Not easy to get, but strong: OnePlus 2 is a real price fighter

There is hardly a smartphone with a better price-performance ratio than the OnePlus 2 at the moment. It is well equipped and costs just 400 euros with 64 gigabytes of memory. But there is a catch: it is not so easy to buy.

Over 4.5 million people have already been put on the waiting list to receive an invitation that allows them to buy the OnePlus 2. Even if not everyone ultimately buys the device, it is already clear that the Chinese "flagship killer" will clearly outperform its predecessor. This is certainly due on the one hand to the company's clever marketing, but also to the almost unbeatable price-performance ratio of the OnePlus One, which offered the hardware of a top smartphone for 300 euros at its premiere last year. N-tv.de tested whether the Chinese could go a step further with the successor.

The design of the OnePlus 2 is simple, but quite appealing. With a metal frame, a bulbous back and the relatively high weight of 175 grams, it feels extremely solid, similar to the Nexus 6, and the workmanship is first class. In the standard version, the smartphone has a plastic back with a rough, rubberized surface. This makes it extremely secure and very comfortable to hold. If you want, you can get other bowls, for example made of bamboo, for an extra charge of around 26 euros. There is no space for microSD cards in the OnePlus 2, the battery is built in. For this, users can use two SIM cards in parallel. Practical: There is a slide switch in the frame on the left, with which the user can choose between the three types of notification. Strange but not tragic: OnePlus has dispensed with NFC.

Full HD is more economical

In contrast to Samsung's Galaxy S6, the LG G4 and other smartphone bolides, the 5.5-inch LCD only offers Full HD resolution – a sharper screen would have made the OnePlus 2 significantly more expensive and shortened the mileage without correspondingly great advantages to offer. However, a pixel density of 401 ppi is absolutely sufficient and the Gorilla Glass 4-protected display can score points in other areas: It is very bright, displays colors naturally and is still easy to read from the side.

The OnePlus 2 has a fingerprint sensor below the screen. It is also a home button, but not a physical button like on Samsung's Galaxy devices. The sensor works very reliably and unlocks the device quickly, regardless of the angle at which the finger is placed. This works in one go even when the display is deactivated. Users can save up to five prints, but cannot assign specific functions to individual fingers. However, this is possible for a long touch of the sensor. Here you can specify, among other things, that the camera, the Google Now replacement shelf or the search is started. Speaking of Shelf: OnePlus installs its own OxygenOS based on Android 5.1 on the device. The differences to Google's pure operating system are only marginal.

Great pictures, hot chip

The 13-megapixel camera on the back is one of the best currently found in smartphones. The laser focus works jagged and the optical image stabilizer helps effectively in weaker light or other shaky situations. Photos impress with their particularly natural colors, strong contrasts and fine illumination. The camera also made a great impression with videos in the test. The slow-motion recordings made in HD resolution at 120 frames per second look smooth and those who want can also shoot very handsome 4K films with the smartphone.

The recording time for high-resolution videos is limited to 10 minutes, since Qualcomm's Snapdragon 810 processor, even in the version adapted for the OnePlus 2, heats up strongly under maximum load, which is particularly noticeable on the metal frame at camera height. Therefore, the Qualcomm regulates graphically complex games or other strenuous tasks down and reduces its performance. The user does not notice this in everyday life; you can actually only recognize it from the weaker benchmark results, which are excellent with a cool processor. Likewise, owners of a device with 64 gigabytes of flash memory usually do not notice anything of the available 4 gigabytes of RAM. Nevertheless, you should not resort to the alternative, which is around 60 euros cheaper, with a fully adequate 3 gigabyte of RAM, as the internal memory of 16 gigabytes is then much too small.

Special cable

The hot-headed processor doesn't put a strain on the running performance either. With a capacity of 3300 mAh, the battery can easily get the OnePlus 2 through the day, and with moderate use, two days are possible. If the juice is running low, you should definitely have the supplied cable on hand. Because the OnePlus 2 has a USB-C port, which is not compatible with conventional micro-USB strips.

The bottom line is that the OnePlus 2 for 400 euros is not a bargain like its predecessor, which was 100 euros cheaper when it went on sale. But the price-performance ratio is still great, and from that point of view, the Chinese smartphone could actually be a "flagship killer" as the company claims. However, marketing via an invitation system and selling via your own online shop are a brake. This saves OnePlus a lot of money, which should make a significant contribution to the low price. However, it also discourages potential buyers and leaves many contract customers of mobile phone providers cold.