Yeah but with all of those brands you don't have to ship the phone internationally in order to take advantage of the warranty if you get a dud. OnePlus you do.
Except that the LG 2015 Nexus 5 should have a decent battery size, your wanted 1080p screen, plus some stuff OnePlus doesn't include like Qi charging, NFC and a non-broken USB 3.1 port (OnePlus's doesn't Quickcharge or run above 2.0 speeds).
When then that 810 SoC in the OnePlus 2 should heat you right back up!
Hopefully when the 820 comes it is a big enough leap to finally move us past the terrible 810 in a significant way.
This isn't 2014 anymore. Sure LAST YEAR the OnePlus alone gave us high-end specs at that price point, and given the large and expensive Nexus (aka the usual nerd phone) it gave OnePlus a big window.
In 2015 we expect a more competitive Nexus, Moto has lowered their phone price, and companies like Asus are putting out high value device like the ZenFone 2 without a stupid invite system.
The invite system was fine last year, but not this year. Apparently the OnePlus 1 was a success, so its time for that company to quit the crap, stick out their neck and take some loans to have a stock on hand and a non-invite purchase system like anyone else. In my opinion of course, but the reality is that market doesn't care WHY One Plus does the invite system or how it saves them money. We care about our experience as a consumer, and begging for invites sucks for that experience.
First of all they aren't the only one challenging higher margins, every major Chinese phone maker is. And those companies also want to break into the American market, that is the reason Huawei is making a Nexus.
Secondly we have a very good idea who OnePlus is even though they HATE HATE HATE journalists digging into it. It is pretty obvious that they share key investors with Oppo, they use Oppo capacity, and they are closely tied to that company. I wouldn't be surprised if OnePlus may still turn out to be Oppo’s version of Toyota’s Scion.
I appreciate the way they smashed the market last year and caused real disruption, but the times have moved on. Now they are the ones acting all arrogant, saying people don't really use things like Qi Charging or NFC simply because their device doesn't have it. It only took them a cycle to forget their humble roots.
You must be kidding me right? Their marketing is terrible. I listen to the All About Android podcast on Twit and they have a "How Many Days Until a OnePlus Marketing Blunder?" segment like factories have a safety sign.
There was the terrible “Smash the Past” contest, the "Ladies First" contest which even they admit was a "a very misguided effort," the fallout with CM, and now OnePlus’s failure to meet their launch for the OnePlus 2 in North America delayed all shipments even if you have a precious invite. One Plus's marketing and invite system is amateur hour, and either they grow up quickly and start selling the device like a normal company on their website or they are going to miss their window and get boat raced by Chinese companies entering the market. In my opinion of course.
1. Warranty shipping
Fair enough, as long as the issue is not overblown. I had yellow tint on my device and it disappeared.
2.Nexus 5
Would have my interest if it weren't for the following issues (big no no for me):
- 2700mAh (not sure if confirmed but that would be a bummer)
- 5.2 inches only
I couldn't care less about NFC, Qi charging and battery eroding QC2.0.
Other 2015 devices of interest?
- The Xiaomi note which is very similar to the OP2 is also choking on his QHD.
- The Note 5 is a really nice device but glass? Only 3000mAh (yes, es it does well in benchmarks but as usual in practice sammy device do worse in real life because real life is not at 200cd/m²) And knox?...Samsung lost many supporters when the abandoned technophiles for corporate purchasers. At least with OnePlus I have a warranty when I tweak my device! And a Sammy device where you can't use a custom ROM is a big no no.
Give me other ideas. I want 5.5 inches, with thin bezels, good to superb battery life, unlocked, rootable without voiding warranty, good camera and nice contrasted 1080p display. HTC and Sony let me down with sub 5.5 devices. So did LG and Motorola. In fact most flagships have preferred performance or resolution to battery life when I want the choice to have both.
It seems that for some reason OnePlus targeted exactly my needs. Xiaomi and Meizu have nice devices and even the Lenovo Zuk Z1 are appealing (despite Apple like bezels) but mostly for the Chinese market.
Since OP2 is so cheap and holds its value extremely well, this allows me to change phones with every new release at almost no cost. I love this invite system!
3. S810
Don't be unfair, it doesn't heat so much if you deactivate 2 cores down to S808 level and you still have the very nice Adreno 430 GPU.
If the device had costed more I would maybe have said: S808 does me justice, but as it is I am not gonna spit on the extra upward freedom I have. I actually think it is noticeable in every day operation.
But yes, we are at the limit of what we can cram into an octacore for a 20nm process CPU. Qualcomm messed up the release, for sure, but after the bandwidth memory changes they did, it works at lower temperatures than the S808+QHD combination, so it is still a nice upgrade. I have seen it top several benchmarks in the last couple of days (ahead of S6). In daily operation it is super smooth. Even though the N5 is not for me, I am still interested to see the kind of performance it posts.
Zenfone 2, Touch Idol, Zuk Z1 - those are all solid devices, but still midrange devices and often with large bezels and inferior cameras. Motorola prices are going down mainly in the U.S.. For other regions, not so much.
Yes, pressure is heating up in the market, but it is for everyone. Those other phones do some things right but a flagship must tick all of the following essentials:
- Performance (be able to keep pace with the best in graphically demanding applications and have blazing fast operation)
- Battery life (although sub flagship tend to have better battery life)
- Camera (fast focus and snap time, high color fidelity, good HDR and video recording)
- Premium design with thin bezels
- Outstanding display (contrast > 1500:1, brightness >500cd/m²)
- At least 3 competitor/own innovations (FP scanner, notification slider, laser AF, USB Type C, dual and/or USB 3.1, front facing speakers, customizable styles, Qi charging, larger camera pixels, etc.) not yet found on many devices.
In my opinion OnePlus secured these essentials and did not falter on any of them whereas others have ejected themselves from that flagship category though cheap choices on 1 or more of those components.
OnePlus Strategy?
I think the invite system works and will continue to work for many years. Evangelist marketing is a very cost effective way of crowdsourcing your marketing efforts. It is part and parcel of their business model and will allow them to keep costs lower than competition in the long run.
It creates brand loyalty (early supporters are being given preferential treatment) and quite frankly, it is reaching cult status this year in Europe, which it didn't have last year.
The only way I see Xiaomi and Meizu go past them outside of China is if they differentiate themselves enough e.g.
- though better localized support?
- though price (through their larger purchasing power)
- through better products at the same prices
OnePlus is a product oriented company, which uses word of mouth to propagate good publicity. Their sometimes outrageous press antics are part of the game, they flatter all media outlets, ensuring that they are being talked about.
They will win and die first and foremost by their product and customer experience quality. If they manage to offer good support this year, they will have done a good portion of the work already.
For all the criticism, here is a company that showed Sony, HTC and LG how launch an S810 device and look credible. I don't think they are being given enough credit for the strategic and tactical choices they made this year.
I don't see the North American delay as an issue. It is part of their Never Settle mantra - if the public reaction to some aspects of the phone is not good enough, they prefer to iron out the issues rather than go to market with mitigated word of mouth.
In that they are absolutely true to their philosophy. Never Settle also means change your mind, aknowledge product feedback and constantly work upon it. It is this mentality that will give fans the feeling that they can be trusted to develop the best product. LG, Sony and HTC each had rushed releases and ended up damaging their brand as a result.
Facebook
Twitter