BATTLE OF THE TWO FLAGSHIP KILLERS
On July 27, OnePlus released there new, long awaited flagship, the OnePlus 2. Barely 11 hours later, Motorola came out with their 2015 flagships. They released not one, but two different variants of the third generation Moto X. The two phones were the Moto X Pure Edition( a.k.a Moto X Style) and Moto X Play. Out of the two, the Moto X Style is the one that sports high-end specs.
The OnePlus Two was the first phone launch ever that was done in a full 360 degree, virtual reality experience. Instead of the typical approach were the CEO and designers are on stage and going through a presentation and talking about the phone to the audience, OnePlus decided for their launch to be like a one-on-one experience with Carl Pei (Co-founder of OnePlus). OnePlus made a launch app and even their own cardboard VR headset to watch the launch. But, like the OnePlus One, the company ran out of VR headsets in a flash and so they also made a headset-less version so that anyone could watch.
The OnePlus Two has some amazing specs which include a Snapdragon 810, Fingerprint Scanner, 13 MP camera with laser focus ( took a page LG’s book), 4 GB RAM ( with the 64 GB configuration), a 5.5 inch 1080p display (pretty bummed that there is no QHD) and a non removable 3300 mAh battery. All of this fits in roughly the same footprint as the OnePlus One.
The Moto X also has crazy specs with a Snapdragon 808( may not be the latest but still had no problems at all), a 21 MP camera, a 5.7 inch QHD display, 3 GB RAM, and a 3000 mAh non removable battery.
Both these phones look like $600 dollar or more phones, but surprisingly, both of them start at less that $400. This is the main reason these two were so popular in their previous generations. Both run Android Lollipop with very minor changes. Motorola’s software is almost stock with just a couple Motorola apps for the active display and voice commands. The OnePlus runs their own custom operating system called Oxygen OS. Oxygen OS was built on top of Lollipop and allows for more customization compared to stock.
Each phone has their own goods and bads and special features. The OnePlus Two has a fingerprint scanner which can act like the home ‘button’ as well ( not an actually button as it can’t be physically pressed but instead tapped to take you to the home screen, like the HTC One M9+’s.). The scanner is a touch based scanner and not swipe like the ones of the S5 and Note 4. The scanner is claimed to be a faster reader than those of the iPhone 6 and Samsung Galaxy S6. The OnePlus Two wins this round as Motorola still hasn’t introduced a fingerprint scanner in their devices, including the Moto X Style.
When it comes to speakers and design, Moto X takes the win easily. With front facing stereo speakers, the OnePlus Two bottom facing speakers are no match. Both phones have a metal frame and different choices for the back covers. OnePlus has 5 different covers that can easily be switched. Although the Moto X covers can’t be switched, Moto maker gives you so many choices, its very hard to find two Moto Xs that are exactly the same. The Moto X also has very little side bezel giving the phone a better look.
On paper, the Moto X has a better camera with 21 MP while the OnePlus Two has a 13 MP camera, but as we have seen before, cameras can’t be compared with only number and we have to wait and see till we get both these devices in hand. Both phones have a 5 MP selfie camera but Motorola wins as they have included a LED flash with theirs ( for those club selfies).
Lastly, we have both the devices’ trump cards. The OnePlus Two´s 1080p screen may not match the one of the Moto X Style, but with a bigger battery, the 1080p screen should provide much more battery life. OnePlus also gives users more freedom like choosing between on-screen and capacitive buttons, themes, changing button function,etc. The Moto X Style however has wireless charging, NFC and the fastest turbo charging…ever. Now surprisingly the OnePlus Two has none of this but they love to talk about their USB-C port, which is left in the dust compared to Motorola turbo charger. Also, Motorola has decided to throw in water resistance their phone; just…because they can I’m assuming.
To choose between these two heavyweights, you have to ask yourself if you want a stylish exterior, QHD, turbocharging, NFC, stereo speakers and an older processor that you get when you buy a Moto X Style(Pure Edition) or a bigger battery, more RAM, cheaper price, fingerprint scanner, newest processor and more customizable OS that you would receive with the OnePlus Two.
It’s practically impossible to choose between these two as it is like Apple or Android, Mayweather or Pacquiao, Messi or Ronaldo, etc. They both are equally good phones choosing all depends on your individual preference. What I can easily say though is that these two are both the 2015 Flagship Killers and have shed a new light on how cheap a flagship phone can actually sold for.
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