OnePlus 2
Verdict
Key specs
Critic consensus
“The list of competing smartphones only confirms that the OnePlus 2 is very competitively priced. It improves on the original in a number of ways but it may find it hard to repeat last season's performance and, ultimately, own the box office. Popping right out of the blue (or Oppo's back door), the original OnePlus One didn't just want a place under the sun. No, it came banging right on the door of the flagship club. Unwelcome, uninvited but ready to win everyone's respect. And it did. The OnePlus 2 has the background and credentials now but if the competing flagships are showing any sign of fear, it's not the fear of the unknown anymore.”
“The OnePlus has a lot of unique features: USB Type-C, a hardware notification switch, and dual SIM slots, but none of them are really must-haves. We'd gladly trade them all for quick charging and NFC. Judging by most of the comments when this was announced, OnePlus made a miscalculation when it decided which features were important to users. The result is a cheap phone that feels cheap—you can see where the corners were cut. The best part of the device is the software. Oxygen OS takes stock Android and extends it, rather than replaces it, and that's something we wish more OEMs would do. The skin seems to hit most of the common grips about Lollipop with a permissions system, dark theme, equalizer, and some customizability options. It's also great to see a device with an unlocked bootloader.”
“The OnePlus 2 is a really good smartphone, even though it is not quite the advertised flagship killer that it wants to be. The lack of some small features like the poor video performance, missing connectivity features as well as the lack of a microSD slot prevent a very good rating. The camera is certainly good as well, but it cannot quite compete with the quality of a Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge or LG G4 and does not offer many settings.”
“Never settle? The OnePlus 2 is a phone rife with compromises, no matter how much OnePlus wishes its often ham-handed marketing could convince everyone otherwise. That doesn't necessarily make it a bad phone. There are always compromises with a smartphone—some feature or capability that's missing or doesn't live up to expectations. However, OnePlus touts its Never Settle slogan at every opportunity in an attempt to paint itself as a scrappy underdog that can best more established companies. Bottom line—you have to settle to buy the OnePlus 2.You're settling for a device that lacks NFC, an unheard of compromise for all but explicitly budget-oriented phones. You're settling for a phone with regrettable physical buttons and a mute switch that (while interesting) prevents you from using some software features available on all other Android phones. You're settling for slower charging than many other phones offer. And yes, you're settling for a phone that isn't particularly attractive (in this nerd's humble opinion).Looking at the OnePlus 2 in a vacuum, it has a lot going for it. The battery life is solid, and the build quality is good. If you'd told me a few years ago a phone like this would cost less than $400 I would have thought you to be either a liar or a madman. However, when you look at everything else that's available, the OnePlus 2 doesn't seem remarkable. Instead, it's just appropriately priced. The quality and capabilities of the OnePlus 2 are commensurate with the sub-$400 cost.”
Watch before you decide
In Depth
Called the “flagship killer” by reviewers and the public alike, the OnePlus 2 offers top of line hardware at a fraction of the cost of other flagship Android devices. While the specs might look great on paper, does the OnePlus 2 live up to the hype?
The first thing experts noticed was the premium design and build of the OnePlus 2.The back cover is removable and you can swap it out for four different finishes – Bamboo, Black Apricot, Rosewood and Kevlar. A slightly curved design combined with the gritty texture of the sandstone finish gave critics an excellent grip on the phone. Its frame is made out of an aluminum-magnesium alloy with stainless steel accents. Due in part to the metal frame, the phone is quite hefty at 175 grams. It is also a fairly large phone measuring in at 6 x 3 x 0.4 inches. Still, most critics had no issue using it one-handed thanks to the narrow bezel space between the edge of the phone and screen.
Making up the majority of the phones size is the 5.5-inch full HD (1080 x 1920p) LCD display. While there are QHD and 2K resolution phones available on the market, critics could barely see any difference in sharpness when they compared the OnePlus 2 alongside 2K displays. They credit this to the fairly neutral color balance with Androidpit adding, “It’s less ‘showy’ than many screens…but the realistic shades were to its credit.” One of the biggest marketing points of the OnePlus 2 is its brightness. When put to the test experts did find it bright with excellent sunlight legibility and wide viewing angles.
As with other flagship phones, the OnePlus 2 sports top-of-the-line hardware: 1.8GHz octo-core processor, 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage. As with other processors running on an octo-core, the OnePlus 2 puts some processors to sleep during basic tasks to prevent overheating and save battery life. Luckily, critics did not notice any issues with performance whether they were launching apps, editing photos or watching HD videos. They were also able to play a wide range of games from casual to more graphics-intensive ones without stutters or crashes. Thanks to the 3,300mAh battery, they were able to get over a full day’s worth of use under normal circumstances and around ten hours when playing games and using 4G. Unfortunately, the OnePlus 2 does miss the mark on a couple parts including lack of Quick Charge and NFC (allows you to establish communication with other devices with NFC like registers that take Apple Pay).
Another big improvement from its predecessor is the camera. While the OnePlus 2 main camera still has 13MP the phone now has optical image stabilization, dual-LED flash and laser auto focus. With these new features, critics were able to take clear, detailed images in daylight though they noticed pictures were over processed in HDR mode. Where most camera phones struggle is under low light situations. Thanks to the OIS and auto focus, experts could capture crystal clear shots even in poor lighting. Still, the camera itself has fairly limited functions offering only a few editing options such as “beautify” and panorama.
For the price, reviewers consider the OnePlus 2 a quality phone with few drawbacks. Times of India states, “…it’s certainly the most power-packed and feature rich phone that money can buy at the moment.” First Post adds, “…we would definitely recommend this phone…Although you also need to be aware of its shortcomings.”
What people actually want to know
When was the OnePlus 2 released?
The OnePlus 2 was released on August 11, 2015.
How long does the battery last on the OnePlus 2?
The OnePlus 2 has a 3,300 mAh battery.
Does the OnePlus 2 have a headphone jack?
Yes, the OnePlus 2 has a 3.5mm headphone jack.
Does the OnePlus 2 have NFC?
No, the OnePlus 2 does not have NFC. Contactless payments and tap-to-pair will not be available.
Where can I get support for the OnePlus 2?
Visit OnePlus's official support page for warranty info, repairs, and troubleshooting.
Where can I download the OnePlus 2 manual?
You can view and download the OnePlus 2 manual on our dedicated manual page.
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