OnePlus One

Here's why OnePlus-One equals 4.5:

OnePlus-One

Introduction:

Our OnePlus One has just received a software update which should address some of the issues experienced in this review. We're currently going through the new software and will update this review with our findings soon.

The Google Nexus 4, the Google Nexus 5, the Motorola Moto G, and now the OnePlus One; this 5.5-inch bolt from out of the blue (well, China) joins an exclusive list of smartphones that offer an awful lot of smartphone for not a lot of money.

But having used the OnePlus One as my primary phone for several days now, I'm wondering whether it needs to be placed in a category all of its own.

Here is a device that rivals the HTC One M8 and the Samsung Galaxy S5 for raw specs, but at a cost of just £229, $299. That's less than half the price of those aforementioned big hitters.

As such, much of my early time with the phone was spent warily turning it around in my hands, like some kind of mysterious artefact of unknown origin, not quite ready to believe what was being promised of it. There has to be some compromise here, right?

Well, yes there is. In fact, there are several. But it's staggering how small they seem when weighed against that double-take-inducing price tag.

However the OnePlus One is a pleasure to hold and to use. Okay, so it lacks the HTC One M8's gorgeous metallic sheen, and you won't turn any heads when you take it out of your pocket like you would with a golden iPhone 5S. But show me the phone that does.

The OnePlus One nevertheless feels great in the hand. It's primarily made up of a quality matte plastic shell that extends around the back and sides of the device. This isn't a unibody construction, and this rear panel can be removed for customisation purposes, but it's firmly fixed in place with minimal creaking or flexing.


There's a metal-effect plastic rim that separates this rear cover from the glass front, which cheapens the effect ever-so-slightly, but it's thin and unadorned. It does mean that the aforementioned glass frontage appears to stand out rather than melding into the body of the phone, but it's not an unpleasant effect.