Polarizing and critical, One Plus covered so much written space over the last year with their marketing and distribution issues that many brands would have burnt out by now. However the success of a phone from an (arguably) unknown company made it into many peoples top handsets of the year.
One Plus are now using their long marketing process that notoriously split opinion last year to leave breadcrumbs of information about the specification of the new phone dubbed ‘Two’. We spoke about it in depth on last weeks Bane Tech Live, so instead of digging around and trying to find all the details we have compiled them all together so you can see if it will be another ‘flag ship killer’.
Look And Feel
The new handset will be smaller than the current phone, so much so they have shown off an image of the new handset hiding under a One Plus One. Bare in mind they also did this with an Xperia Z1 last year and hid some of the handset off screen, but this image seems to be more legitimate.
However they have done some magic and managed to squeeze in an increased 3,300mAh battery – unfortunately without wireless charging. It will feature one of the most talked about things of resent months and something One Plus made big deal about is USB type C – so no more fiddling to find the charger direction!
When asked about the design of the new handset Carl Pei said he was most happy with the “design & build” so we can expect an updated design and improvement in build quality. The One was no slouch in terms of build quality, however some criticized the design as being bland and boring.
Invite To Buy
This new handset will also feature improved style swap covers, lets hope they do actually hit sale this time and don’t need another invite months after launch. On the subject of invites, when the new handset launches previous supporters will be prioritised when buying the new one – what that actually means however is a mystery.
The camera specifics are yet to be leaked / released, however One Plus say this was an area they have worked on. Introducing features that will “set it apart from the competition”. However it is sure to feature an updated sensor from the Sony 13mp sensor used in the One as the original handset will still be available after the launch of the ‘Two’.
Spec Wars
The heart of the new handset will be the controversial Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 – although One Plus are insistent they have the newer 2.1 version that runs at much lower temperatures. They have paired this with a huge 4gb of Ram for all your multitasking needs. Although running close to stock Android 4gb maybe a bit of overkill, the One was one of the first to feature 3gb so its only right they push things further.
They have decide to stay with the 5.5 inches of screen real estate as last time, however it remains to be seen what resolution this will be sporting. If the front is dominated by the screen as the last one was, its hard to see where they will fit their new finger print scanner. Something One Plus are claiming works better and faster then Apples touch ID – perhaps on the back?
Two versions will be launched dependant on where in the world you order it from, last years models lacked some bands to take advantage of LTE in some countries so this is a welcome improvement. On the downside they have stated that Tmobile WiFi calling will not be available at launch.
- US GSM: 850, 900, 1800, 1900MHz WCDMA: Bands: 1/2/4/5/8 FDD-LTE: Bands: 1/2/4/5/7/8/12/17
- Europe GSM: 850, 900, 1800, 1900MHz WCDMA: Bands: 1/2/5/8 FDD-LTE: Bands: 1/3/5/7/8/20
All this wrapped up in a handset that will cost less than $450! Whatever you think about either One Plus as a brand or the One handset its undeniable they have something about them. At Bane Tech we can’t wait to get our hands on the next handset, lets hope it hits sale soon after the 27th July.
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