It’s hard to believe the OnePlus 2 is only the second smartphone from upstart OnePlus. The first outing may not have gone as per plan, but its no denying that the OnePlus One was a phone you’ve wanted to own (and probably have).
A year has passed, and it’s now time for the next-generation phone to take over — the OnePlus 2. The marketing plan has been pretty much the same, i.e., build hype. In fact, OnePlus are also hashtagging their posts with #HYPE; call it ironic.
Nonetheless, it’s time for an open thread on GizChina, and what better to discuss about than the next big thing in the Chinese tech industry. What we’ll do here is simple — we’ll list what we know about the OnePlus 2, and then ask you for your opinion on what you expect from the phone.
What we know about the OnePlus 2
In typical OnePlus fashion, the company has given away some crucial spec info about the OnePlus 2 so far. This includes the following.
Fingerprint scanner
Chinese phones with fingerprint scanners have been popping up left, right and center. OnePlus could ill-afford not having one on the OnePlus 2, and the company has gone with pop-wisdom.
Snapdragon 810 v2.1 SoC
This one’s the tricky bit. MediaTek have proven they can do high-end (and in style), but for some reason OnePlus have decided to stick with Qualcomm for their chip supply. The OP2 will have a cooler, underclocked version of the Snapdragon 810 64-bit SoC, but will it be good enough? Or would the Helio X10 have been a wiser choice?
4GB RAM 
3GB RAM phones are selling for as low as US$170 in the international Chinese smartphone market, so it would only make sense to include 4GB RAM on a 2015 flagship. We believe this is one bit where most of our readers would agree with OnePlus.
13 mega-pixel laser autofocus camera
Contrary to releasing specs via social media updates, this bit was revealed by OnePlus via star YouTuber MKBHD. He revealed that the OnePlus 2 will have a 13 mega-pixel camera with an f/2.0 aperture and laser autofocus for super-fast focus.
3300mAh battery
Among the non-rugged, non-battery centric Android phones, the OnePlus One with its 3100mAh battery is still among the best battery performers. OnePlus have upped the battery capacity to 3300mAh for the OnePlus 2.
Sub-$450 price tag
The OnePlus One was sold for a base price of US$299 which turned it into an instant success. Pete Lau and Co. started in a similar fashion about pricing for the OnePlus One, saying it would be sold under US$500, then US$400 and ultimately launched the phone for US$299.
Other
Pete Lau also teased a metal build for the OnePlus 2, and announced that it would be smaller in footprint than the OnePlus One, which honestly didn’t have the best screen-to-body ratio.
What do you expect from the OnePlus 2?
We’ve given you all the facts in one place. Sit back, with a cup of coffee perhaps, and let us know in the comments section below what you expect from the OnePlus 2. Be it pricing, availability or the fact that you think that the Snapdragon 810 is in fact the right choice — let us know.
First of all I hope to see decent availability. I am not going to beg for invite in forums to take my money, especially when there are enough of great alternatives in the market.
Secondly, obviously it should not overheat. If it will overheat, customers will feel fooled after their statement that they worked to solve the problem.
Metal build is not a adventage for me either, I don’t understand why it is being praised so much. Phone gets heavier, slippery, and more sensitive to temperature changes(like overheating or cold in the winter).
Overall, after camera capabilities were announced, I am somewhat disappointed. But hey, probably the price will compensate that.
I agree with everything except the metal build. It all depends on the alloy they use. There are several aluminium alloys that are actually lighter and stronger than the typical poly carbonate plastics used in most phones. The also can be very good at managing heat and can be polished/coated to not be slippery.
I would also rather see a plastic build. It would be both cheaper and sturdier. Also better in the harsh swedish winters.
Does it really matter what fans want? We asked for a better camera with f/1.8 aperture, look what they r giving for $450. Some asked for 2k display, but I guess it will be HD only. And the SoC is troublesome, if oneplus solves the heating issue, then it will be obviously compromising the performance. I guess oneplus will be beaten by top mediatek chip.
I’ve been critical about this phone (for what we know so far) and I’ve been pointed as a spoiled kid.
the more we get close to its release the more i find critical opinions.
the reasons are pretty recurrent:
SD810 v 2.1 is it going to work?
they claim they found a solution, but didn’t they say the same about the yellow screen?
No CyanogenMod (one of the reason of their previous success)
average camera (for a flagship phone)
price is going to go higher: true,we don’t know how much yet but I’m guessing 399$.
they have been trying to raise the hype with things that really didn’t catch my attention (usb c, 4gb ram) except for the fingerprint scanner.
i don’t think this one is going to sell as good as the OPO
You are a spoiled brat! Whats the problem?
not as spolied as people who drives nutcracker Volvos while smoking Alec Bradley cigars 😀
Nice one sensei!!!
Well played sir! Well played.
They really have to move their a***s if Huawei Nexus happens to be what leaks are made of…
exactly, i don’t get the hype.
bring us some HiFi audio, wireless charging and we can start talking
I am not really expecting anything specific from the device. There is nothing that 1+2 will have that no other phone till date has not had.
Whatever they bring to table is OK provided they do not overprice the device. Thats the only thing I want …. a $299 price tag for the base model.
What do I expect? Absolute failure. I have been incredibly critical of OPO and their shady marketing practices over the past year. But the One was a very good phone, and one of the most influential phones in Android history. Not because it offered flagship specs at a low price, Xiaomi and Meizu did that before OPO existed. It was influential because it was the first phone that got the west to really pay attention to Chinese phones.
The main reasons the OPO was so successful was for two main reasons: CM + Price/Performance ratio. Not having CM is a huge loss, most people in the tech community bought it specifically because it had CM. With an expected price of over $400 and the specs only slightly upgraded there is no compelling reasons to buy it. Hardcore OPO fans will still buy it, and it will still sell decent but no where near what the One did. And no where near what they could have done with the hype they had.
Here here!
This is true, having actually decent software goes a long way. Either open your roms to modding or hire a third party company to develop software for you.
I don’t care anymore, even got doubts about them surviving this device.
First thing they should have done was confirm that the price is not going up and take a shot at others that up prices (like Xiaomi). Second they shouldn’t have used SD810 and it’s so much worse using it this late.And third, they should tease something that actually matters but it doesn’t seem they got anything like that.
If they are trying to lower expectations, they went too far lol, they should have stopped before damaging their image.
Then again ,if they don’t have microSD they could pay me and i still wouldn’t use it.
It’s ok the world doesn’t end with OPO, we’ll have other things to look forward to.
The difference between Xiaomi and OPO is that Xiaomi have phones accross all price points opo only has the one. People need to get real you cant have cuting edge internals and great build quality without it costing more. Even when the price does go up it is still cheaper than most top end phones on the market
In no special order…
1-Screen size >=5.5 (5.7?)
2-Bezel-less
3-Metal body is cool
4-Original design (that is, not a dull chocolate bar with a ridiculous round button at bottom of the screen)
5-removable battery + back cover
6-Decent OS, stock Android (Lollipop or M?) would be fine, if choice available…
7-Decent battery life (>=2 days)
8-Bamboo or Wood back cover
Well, anybody can do that, so my last point is:
9- an incredible low price for the specs 🙂
you are one of the few who doesn’t demand for a SD card slot.
Nope, this is not something I find usefull for the moment: you cannot use a SD card on Android with the same ease you use an ‘external drive’ on Windows for example: no way to install apps on it, no real way to ‘manage’ where to save your files on the fly… I do prefer a large regular internal storage (64GB is fine on OPO)
It’s going to be 5.5 in a smaller body, so that takes care of 1) and 2);
Not metal, they made this clear to everyone already. Up to 5 style swap covers at launch;
You’re never getting #5, don’t even ask
I’ll believe the swap covers are available when I see them. I seem to remember them offering a lot last year too but then saying it wasn’t cost effective and canceling them all except Bamboo which they offered as a special edition.
Thanks for the infos about SwapStyle covers 😉
Suicide flagship with SD 810. No, thanks!
1) 5.5” QHD with very small bezels, and light, metal frame
2) snap 810 + 4gb ram + 32/64/128 rom + sdcard + 2sim + good cameras (13+5mpx, maybe even dual main cameras) + hifi chip + big battery >3000
3) flagship in 2015 must have fingerprint scanner, nfc (trend)
4) nice OxygenOS + CM (but it will not happen)
right market price for this is 2299 yuan for 32gb (better 1999 to be really hot!)
and is better to have 2 versions of OnePlus 2 – second is slightly smaller screen -> 5.2” 1920×1080/snap 810/4gb ram/2sim/good cameras/hifi/big battery even with the same price tag.
I want dual SIM support, different processor and bigger battery.. That’s all..
Looks like your wish has been answered.
Haha.. +1 for dual SIM, no no for SD810 and want a bigger battery 3500+
Flash Sale
I expect to see myself bashing this device a lot, then the phone will launch and I’ll be like “You know, it’s not that bad”.
Also, Huawei Nexus hype! I can already imagine it, top of the line specs with Huawei’s build quality, and to top it all off official software support from Google. #RealHYPE .
Not to suck.
I would like the original OnePlus One with improvements:
1. Better camera (laser or phase detection autofocus, OIS)
2. Better (Hi-Fi) sound
3. Improved screen (especially outdoor visibility, brightness, contrast)
4. Larger battery to accommodate the updated CPU / memory / etc)
5. Improved design (better ergonomics)
I expect high price
Why make readers speculate so much?
For all one can guess, this is going be riddled with as much bugs in hardware (hello dead pixels and abnormally tinted screens!) like the One. I have completely lost faith in them with screwed up operations (from claiming stereo speakers initially on theirs and slinging mud on Apple’s mono ones and then covering up their tracks whey they found out they actually have dual mono speakers on their own phone’s mainboard)!
Not to mention the FM radio fiasco. Early members on the forum would remember that they proudly touted FM radio as well, and back tracked just before the phone’s release.
And when users did an exposé, they were banned and their threads either deleted, or clamped down.
Tsk tsk.. how low can this company stoop to.
i am a simple man, i see micro sd slot i press like
better camera than meizu mx5
Sorry. Not interested in 1+2
High prices, and crap marketing schemes
I expected it to be better. 810 soc sucks, battery is not even that much bigger, and better screen
I also expected oxygen to be opensource, like cm, its gonna kill the dev community
1. Good Camera for low light and having OIS/DIS
2. Micro SD Slot
3. Optimised O/S
4. Long Battery life
5. Good Audio/speaker
6. Reasonable Price per Performance (for Gaming consideration)
7. Waterproof