Phone Comparisons: OnePlus One vs OnePlus 2

Introduction

The OnePlus is another Chinese startup company that has taken off faster than even they could have ever imagined, built on the premise of building a high spec’d product and selling it at a lower profit margin. This tends to undercut the main smartphone manufacturers such as Samsung, Apple, LG, HTC, Sony and so forth. OnePlus created such a demand with their OnePlus One that they were initially unable to keep up with the sales, as small profit margins dictate that a smaller inventory is a necessity. Though not sold directly in the US, the OnePlus devices can be ordered online and shipped anywhere in the world.

The OnePlus One was their first attempt to produce a flagship device at a reasonable price. Certainly showing it age by now, they are now launching their new OnePlus 2. Did OnePlus do enough to up the design and specs to make it a worthy contender against the new crop of smartphones such as the Samsung Galaxy S6/S6 Edge and the LG G4? Let’s take a look at the old versus the new and see exactly where OnePlus made changes and if they excite you enough to make you want to purchase ‘one.’ Take a look at the detailed specifications below and the read the comparison afterwards to get a complete picture.

Specifications

The OnePlus One is a great looking device and it feels very comfortable in your hand with its Sandstone finish. It sports a beautiful 5.5-inch IPS LCD FHD display with a resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels and 401 pixels-per-inch (PPI). I can say exactly the same thing about the new OnePlus 2…the OnePlus 2 looks very much like the OnePlus One, but does add a fingerprint scanner on the bottom front…very much looking like a Samsung button.

The OnePlus One uses a Snapdragon 801 quad-core processor clocked at 2.5GHz – a tried and true processor, but the OnePlus 2 has a two-generation jump up to the newest 64-bit Snapdragon 810 octa-core clocked at 1.8GHz. The OnePlus One uses a full 3GB of DDR3 RAM with 16GB of internal storage. The OnePlus 2 is offering two variations: one with 3GB of DDR4 RAM and 16GB of internal memory and a second model with 4GB of DDR4 RAM and 64GB of internal memory…there is no room for expansion in either model.

OnePlus One

The camera on the OnePlus One will give you some pretty decent photos with its 13MP sensor, autofocus, dual-LED flash and no OIS. The OnePlus 2 ups the sensor to 16MP, adds Laser autofocus, dual-LED flash, f/2.0 aperture and OIS. The OnePlus One and the OnePlus 2 both use a 5MP FFC for those social media selfies and video chats. The OnePlus One has a large 3100mAh battery, but once again, the OnePlus 2 improves this to a 3300mAh size non-removable battery.

The OnePlus One and the OnePlus 2 have dual-mono, bottom mounted Bose speakers. The OnePlus One uses Android 4.4 KitKat as a base operating system, it runs CyanogenMod 12 UI. OnePlus dropped the CyanogenMod on the new model – it is running the latest Android 5.1.1 Lollipop as a base with their new OxygenOS running on top. It works on the GSM 850, 900, 1800, and 1900MHz – WCDMA Bands 1/2/5/8 – and FDD-LTE Bands 1/2/4/5/7/8/12/17. It will cost you $389 for the 64GB model.

OnePlus 2

Summary

They certainly took a big step in upping the processor from a 32-bit quad-core chip to the 64-bit octa-core Snapdragon 810. The increase in RAM and the switch to DDR4 is all good stuff. The camera was not only increased from the old 13MP to a new 13MP with omnisensor, but OnePlus finally added OIS and Laser autofocus. OnePlus even increased the battery from 3100mAh to a 3300mAh to make sure you have a full day and then some on your OnePlus 2. OnePlus 2 also includes a fingerprint sensor for added security.

Sure, the price had to increase, but for $389 you are getting some very good specifications. We are anxious to put the OnePlus 2 through its paces and check out the display, camera, battery life and new OxygenOS. Do you think OnePlus did enough with the OnePlus 2 or what are some things you would like to see improved?

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