OnePlus celebrates one year in business with a super-cheap power bank
Exactly one year ago, a little known company by the name of OnePlus arrived on the scene with plans to make "the perfect smartphone." The One certainly lives up to the hype under the hood, but thanks to a flawed invite process, getting your hands on the device hasn't been easy. However, with more than 500,000 units having already made their way into customer hands and a target of one million sales before the end of the year, OnePlus has decided to celebrate a respectable first year in business with the launch of a new product, another open sale and more details on the development of its own Android ROM.
While the One already has pretty stellar battery life, to make sure you "Never Settle" (for a lack of juice), OnePlus is undercutting its rivals again with the launch of its sleek Power Bank. For $15/£14, you'll get a 10,000mAh portable battery that can charge your OnePlus One at least three times via its dual USB ports before it needs a five-hour recharge itself. It'll be available early next year in Silk White and Sandstone Black variants and sports a bank of battery indicator LEDs that will tell you how much power is left with "a gentle shake."
Back in October, OnePlus co-founder and CEO Pete Lau indicated that the company was working on its very own Android ROM to replace Color OS for the Chinese edition of its next flagship device. OnePlus says it will be "close to stock, bloat-free, and highly customizable" and expects to release its first custom build soon, perhaps signalling a move away from CyanogenMod after it encountered issues in India. However, before it does, the phone maker is calling on the OnePlus community to give the ROM a name.
As is typical with OnePlus, the company has yet to provide definite dates for when the new Power Bank or Android ROM will debut. Although, if you're after a One, it's available once again on open sale -- helpful if you're thinking of grabbing yourself an early Christmas present.
