| Specs at a glance: OnePlus One | |
|---|---|
| Screen | 1920×1080 5.5"(401 ppi) IPS |
| OS | Cyanogenmod 11S (based on Android KitKat 4.4.2) |
| CPU | 2.5GHz quad-core Snapdragon 801 |
| RAM | 3GB |
| GPU | Adreno 330 |
| Storage | 16GB or 64GB, no MicroSD slot |
| Networking | GSM 850, 900, 1800, 1900MHz, LTE bands 1/3/4/7/17/38/40, Dual Band 802.11b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth 4.0, GPS |
| Ports | MicroUSB 2.0, headphones |
| Camera | 13MP rear camera, 5MP front camera |
| Size | 152.9 mm x 75.9 mm x 8.9 mm |
| Weight | 162g |
| Battery | 3100 mAh |
| Starting price | $300 unlocked |
| Other perks | RBG notification LED, NFC |
In our time using the new OnePlus One smartphone, we tried our best to ignore its cost. We wanted to focus on its remarkable traits—its quality 5.5-inch screen, magnificent battery life, Cyanogenmod functionality, quad-core processor, 13MP backward-facing camera, unnecessarily nice front-facing camera, handsome design—and judge them in a vacuum. "Focus solely on how it stacked up to the best-selling modern Android sets"—that was our mantra.
But it's hard to ignore the magical, mystical fact that we actually had a OnePlus One in hand. Months after the phone's public reveal, and at the beginnings of its odd, invite-only shopping process, the notoriously hard-to-buy phone arrived. And once the price came up, all bias was completely overtaken: $300 for the 16GB model, $350 for 64GB, completely unlocked, no contract necessary.
Google and LG's Nexus 5 is the only other smartphone that comes close to matching OnePlus' smartphone-to-price ratio, and OnePlus is hitting this price without the benefit of Google's deep pockets. It's tempting to pin that detail as the headline of any review. Yet the truly remarkable "how'd they do that" part of this phone isn't its cost, but its quality.
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