Gadget Review: Decoding the new One Plus 2 smartphone

One Pluse

DESIGN: The One Plus Two has the same blocky shape like the One Plus One, but, somehow, it feels more wholesome and minimalist, thanks to the black glass that covers its entire front face. Metallic accents on top are hidden, so are the touch control buttons at the bottom, which now show up only when the device is unlocked; this also helps the finger-print sensor at the bottom to stand out. Though, there's a speaker and camera at the top, but they almost fade into the black screen giving you a distraction-free view of the screen. There a 3.5 mm audio jack at the top align the sides; volume rockers and the power button to the right, an alert slider to the left that helps switch easily between notification profiles, whereas, the new USB type-C port and external speakers are placed at the boot. One Plus has gone bare in the back with the camera and its official logo. Though, it has a metallic finish around the edges in the front, the aluminum magnesium alloy body fits naturally into the arrangement. It doesn't try to be flashy, but its simplicity makes it stand out.
Rattings: 9/10

DISPLAY: The Two gets a 5.5-inch Full HD IPS LCD display with a resolution of 1920x1080. The screen appears a tad washed out when compared to other devices with FHD display, but we realise that, this makes it easier to work around without stressing the eyes - be it daylight or in dark environments. The pixel density at 401ppi (according to One Plus), also adds to the experience. The touch is good as well.
Rattings: 9/10

CONNECTIVITY: The Two is a dual-sim device with support for 2G, 3G and 4G LTE, with support for dual-sim standby. The device uses nano sim-cards that have to be entered in a tray in the back. The Two comes with dual-bad Wi-Fi chip, supporting the low-speed 2.4GHz b/g/n bands as well as the 5GHz a/n/ac bands and Wi-Fi Hotspot. It also has Bluetooth 4.1, GPS and Glonass, Wi-Fi Display, but lacks NFC. The Two gets features USB Type-C interface for USB connection. While it makes it future-ready in terms of connectors, don't get carried away as the underlying USB technology is still 2.0, hence users won't see much of difference in data speed. The good thing, though, is you no longer have to worry about accidently damaging the USB port, as the Type-C is a reversible connector.
Rattings: 9/10

AUDIO: Audio quality is decent during phone calls, but we found the external speakers very weak. It's difficult to hear sounds well even in silent environments. However, the built-in audio tuner, helps improve it a bit.
Rattings: 5/10

CAMERA: The rear camera is a 13MP auto focus with dual LED flash and is capable of capturing 4K videos as well as slow motion videos at 720p at 120 frames per second. The aperture size is f/2.0. The front camera, is a 5MP. Both cameras work beautifully in daylight as well as low-light conditions. The camera also gets AE/AF lock; this is handy in still photography and for video recordings.
Rattings: 9/10

BATTERY: The 3,300 mAh lithium-polymer battery lasted full-day on a single charge on regular usage with some juice left for the next day as well; however, add in some GPS time, and you'll find yourself clinging on to last few Amps within 12 hours.
Rattings: 8/10

USER INTERFACE & OS: The Two runs on the Oxygen Os, designed by One Plus, and seems to be offered without much changes in the stock Android Lollipop 5.1.1. It offers more flexibility and functions, especially in terms of app permissions and security.
Rattings: 8/10

HARDWARE & PERFORMANCE: The One Plus Two's built on 64-bit architecture with Qualcomm's 1.56 GHz Snapdragon 810 octa core processor in its heart and Adreno 430 as the GPU. Coupled with the 4GB RAM, the Two comes across as a performance monster, with no lags whatsoever. We tested several games on the device, and we were more than satisfied. Across different benchmarks too, we found the device giving a minimum 33fps frame rates in 1080 display settings. The device has 64GB internal storage (of which around 53 GB is available for data storage), which is more than sufficient. We have no issues with its performance, but we found the fingerprint sensor and the home button, unresponsive on several occasions, which negates the purpose it was added in the first place. Besides, keeping in mind, how easily it's possible to reset even a locked Android device, the finger sensors fails to serve one more purpose, which is the security of a device.
Rattings: 8/10

Specifications
DISPLAY: 5.5-inch IPS LCD 1920x1080, 401ppi
PROCESSOR: 1.56 GHz octa core Qualcomm S810
MEMORY: 4GB RAM, 64GB ROM
ACCESSORIES: Charger and USB cable
CAMERA: 5MP (front), 13MP with flash (rear)
CONNECTIVITY: GPS, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi b/g/n/a/ac, 2G, 3G, 4G
PRICE: Rs 24,999

Overall rating
8.0/10
the guide VERDICT The One Plus Two is one of the most awaited devices in 2015, and the wait to get one's hands on it seems to be getting stronger. The company already has an over 44 lakh waiting list. But the larger question is, does it deserve the hype? And that too with several other companies offering devices with more or less same specs in the same price range. Besides, why would anyone wait for a turn, when they can get a competitor device delivered now? We agree that hype is too much, but the fact remains that the One Plus Two is unbeatable despite it now being more expensive than its previous model - as far as aesthetics as and hardware performance goes.