Even though it is nowhere near as popular as Apple, LG, HTC or Samsung, up and coming Chinese maker OnePlus has managed to capture the public's attention with the One flagship, and is likely to do so again with its successor. Known as OnePlus 2, it will be officially unveiled towards the end of the month.
In the meantime, OnePlus has revealed some interesting things about its upcoming Android flagship smartphone, including a pricing estimate. Here is everything we know about OnePlus 2 so far.
First off, OnePlus is set to debut on July 27 at 7 pm PT. The unveiling will be done rather differently, with the company turning to Cardboard VR headsets for the event. In fact, it has given them away for free to anyone willing to pay for shipping.
Now, on to the juicy bits. OnePlus 2 will be powered by Qualcomm's top-of-the-line mobile processor, Snapdragon 810. It will be a new revision, which is likely to have none of the overheating issues frequently associated with the product and is also faster than prior revisions.
The Snapdragon 810 processor, which is an octa-core solution, used on OnePlus 2 will be backed by a whopping 4 GB of LPDDR4 RAM which should translate into excellent multitasking performance, among other things. This was revealed by the company's CEO, Pete Lau. The choice of LPDDR4 RAM is done to lower power consumption, according to Lau, and increase performance.
Another thing that Lau has said about its upcoming flagship is that it will feature a fingerprint sensor that is better than Apple's Touch ID. That is a bold claim, as the latter is pretty good in normal conditions. My only beef, after using an iPhone 6 Plus since late last year, is that Touch ID tens to be unreliable with sweaty fingers, which is a common problem during the summer. If OnePlus' solution can fix this, it will be truly impressive.
So far, so good. But, wait, it gets better. OnePlus 2 will also come with a USB Type-C connector, which is cutting-edge at the moment given that very few devices utilize one. This should make charging the device less frustrating, as users will be able to plug the charging cable in without paying as much attention to its orientation.
And, finally, let us talk about the price. As you may know, OnePlus One debuted with a $299 starting price, which has allowed it to seriously undercut competing flagships. OnePlus 2 will repeat this, albeit at a different price point. Lau says that it will cost under $450, which, in this day and age, is still a fantastic price for a flagship smartphone.
OnePlus 2 is shaping up to be the flagship smartphone to beat when it comes to value for money. It remains to be seen whether OnePlus can manage to woo consumers once again, as specs alone and an interesting price tag are not enough to sway millions of consumers.