5 reasons the OnePlus One could be your next smartphone

And 4 reasons to avoid it 

 

The OnePlus One could well be the surprise smartphone of 2014 with its low, low price and headline specs.
There's a lot to get excited about with the One, and we've highlighted the main reasons why you might want to think about parting with your cash and pick one up at the first opportunity.
It's not all good news though, as you'll find out later, as this budget blowout also has a few issues, so put that money back in your wallet... for now.

The price is right

The OnePlus One is cheap. Really cheap. Seriously - $299, £229 for a handset which has better specs than the Nexus 5 and matches the Samsung Galaxy S5, HTC One M8 and Sony Xperia Z2 in a number of areas is an absolute steal.
OnePlus has also put the rest of the market to shame with the pricing of the 64GB model, which is just $50, £40 (around $AU70) dearer than the 16GB variant - that really sticks it to the likes of Apple where you'll find a $200 (£160, AU$260) discrepancy between the 16GB and 64GB iPhone 5S.

You can feel the power

As we've alluded to, the OnePlus One comes very well equipped with a 2.5GHz quad-core Snapdragon 801 processor, 3GB of RAM, Adreno 330 GPU.
That puts it on a par with the Galaxy S5 and Xperia Z2 - handsets more than double the price of the humble OnePlus One - and it beats the One M8 which sports 2GB of RAM and a 2.3GHz 801 chip.

It's Android Jim, but not as you know it

At the heart of the OnePlus One you'll find Android 4.4.2 KitKat - the latest version of Google's platform. That in itself is good news, but this isn't your standard version of Android.
No, this is CyanogenMod 11S - a community driven program which embraces pure Android and enhances it with various additional features.
There's no heavy overlay like HTC's Sense or Samsung's TouchWiz; instead CyanogenMod is far more subtle in its implementation.

From app shortcuts integrated into the unlock mechanism and double tap for wake/sleep to a whole host of additional settings and greater personalisation options you really can tweak and tinker to your heart's content - something which will please those fed up with the more intrusive skins from the main manufacturers.

Something for your eyes

One of the main features that usually suffers when a manufacturer attempts to roll out a low cost, yet "high-end", handset is the screen. That isn't the case on the OnePlus One.
You get a 5.5-inch full HD display on the handset which gives a high level of detail, making your movies, games and even emails look splendid.
It's not quite as defined as its flagship rivals as their slightly smaller screens (ranging from 5 to 5.2 inches) allow for a higher pixel density, and colours can look a little washed out on the OnePlus in comparison. On its own though you're unlikely to have any complaints.

Check out this package

With a price this cheap we're obviously looking for areas where OnePlus has had to compromise on the One, but we're still at a loss.
As well as the power, screen and operating system you can also add a 13MP rear camera, 5MP front facing snapper, 4G, NFC, Bluetooth 4.1 and 3100mAh battery to the growing list of impressive specs.
The back cover comes off too - albeit with a bit of difficulty, and you have to remove the SIM tray first - allowing you to swap it for a different colour or texture.
OnePlus has promised a range of different covers for the One later this year and finishes include denim, wood, bamboo and kevlar. Make of that what you will.

4 reasons to avoid the OnePlus One

But it's not all roses and magic gravy with the OnePlus One, as the pre-production sample we've been playing with does still pack one or two issues that raised eyebrows when we delved a bit deeper.

The storage

The OnePlus One will no doubt pique the interest of many developers, tech enthusiasts and power users thanks to its CyanogenMod interface, and these are the type of users who will want as much storage as possible.
Plump for the 16GB "Silk White" One Plus One though and you actually only get 12GB of internal storage after you've taken the operating system into account.

That in itself wouldn't be an issue if there were a microSD slot - but alas you'll have no such joy on the One.
Of course there is always the 64GB "Sandstone Black" model, which is just $50/£40 dearer, but it still doesn't provide the flexibility of expandable storage. You could always get a USB-on-the-go adaptor to plug in a microSD card through the charging port, but that's not integrated into the phone.

The battery

The OnePlus One is lining up to be the go-to power handset on a budget, but anyone who wants a phone they can really hammer won't be too impressed at the fact you can't swap the battery out.
You can remove the rear cover of the One, but that's purely to swap it for a different colour. The 3100mAh battery may look removable, but it's not, so don't go trying to pry it away from the chassis. It'll end badly.

The size

It may be cheap, but the OnePlus isn't exactly small. That's hardly surprisingly considering it's packing a 5.5-inch display, but it does mean it can be a little unwieldy in the hand.
Those with smaller palms may struggle to properly manipulate the OnePlus One using a single paw, and even those with larger limbs will find two-handed typing far more secure.

The unknown

Who the hell is OnePlus? Well, okay, we know the answer to that one. It's a Chinese firm set up by ex-Oppo employees (another Chinese phone manufacturer).
The thing is, with such a low price tag and top end specs, the profit margin on each handset is likely to be minimal. Can a fledgling mobile manufacturer really sustain itself in the cut throat mobile market with such fine margins?
We fear for the longevity of the company, and the subsequent support of the OnePlus One. It's certainly more of a risk than buying from an already well established brand, although we've no reason to suspect this could happen with OnePlus at this stage.

We're currently awaiting our full review sample of the OnePlus One to see if it can be a real winner from left-field - the negative points we've outlined above are currently far outweighed by the positives, and if it can sustain this challenge then the likes of Samsung, Sony and HTC could have a real contender on their hands.
At the very least it will ask some questions as to why these larger brands are charging so much more for a flagship handset, and anything that keeps the smartphone market shaking is a good thing in our eyes.