The long wait is finally over. After spending weeks in rumour
land, the OnePlus One smartphone is now finally official. The phone was
announced in a special event in Beijing ending all speculations attached with
the phone.
In terms of specs to price ratio, the One smartphone beats
almost all flagship smartphones in the market featuring a Qualcomm Snapdragon
801 chip with a quad-core 2.5GHz Krait 400 CPU, 3GB of LPDDR3 RAM and will come
in either 16GB or 32GB models.
The phone runs on a special version of CyanogenMod based on
Android 4.4 KitKat and features a flat and minimalist UI. The display of the
phone is JDI-made and spans 5.5 inches at the front of the device. The display
offers 1080p resolution, resulting in a pixel density of 401 pixels per inch.
OnePlus used magnesium for the body of the one which equates
to a lighter device compared to other smartphones that used aluminium and
stainless steel. The body also features a slightly recessed bezel (around
0.07mm according to OnePlus) and offers understated elegance with OnePlus
opting to remove any unnecessary branding in the phone’s face.
The One also packs dual stereo speakers from popular audio company JBL as well as a 13MP Sony IMX214 Sensor with 6 lenses and an f/2.0 aperture capable of recording 4K video and features a shutter speed of 0.3 seconds.
The company will also be launching a special StyleSwap
covers featuring different textures and designs such as bamboo, wood, denim and
Kevlar. The One will be powered by a 3100mAh Li-Po battery, which unfortunately
isn’t replaceable albeit the removable back cover of the handset.
The OnePlus One will launch in Q2 in different markets including
Austria, Belgium, Canada, Finland, Fance, Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, the
Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Taiwan, UK and the United States. The 16GB
sandstone black and silk white version will retail for $299 while the 64GB
version will sell for $350.
