Original URL: https://www.theregister.com/2014/08/05/review_oneplus_one_cyanogenmod_android_smartphone/
Cut price Android on steroids: OnePlus One – should we look gift horse in the gob?
Caveat emptor
Posted in Personal Tech, 5th August 2014 09:01 GMT
Review The idea behind the OnePlus One is very simple: source the best components you need for a top-spec Android phone, one that’s just as good as a branded Tier One Android flagship, and sell it direct at the fraction of the price.
OnePlus One Android smartphone
Chuck out the overhead of a multi-billion dollar marketing budget, which means no £25 spiff to the spotty kid at PhonesNotArf, and no cruft own-brand software, and just integrate top quality parts in a decent design.
The price – an eye-catching £269 – may be too good to last; the phone is apparently being sold at cost.
Looks the part and plays nice too
It’s a great way for an unknown brand to make a splash in the marketplace. The phone itself is fine – I’ve been using a One for three weeks and I can’t really find a major fault with it. The problem is that the sketchy OnePlus operation doesn’t seem to be geared up for production or support.
OnePlus presents itself as a startup, however, according to this report, alleged company documentation suggests OPPO Electronics Corp is the sole shareholder. Also, the device bears an uncanny resemblance to OPPO phones. More of that in a moment.
Freedom, one of the themes, and home screen customisation
OnePlus “Founder” and CEO Peter Lau is an ex-OPPO staffer. OPPO itself is owned by BBK Electronics, which is unknown outside China and Russia.
Whatever the true story, the cost-cutting over support has already caused some disquiet.
So what’s it like?
It’s a sizeable phone made manageable by a clever design, giving you a very good battery life. The price is obviously the showstopper here. £269 buys you a phone with a full 5.5-inch HD screen, 64GB of storage and 3GB of RAM, and a 3100mAh non-removable battery. There’s no sign of compromise anywhere: 13Mp Sony camera module, Snapdragon 801 quad core CPU, and dual speakers. You can quibble about the absence of a microSD card slot, or FM radio, but at this price, 64GB is a steal.
The grippy back panel is evident on the black model
The One’s thoughtful design makes it immediately likeable. Like the HTC and LG flagships, the back is tapered to lessen the clunkiness of the large, full HD (1080 x 1920) display. As with this year’s best designs, it minimises the bezels, so the 5.5-inch display goes almost right to the horizontal edges.
I particularly appreciated the grippy, sandpaper-effect back panel. This is the most comfortable "flagship" I can remember for a while. (Samsung’s faux leather Galaxy S5 feels grippy enough, but looks clunky and amateurish in comparison).
The camera features a 13Mp Sony Exmor sensor
The One’s back panel can be swapped for another using different colours or even different materials – a wooden back plate will be available. Swapping covers isn’t something you’d want to do very often, though, as it’s hard to get off, and somewhat nerve-racking. It’s lighter than the 162g weight suggests, and blind tests against Nokia’s clunky new Lumia 630 weren’t kind to the Lumia.
Skinning up
The One uses the CyanogenMod derivative port of the Android open source base, which I’ve discovered is widely misunderstood. Yes, you can make a Google-free phone using CyanogenMod, but this isn’t one. Just as the standard Google MADA specifies, there’s a Google folder containing Google services that you can’t then uninstall.
Default and customise
CM11 uses Android 4.4 KitKat here, with the company promising a Android L based version within three months. What CyanogenMod gives you is more customisation than bog standard ‘droid. So, you can fine-tune the display’s RGB palette, or the display’s output for each of 11 gradients of ambient light (measured in lux) so that (for example) in 50 lux light, the display outputs at 20 per cent of its brightness.
CyanogenMod Themes change the UI widgets thoroughly, including tick boxes and sliders – the One includes the CM Theme Engine. You can add an onscreen navigation bar of the OnePlus layout (Menu - Apps - Back) – if you prefer, which turns the hardware navigation buttons off.
Dialler and custom colours
I couldn’t really care less about changing the signal icon – but I really appreciated being able to enter the correct security PIN and not have to press Enter – just like on iOS and Windows Phone. The phone supports shortcut gestures to enter from sleep very quickly – such as drawing a circle to start the camera – but I only had limited use for these.
You will have to drill deep to find some of the fine-tuning, so it won’t intimidate someone already familiar with Android. Nor is it totally comprehensive, for example I found I couldn’t find a simple way to change the system font (which I wanted to make smaller). And weirdly, there's no screenshot shortcut in the shortcuts bar. Or “dumbphone” mode.
Interface customisation galore
This flexibility comes at the expense of security (it is Android, after all, so you're probably either a careful IT pro, or not too concerned about security in the first place) and reliability – but I found it a fairly solid performer. The phone got confused exiting the Channel Tunnel back on the UK side, and needed a reboot to pick up the network again. Aside from one crash, that was the only trouble I found.
The software bundle is basic, as the deal implies. Which means Chrome is your browser, Google Play is your music player, and the video player is embedded within the gallery. Nevertheless it can play a wide variety of formats. Software-wise I missed the “dumb phone” mode now common on modern ‘droids, which turns off all but the basic telephony and SMS functions to save power.
The OnePlus One's AnTuTu score pips the pricey flagships
Performance-wise, the battery saw the OnePlus One chug along for far longer than I’d expected, comfortably into a second day. The call quality was passable – the built-in call volume is too low, but OnePlus says there’s a fix on its way – and fine on the dual speakers. These aren’t real stereo unless you’re a gnat – they’re both at the bottom of the device and point the same way. But they do the job of calls very well.
The camera passes the “does the job” test, with a fine 13MP main camera and a 5MP selfie cam. There’s a nice way of scrolling through selectable presets (such as Sepia, or HDR). But there's no fancy features which the Tier One flagships seem to put so much store by.
Sample Shots
Click for a larger image
Click for a larger image
Click for a larger image
It can shoot 4K video, but settling on the 24fps standard mode was truly excellent. Again, no Optical Image Stabilisation here or sophisticated sound recording, but it isn’t going for the very top of the market. It’s very good indeed.
Supporting statement
In terms of niggles, there were one or two. I wished the screen was more responsive outdoors – with the polarisers that Nokia's Lumia use, and a rapid ramp up of display power in sunlight. But that’s a common complaint – Lumias are in a class of their own for real world display performance. And apart from one or two customisations, that was it. The One is a positive experience, the minimal, functional and smart design proving its worth.
Aaah, Profiles, just like on old Nokias, except you can also manage Connections, Sounds and Apps in great detail
And you should check before purchase whether LTE is fully supported on your network of choice. See this discussion for some concerns about lack of support for important bands.
The downside of the OnePlus One is the question marks over support. But if it does manage to sell a high spec successfully, it poses a challenge not just to the big brands – like Samsung, Sony and HTC – but is also a better value deal than Google’s own, subsidised Nexus range. This is a daunting challenge and the One actually rises to it very well. That’s the good news.
Means to an end
My guess is that OnePlus “indie" status may be more than just a marketing experiment; if it is indeed, as this report speculates, linked to OPPO, OPPO can say it’s not really doing both Google phones and non-Google phones – while its alleged independent investment OnePlus may do so.
Yet some users have reported display problems and claimed to have been told that they must return the defective unit to China, paying the shipping themselves*.
They also said that OnePlus also deletes and moves forum threads critical of its support.*.
Also available in black
The Reg Verdict
The problem so far has been getting hold of a OnePlus One. It has only been manufactured in limited quantities so far, with some gimmicky online competitions (one Android site called it a “trollout”) generating enormous enthusiasm, while allowing a few to get to the front of the queue. OnePlus says it’s now ready to deliver volume in 16 markets including the UK.
So, caveat emptor. We’d like to see OnePlus make a commitment to the UK market and improve their support operation. If you can’t wait, or don’t mind the risk, the One is a steal. ®
Update
OnePlus Global has been in touch since the publication of this story and made the following clarifications:
When the user returns their phone, they are shipping it back to the warehouse closest to them, not China. For defective units being replaced, we pay the shipping; the customer does not. Alternatively, users can opt to have us send a courier to pick up the phone from their home and the courier will then ship it back to our Hong Kong facility.With regards to moving posts; we have merged common threads on the forum to gather information in one place and be able to more easily address all of our users who are interested in that particular issue.