In less than 24 hours we will see the launch of the OnePlus 2 “2016 Flagship killer” so before the excitement really begins let’s go over what we already know about this 2nd gen flagship.
The OnePlus 2 has a hard act to follow. Many people believe that OnePlus did such a great job of the OnePlus One that many current owners of the original flagship killer will stick with the Oppo Find 7 based device rather than going for the upgraded OnePlus 2 that will feature;
Snapdragon 810
OnePlus really had no choice but to use the Snapdragon 810 chipset. In many peoples minds Qualcomm are the SoC of choice for any top of the range phone and the 810 should be the pick of the crop. It also makes a obvious update over the Snapdragon 801 in the OPO, but there are issues.
The Snapdragon 810 is already struggling in the publics mind due to poor optimisation and overheating issues. OnePlus believe they have circumvented the issues by using Ver 2.0 of the chipset running at 1.8Ghz though, but only time will tell if this will make for a worthy upgrade over the already rather amazing last generation 801.
4GB RAM
The OnePlus One had 3GB RAM, and in fact so do most of the flagships of this year. The OnePlus 2 will get an additional GB giving a full 4GB RAM. This will bring it to the same level as the Zenfone 2 and a select few other top of the range phones.
USB Type C
OnePlus won’t be the first and only company to have USB Type C on their phones. The entire range of LeTV phones come with the new standard (including the 1499 Yuan LeTV Le1) which offers faster data transfer and more convenient charging (or at least it will once the standard becomes the norm).
Physical button and fingerprint scanner
Fingerprint security has been seen on a huge number of Chinese phones this year. From Ulefone and Elephone to Meizu, its is everywhere. Like Meizu, OnePlus will be building their fingerprint scanner in to a physical home button below the screen (at least thats what we are lead to believe). TENAA leaks suggest an oval button similar to the Meizu MX5 which in turn is like the iPhone 5s and iPhone 6, not a huge surprise as OnePlus Co Founder Carl Pei is a huge Apple fan.
3300mAh battery
As Qualcomm have messed up this year leaving Mediatek to storm ahead in the Chinese phone market, and most companies sticking to 1080 displays and 13mega-pixel main cameras, manufacturers have been competing in the battery department.
Compared to last year a 3000+mAh battery sounds quite generous, but compared to what 2015 phones are offering the battery is about average at the very least. With a Qualcomm chip on-board we also expect the OP2 to make use of fast charging tech.
13 mega-pixel main camera
I believe that we have about reached the limit to what more mega-pixels can offer in terms of camera performance, so for Oneplus to continue using a 13 mega-pixel camera is not a huge surprise. According to photo samples from the OP2 it appears the phone will have an F2.0 aperture, and a video showing he speed of autofocus hints at the inclusion of PDAF (phase detection auto focus) on the OP2.
Physically smaller than the OPO
Following their leaks from last year, OnePlus have shown a picture of the OnePlus One covering the OP2 stating that the new phone will be smaller than the last model. This is great news for fans of smaller devices, and if OnePlus follow current design trends it could mean a screen size of between 5.5-5.7-inch.
Dual SIM
While it remains unlikely the OnePlus 2 will have an SD card reader (offering more memory at a high price is one of the ways a phone maker can boost profits) it does appear that the OnePlus 2 will ship with a 2nd SIM card slot.
Is this really what the OP2 looks like
A recent post on the TENAA database claims to show us the physical appearance of the OnePlus 2. I’m still not 100% sure that these images are the real deal and wonder if OnePlus have just found a clever way to use TENAA in a viral marketing campaign (it would not surprise me!).
If the images are accurate though we are going to see the launch of one of the most ugly smartphones to ever come out of a factory. The TENAA images show a phone that uses elements of the OPO, and even the Meizu MX5 (home button) in an odd mismatch.
I’m keeping my fingers crossed that either the images are not the final model, or that it looks much better in the flesh.
A third OnePlus device?
Although I doubt we will see the launch of 2 phones from OnePlus tomorrow, I do expect a 3rd phone by the end of the year. In my opinion the OnePlus 2 will be the phone that replaces the OPO with great pricing and good hardware, where as the third device will be a high-end model featuring a better design and higher quality all metal build. I don’t expect OnePlus to build a phone to compete with the Xiaomi Redmi until they have a few more $$$ in the bank.
OnePlus 2 launch tomorrow!
So that’s what we are pretty sure of so far, what other details will emerge during the OnePlus 2 launch event tomorrow? Keep posted for more news.