The #HYPE is certainly over and we are finally feasting our eyes on the actual details of OnePlus's new 2016 Flagship Killer, the OnePlus 2. After weeks of teasing by the company itself and some days filled with leaked images of the device, the OnePlus 2 is officially here and the company is confident that it'll pose a risk even to upcoming smartphones. Just as expected the device comes with a set of flagship worthy specifications which include the Snapdragon 810 CPU in the V2.1 revision, 4GB of LPDDR4 RAM, 16/64GB of internal storage, the reversible USB Type-C port and a 5.5" 1080P display.
OnePlus said that they did not opt to go with a 2K display because it does not give any visual benefits to the human eye and the 1080P display is included to help preserve battery life. Speaking of battery life, the OnePlus 2 comes with an even larger 3,300mAh battery that is non-removable.

Beneath the swap-able back covers which OnePlus plans to offer is an interesting inclusion to a flagship android smartphone, dual SIM card slots. The OnePlus 2 features dual nano SIM card slots which is both capable of connecting to 4G networks at the same time. In between all of that, there is the new 13MP camera which at first doesn't sound like a major upgrade over the original OnePlus One but the company made some changes in the optics.



The OnePlus 2 comes with a 13MP camera sensor that is 1.3 microns big and that itself is bigger than standard smartphone sensor but it's still smaller when you compare it with other camera oriented smartphones out there. With the bigger sensor size, the OnePlus 2 is able to take better low light images and besides that, the camera is also aided with an OIS system to help stabilize video and also provide stability for low light photography. Additionally, the OnePlus 2's new and improved 13MP camera is also paired with a laser autofocus system which helps it focus in just 0.2s.

Beyond all the impressive internal hardware, the OnePlus 2 is also a pretty sleek looking device with a premium steel frame with a subdued color. Like before, the back of the OnePlus 2 is removable and the company will be offering a couple of StyleSwap covers if the user wants more than the sandstone black back cover that the device comes with.

Like all flagship smartphones, or any smartphone in general, the OnePlus two comes with a volume rocker and power button but in addition to that, OnePlus has also engineered a third button which they're calling an Alert Slider which will automatically change your notification priority into three separate modes. This is a pretty interesting concept for a physical button that manages notifications.


Looking at the front of the OnePlus 2, the company kept the clean slate look from the OnePlus One by keeping the front clean from any branding but with the new OnePlus 2, the front of the display now comes with a button on the bottom. That is indeed a fingerprint sensor on the bottom and it'll work with various software enhancements made into Oxygen OS.

In the software side of things, the OnePlus 2 is rocking Oxygen OS which is not stock android but OnePlus says their software package includes improvement which will benefit the user and one of them is the ability to choose between capaciticitive keys or on-screen keys. The launcher itself looks like stock android and Oxygen OS does allow you to put a custom icon theme over the launcher.

As for pricing and availability, the OnePlus 2 will again feature the invite system and you will need to grab hold of an invite in order to actually buy the smartphone. But the company assures that invites will be thrown out quicker this time as they ramp up production. Like before OnePlus will be offering both 16 and 64GB storage options and do not that the OnePlus 2 doesn't come with a microSD card slot.

It'll be $329  (~RM 1,255) for the 16GB model and $389 (~RM 1,483) for the higher end 64GB model. The price is just a little bit more than the OnePlus One and overall, the OnePlus 2 does look like a good deal. OnePlus says they will start shipping orders to the US, India, and Europe starting August 11 and the device will arrive in Asia by Q4 2015. Given that Maxis recently partnered up with OnePlus to be the first to offer the OnePlus One without an invite, i'm confident that Maxis will try to secure a deal like that.