OnePlus has managed to create a bit of a buzz around their latest smartphone. Called 'One' (but I'll go with the OnePlus One for most of this review to avoid the confusion with HTC) this is a handset that goes out of its way to be attractive. The styling is simple but functional, the specs are close to the top of the range in the world of Android, and the price is stunning. It's not a typo, it actually starts at £229 in the UK ($299 in the US) for the 16 GB model.
If that's not enough, the OnePlus One uses CyanogenMod as the operating system - a free and open source OS based on Google's official releases of Android with strong community support.
Let's start with the OS, because it is the biggest unique selling point of the handset. The OnePlus One uses a version of CyanogenMod 11 called 11S. This is based around Android 4.4.2 Kitkat (for those of you keeping track, the current version in the handset is 11.0-XNPH22Q). As one of the first phones to ship out of the factory with CyanogenMod installed (as opposed to sitting down with a multitude of flashing tools, roms, and long linux command line incantations to switch over an existing Android handset), this significantly reduces the barrier of entry into the world of CyanogenMod.
It's also worth nothing that the OnePlus One does ship with the Google apps that a consumer would expect to see... Google Play for installing and updating applications, Gmail, Calendar, Google Plus, Google Cards, Google Music, Hangouts, they are all here. You're not going to pick up this handset and wonder why you can't get any of the baseline Android applications.
OnePlus has resisted the temptation to load up the One with any excess software. The core apps for the Google experience are here, as are the core apps for a smartphone experience. There's no duplication of application functionality here. You get the stock Android apps out of the box, and just a few additions to help you live.
One of those additions is the torch app, which you can activate with a touch-base shortcut on the screen when the OnePlus One is on stand-by, or idling on the lock screen. Draw a quick 'V' on the screen and the camera LED will turn on like a touch. You can also draw a circle to activate the camera, or a two fingered swipe to play or pause your music.
You can also double tap the screen instead of pressing the power button to wake up the device. Given the nature of the power button (it is very small and almost flush to the edge of the device), this is a welcome addition to the UI of this Chinese-built smartphone.
Neither will you pick up the handset and wonder where everything is in the software. CyanogenMod is about customisation and choice, but one of the choices that the CyanogenMod community has started with is that Android is pretty good on its own, and Google's launcher and interface is a really good starting point. Anyone with existing Android experience (especially on the Nexus devices) is going to feel comfortable with this handset. It's very close to the UI provided by manufacturers like Samsung, Sony, and HTC.
That's important, because the OnePlus One must appeal to the general consumer as well as the hacker community to be a success. Out of the box this is handset that doesn't scare anyone who's worked with Android, everything is where you would expect it to be, apps are easy to find, options are there to explore, it's a phone you will be comfortable with.
But it's also a phone where the flexibility that has become a mark of CyanogenMod is also on display. Almost everything in the UI is user-configurable, it carries 'theme' support to change every element of the UI in one click, and when you start to explore the settings dialogs, you'll realise almost every item can be tweaked. On one hand this can feel rather overpowering, but on the other it means the OnePlus One can feel much more like 'your' device than the single vision offered by a manufacturer.
A case in point is the core Android UI keys of 'menu / home / back'. These are three capacative buttons just under the bottom of the screen. When the OnePlus One is active, these are dimly lit and I'm happy to use them. But you can switch them off and have the OnePlus One UI provide the buttons on-screen instead of on the touch sensitive part of the bezel. You trade a bit of screen real estate for brighter icons that react to the UI and change their look and orientation as required.
The main lesson is that you get to choose, and you are not limited to a design choice made by the manufacturer.
Shipping with the version 11S of CyanogenMod will be enough to attract the hacker and developer communities that want to tinker with the operating system on a handset designed for that code. For everyone else, the specifications are going to make this an attractive phone.
The OnePlus One sports a Snapdragon 801 CPU system-on-chip, coupled with 3 GB of RAM. The quad-core CPU runs at 2.45 GHz, and is paired up with the Adreno 330 GPU. Until Qualcomm ship the Snapdragon 805, this is the fastest configuration for Android out there. This smartphone is fast, and with a touch more RAM than the Samsung Galaxy S5, offers a very slightly better performance when using test bench scores. In use it is fast and smooth, and you would be hard pushed to find a faster Android smartphone on the market at the moment.
There are some gotchas in the specifications. With no microSD slot for expanding memory, you'll be left with the storage option you made on purchasing the handset - either 16 GB or 64 GB. While the 16 GB handset comes in at a very competitive price, I would strongly push you to consider paying the very slight premium to get get the 64 GB option. If you are going to do anything more than light work, the extra storage will be needed for more media, video recording, documents, and applications.
The battery clocks in at 3100 mAh,putting it between the recently released Galaxy S5 (2800 mAh) and Xperia Z2 (3200 mAh). On my review unit it took a few charging cycles to maximize the battery life.In use there is more than enough capacity here to get through a working day without limiting your activity. Unlike the other flagship handsets mentioned above there are no aggressive power saving applications that kick in when battery life is low, so getting a second day out of the unit is much harder but not impossible. CyanogenMod will allow you to set limits for the CPU frequency, but that's deep into advanced configuration - most users will stick with the ability to change a global performance profile to balance power against batter life.
It does take longer to charge the battery than other handsets, there is no quick charge circuitry here. That's not going to matter if you get into a 'charge overnight' rhythm, but it is something to be aware of if your primary charging time is during the day.
The screen on the OnePlus One is a gorgeous monster. It's an IPS display with some great viewing angles. running at full HD resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels. That gives it a density of 401 ppi which is sharp and clear. The screen is bright (once you turn up the brightness in the settings). Being an IPS screen there is a lot of contrast between the deep blacks and the backlit colours.
Just like the specifications, there is no compromise on the screen. So how does the OnePlus manage to get the One to a competitive price? One answer lies in the physical design and construction of the handset.
Raised up from the body of the device, the slight lip between screen and chassis helps you grip the device. With a 5.5 inch screen the OnePlus One is not a small device, but it's within a millimeter or two of the competition in each dimension. You know what you're getting with a 'close to phablet' handset, and yes, the One will deliver what you expect from this size of smartphone.
By turning away from the trend to use metal in the construction (be it the bezels, external frames, back plates, or other areas) and focusing on plastics, the bill of materials is much lower. It also has the benefit of reducing the weight of the device to 162 grams, similar to the Sony Z2 and HTC One M8.
That said, the polycarbonate backing curves comfortably in the hand, the power button and volume rocker buttons are subtle but placed in a reachable position around two-thirds of the way up the edges, and the microUSB power and headphone jack are in sensible locations (bottom dead center and top-right respectively). Methods and quality of plastic construction in smartphones has significantly advanced over the last two years, and the OnePlus One could easily pass for a more expensive handset on first sight.
I would say that the camera is one of the biggest areas of compromise in the OnePlus One. Optics is turning out to be one of the major battlefields in the consumer smartphone market, with manufacturers pushing lens technology, resolution, sensors, and processing. The OnePlus One sidesteps that battle with a camera that is decidedly average. I think part of this is that the the OnePlus One is not pushing the vibrancy of the colours, resulting a more natural look to the pictures, and there might be a little bit too much edge smoothing, tending towards a soft-focus look. There is nothing with this approach, but it doesn't meet the expectations set by other handsets.
The speakers on the OnePlus One are also not pushing out maximum performance. With the external speakers, the OnePlus One is quieter as an audio player than other handsets, although I had no issues with the signal coming out the headphone jack.
The final area that brings the OnePlus One down to a low price is a simple one. OnePlus has set the price at little more than cost. Trading the short-term profit to become established over the long-term is a valid business strategy, and I watching with keen interest how it pans out over the next year.
I'm going to recommend the OnePlus One with a few caveats. The first is that availability right now is sparse, due to a mix of high demand and reduced stock - quite rightly OnePlus didn't commit to a huge initial production run, so you might be waiting a while. The second issue is that OnePlus is not a Samsung, a Sony, or an HTC. This is a small manufacturer, based in China, and that does come with a bit more risk in terms of long term support, warranty, and repair. I also think it is false economy to look at the 16 GB version thanks to the lack of microSD support - the 64 GB variant is the one to go for.
That said, you would be getting one of the highest specced Android smartphones on the market, with the support of the CyanogenMod community behind the hardware, and it's compatible with your existing Android apps and peripherals (I've been using the Sony SmartBand and the Pebble smartwatch with no issues). It's not the perfect handset, and it misses out on some of the more interesting features of other flagships (such as waterproofing, wireless charging, and high-end optics), but the OnePlus One is a handset that should please the most demanding of Android users. That makes it a powerhouse phone in the hands of a regular user, with no show-stopping mistakes in the hardware or software.
Disclosure: OnePlus supplied a OnePlus One on loan for review purposes.
