on the bottom. I'm not too sure what the point of this is though, as the speaker separation is almost nothing, although peak volume can increase through constructive interference.
Going through the marketing materials, there's quite a bit that OnePlus is advertising that isn't necessarily a point of differentiation. Things like Touch On Lens (TOL) and Content-Adaptive Backlight Control (CABC) are commonly used throughout the industry, and TOL has already been supplanted by in-cell touch technologies used by OEMs such as LG and Apple. CABC is a power-saving technique often seen in most LCD-screened phones, and is often identified as dynamic contrast due to some implementations having a visible flicker effect from image to image. The LTPS display is also nothing new, as most LCDs use such technology in order to have manageable levels of power consumption at the high pixel densities that most mobile displays have.The camera is also identical to the one found in the Oppo Find 7a, with no clear differentiation.
What is interesting is the UI, which runs a custom version of CyanogenMod 11. It seems to be a new skin over AOSP, and represents the first departure that I've seen by CyanogenMod from AOSP-UI in a long time. An example of the lock screen and theming application can be seen below. The phone also has a capacitive menu button with no multitasking button, so it'll be interesting to see if this will pass Android CTS as most of the major OEMs seem to have moved to home/back/multitasking configurations despite previously adhering to home/back/menu.
Outside of UI, pricing is also another key differentiator. The phone will come in two colors, silk white and sandstone black. There will also be custom backplates, with wood, kevlar, and denim planned. It seems that based upon the launch presentation that this is a concession done in place of creating a metal unibody design, as issues with RF performance were explicitly referenced. In the US, the 16GB variant will be 299 USD, and the 64GB variant will be 349 USD. At launch, an invite system is in place to handle demand, although it seems that general availability will happen in Q2 2014. Prices for the supported regions can be seen in the photos below.
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kkwst2 - Wednesday, April 23, 2014 - link
Even worse, I listened for a half hour while these morons on a radio show talked about how poor the cameras were on modern smart phones until one of them realized that the front camera was lower resolution than the rear one. Then they suggested the better camera should be front facing so they could take better selfies. I guess if the statistic is true, maybe they should!apertotes - Wednesday, April 23, 2014 - link
If I am going to spend $300+ in a phone, of course I want the better camera, and a micro-sd, and the water resistance. If I am simply gonna make selfies and look at Facebook, I do not need an S5, a Z2, a M8, a OnePlusOne or a Nexus. I will get the cheapest shit my carrier is offering.It seems you people are blinded by aluminum and unibody designs. Jesus, there is so much more than looks.
Mondozai - Wednesday, April 23, 2014 - link
You're missing the point.While we currently don't have raw comparisons between cameras of various smartphones, but a cursory look at OnePlus One's(henceforth known as 'OPO') camera suggests that the difference is very small.
Secondly, while most people just do selfies with their camera, that doesn't mean that that is all they do. Specs matter. And the OPO beats just about every phone on a price/performance index.
The point is that there is no need to spend 250 dollars *extra* on just the camera if you get the 64 GB version. I personally don't use more than 16 GB on my phone(my tablet is a different story) so the saving would be 300 dollars. And not least because the camera in the OPO isn't likely to be radically worse and could even end up being on par with the one in S5.
A lot of people are just defensive because they bought needlessly expensive stuff and are now scarmbling to rationalize it. They just have to face the fact that if you're paying more than 300-350 dollars for a top-shelf smartphone, you're not doing it right.
apertotes - Wednesday, April 23, 2014 - link
I agree that 600 dollars for a phone is too much. But that is how it goes, and sadly there are no top smartphones in the 350 range. Although they are good smartphones, specially the Nexus 5, they lack some very important features, like microsd card, water resistance, ac wifi, etc.So, unfortunately, paying 600 dollars is still the only option sometimes.
crazysurfanz - Wednesday, April 23, 2014 - link
Actually the nexus 5 does have 802.11ac wifi, according to the specs here: http://www.gsmarena.com/lg_nexus_5-5705.php(I would link to the play store product page but being in New Zealand I can't access it).
Impulses - Wednesday, April 23, 2014 - link
Not like any of the $600+ phones can be all things to all people either, Qi wireless charging has become a must have for me after getting a couple charging pads (upright Nokia for office, Google magnetized for bedroom, small LG puck for living room)... It's just do darn convenient once you get used to it specially since my N7 supports it too.jonup - Wednesday, April 23, 2014 - link
lol!Do you really want a better camera!? Can you really tell the difference between 13MP, 16MP, 20MP or 1millionMP!? And I do not mean analyzing the photo samples with magnifying glass. So you don't want a better camera - your e-penis does.
So you say you want a micro-sd? hmm! Because 64GB of quicker internal storage and access to unlimited cloud storage, for the things you don't need constantly on your fingertips, through an extremely fast LTE, is something you cannot live with. Personally, I never ran out of storage on my N4 and N5 and I always have 3-8GB of nandroids. But I understand some of you folks like to have 7-day supply of music on your phones.
As far as water resistance goes, I can see the value in there but it's not worth the extra bulk when we have already reached the edge of what can comfortably fit in the hand of the average Joe. As a matter of fact I would argue that impact durability is more important than water and dust resistance. Hence the unibody aluminum design might actually have some merit beyond the looks.
Anyways, enjoy spending $300 more on an inferior spec'd device, but for many of us responsiveness and lack of marketing bloat are more important than unnoticeably better camera, unneeded micro-SD of the past, and not having $300 to spent on something we might use .
bill5 - Friday, April 25, 2014 - link
not really irrational, most people just up their contract every two years and pay 199 at most for their $650 samsung or apple phone. or get last years flagship like the sgs4, for 99 or free, if they're more budget conscious.in this respect, asking people to pay $350 for a nexus 5 is actually a price increase. most people also go to the local phone store to get their phone.
you can save money off contract, but there's always tradeoffs as well ( in many cases worse network, worse network speeds, etc). and you may, depending, pay enough more for unsubbed phone to erase the savings.
it also limits your options, being on an att contract, i have my choice of any phone, the latest and greatest from HTC, Sammy, Sony, LG, etc, for 199 when my upgrade is due. off contract, i pretty much have one flagship choice, the nexus 5, and the nexus 5 only (not counting this new oneplus thing, which jury's still out on the quality of imo)
So, yeah.
Zoomer - Wednesday, April 30, 2014 - link
You do realize that practically ALL the phones - particularly GSM phones - that your carrier offers is available for unsubsidized purchase?darwinosx - Wednesday, April 23, 2014 - link
I would wait until people see it with good pictures.