The OnePlus 2 verdict: probably the best phone at this price point

Our friends over at SlashGear have put out their verdict for the smartphone that was dubbed “the flagship killer”, also known as the OnePlus 2. We’ve seen a lot of this new phone over the past few days, as more and more people are getting their hands on OnePlus’s new baby. And from what word that we’re getting from people who have used it, played around with it, made it their main phone for the past few days, we hear that the OnePlus 2 strikes a good balance between good things and not-so-good things. And at its price point, you might not see a better deal.

The internal hardware is top notch, that much we knew even before it was released. The “new version” of Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 810 – the one that (we hope) doesn’t overheat – combined with 4GB of top-of-the-line LPDDR4 RAM will give you buttery smooth, lag free performance from your OnePlus 2 – that much SlashGear was willing to say. Internals really don’t matter that much if they don’t perform, and they do perform here. This phone can take on pretty much any app you throw at it from today until the next few years – without missing a beat.

The external aesthetic is not a big separation from the OnePlus One, but you will feel that this is an upgrade from its predecessor. Chalk that up to the magnesium-aluminum alloy that serves as the outside rim around the phone. Corning Gorilla Glass 4 should be up to spec – the hardest glass surface protection you can find in the market to date, and OnePlus throws in a free screen protector out of the box just to be really sure you’re protected.

What about the things that it doesn’t have? For one, NFC is not present, and people who like to pay for stuff using this will probably see this as a deal-breaker. In fairness, if this feature is not one you really use, you probably won’t notice it. Also, under the “sandstone” textured back, you will not find anything much other that the dual SIM drawer. There is no microSD expansion slot, so get the 64GB variant of the OnePlus 2 if you consume storage like crazy.

The battery is rated at 3,300mAh, and SlashGear confirms that it will probably last you through the day, and then some. Maybe the “pretty standard” 5.5-inch 1080p display has to do with that. OnePlus could have gone 2K or 4K on the display, but that would have bumped up the retail price, as well as affect the battery performance negatively. The battery is non-removable, by the way, and there is no wireless charging out-of-the box, if you can live with that.

As the review says (check out the source link below for more details), at the USD$389 price point for the 64GB variant, this phone performs beautifully for your everyday tasks. Flagship phones from the bigger manufacturers usually cost over USD$500, for comparison. In fairness to the big brands, you do get all the bells and whistles that the OnePlus 2 just doesn’t have. But at this price point, this phone is unbeatable – if you can live without the incidentals.

SOURCE: SlashGear