Engadget
86
Engadget Review
OnePlus 2 review: a worthy sequel, flaws and all
Summary
Smartphone aficionados have been clamoring for the OnePlus 2 since, well, the days of the OnePlus One. Now it's here, and it's mostly great, especially if you're looking for horsepower. The second-gen version looks more expensive than it is thanks to its impressive build quality, and its powerful internals help the phone punch above its weight in performance tests. Still, the lack of NFC and expandable storage, along with a few software bugs (we're told they're being worked on), mean the OnePlus 2 won't be for everyone.
$349+
Pros
- Smooth, fluid performance
- Great build quality
- Alert slider should be standard on all phones
- Did I mention the price?
Cons
- Some lingering software bugs
- Still no expandable storage
- No NFC means no mobile payments
- Fingerprint sensor/home button is hit-or-miss
I don't envy the team at OnePlus. After shipping a smartphone that made us rethink what we could get -- nay, what we deserved -- for $299, it was tasked with building an even better follow-up. If this were some schlocky '80s, teen coming-of-age film, it'd be time for a montage, but here we are a year later with a more confident, experienced startup and a new device that still promises to "never settle." At $329 for the basic 16GB model (or $389 for the 64GB version), the new OnePlus 2 isn't quite as wallet-friendly as the phone we got last year, and more than a few rivals have since come out with low-cost, high-power phones of their own. So, did OnePlus do the impossible again? Did it actually create a worthy sequel to a fan-favorite device, amid crazy competition in the world of cheap, fantastic unlocked phones? Well, yes, but it's not without its flaws.
