2016-01-12, 00:06
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Click to see part 1 of the review
Who are they: OnePlus jumped on the scene about a year back with their premium specced OnePlus One. This mobile shook things up with their marketing approach; by selling the phone through invite codes only, they generated huge buzz around their phone. Enough buzz that many common consumers, who knew nothing of China phones, ended up knowing the brand name.
Since their big release of the OnePlus One, they've also released the OnePlus Two and the more budget friendly OnePlus X.
I'll also address whether stepping up into this price range and amount of power is worth it. Let's get it on.
OnePlus X style and build
There's no getting around this-- the OnePlus X looks great; there's a physical switch on the side ala iPhone 6, the sides/top/frame are CNC line-textured metal, and both the back and front are glass. It's also super thin at 7.5mm. This is a phone designed from the outset to compete looks-wise with premium mobiles. It's a phone that will have people saying "wow", and "how much?".
The back being glass, the black version shows some fairly nasty fingerprints, but they do include a soft case, which I'm guessing many people will be protecting their phones with. Somewhat negates the cool glass back, but at least we have a choice whether to keep it clean (or not) and show it off, or put it in a case.
The white one doesn't suffer from this. While of course it picks up fingerprints the same as black, they're invisible unless inspecting from the right angle.
The SIM/TF SD slot is in the the side of the phone, and melds nearly seam-free excepting the tray release hole.
I'm of two minds regarding the 2.5D front glass. While it looks good, due to the curved edges, screen protectors can't cover the entire area. I would prefer flat glass and a 2.5D glass screen protector, but this is a nitpick; the area that matters-- the glass directly covering the display, is covered by the included screen protector.
The physical switch on the left side controls notification preference between silent (DND), vibrate, and sound. While this seems a bit of an "iPhone 6 me-too feature", I think many people will find it useful to quickly switch it to silent before drifting to sleep.
The packaging presentation of the OnePlus X is overall premium. In the box is a heavy-duty ribbon micro-USB cable, a 2A AC adapter, the SIM tray key, manual and a few other official type inserts from OnePlus.
The power buttons and volume buttons give tactile, audible clicks when pressed, and the side-switch feels sturdy and clicks surely into its three positions. Overall, the OnePlus X, despite its slim profile, feels solid and well built, partially owing to the glass back which gives it some additional heft.
OnePlus also opted to stick with standard micro-USB as opposed to USB-C / USB3.1. I like this decision, as no matter where you go, you'll likely have an easy time finding a nearby compatible charger should you need it.
OnePlus X display
The AMOLED type displays also offer true black, which gives rich contrast, and when using dark themes can give us a nice step up in battery life.
At its brightest, the OPX reaches a Gizbeat record smashing 503 lux when measuring a pure white background. At its dimmest, the OPX hits an excellent 4 lux, and with adaptive brightness enabled goes as low as 1 lux. This is excellent news for those of you who spend a lot of bed-time with your mobiles.
OnePlus X Antutu
As mentioned previously, OnePlus touts a 50k+ score for Antutu. Running the test 2x on Antutu 6, the OPX 46k+, while on Antutu 5, again ran 2x, the OPX scored 40k. Not hitting the 50k mark as touted by OnePlus, but it's close enough and easily powerful enough to play modern games and offer a smooth 1080P Android experience.
OnePlus X GPS
GPS on the OnePlus X is great, cold-locking in seconds and maintaining high-30's to low 40's SNR at all times on multiple satellites.
OnePlus X@Gearbest.
So far, so good. The OnePlus X looks like it will be a winner. Slick and compact, a great display and strong GPS. In the second and final part of the review I'll have image samples from its IMX258 camera, my experience with the OS, battery life results, battery charging results, closing thoughts and more. To save you suspense, this is a phone I'll be recommending.
OnePlus X vs Mi4c battery test
OnePlus X at Gearbest.com
Who are they: OnePlus jumped on the scene about a year back with their premium specced OnePlus One. This mobile shook things up with their marketing approach; by selling the phone through invite codes only, they generated huge buzz around their phone. Enough buzz that many common consumers, who knew nothing of China phones, ended up knowing the brand name.
Since their big release of the OnePlus One, they've also released the OnePlus Two and the more budget friendly OnePlus X.
OnePlus claims the OPX hits 50k+The competition: In terms of competition sizewise and pricewise, the OnePlus X is pit against such phones as Xiaomi Mi4i, Xiaomi Mi4c, Sony Xperia M4, Samsung J7, Asus Zenfone 2, and Lenovo Vibe. These phones are all sitting in the $200-$300 range. Some of them offer a healthy boost in performance in comparison to the $100-200 budget mobiles; at least, according to Antutu. Speaking of Antutu, OnePlus claims the OPX hits 50k+ and we'll see whether that claim is met later in the review.
I'll also address whether stepping up into this price range and amount of power is worth it. Let's get it on.
OnePlus X style and build
There's no getting around this-- the OnePlus X looks great; there's a physical switch on the side ala iPhone 6, the sides/top/frame are CNC line-textured metal, and both the back and front are glass. It's also super thin at 7.5mm. This is a phone designed from the outset to compete looks-wise with premium mobiles. It's a phone that will have people saying "wow", and "how much?".
The back being glass, the black version shows some fairly nasty fingerprints, but they do include a soft case, which I'm guessing many people will be protecting their phones with. Somewhat negates the cool glass back, but at least we have a choice whether to keep it clean (or not) and show it off, or put it in a case.
The white one doesn't suffer from this. While of course it picks up fingerprints the same as black, they're invisible unless inspecting from the right angle.
The SIM/TF SD slot is in the the side of the phone, and melds nearly seam-free excepting the tray release hole.
I'm of two minds regarding the 2.5D front glass. While it looks good, due to the curved edges, screen protectors can't cover the entire area. I would prefer flat glass and a 2.5D glass screen protector, but this is a nitpick; the area that matters-- the glass directly covering the display, is covered by the included screen protector.
The physical switch on the left side controls notification preference between silent (DND), vibrate, and sound. While this seems a bit of an "iPhone 6 me-too feature", I think many people will find it useful to quickly switch it to silent before drifting to sleep.
there are no capacitive button lightsAs has become the trend with many recently released mobiles, there are no capacitive button lights. A design decision by OnePlus that I applaud.
The packaging presentation of the OnePlus X is overall premium. In the box is a heavy-duty ribbon micro-USB cable, a 2A AC adapter, the SIM tray key, manual and a few other official type inserts from OnePlus.
The power buttons and volume buttons give tactile, audible clicks when pressed, and the side-switch feels sturdy and clicks surely into its three positions. Overall, the OnePlus X, despite its slim profile, feels solid and well built, partially owing to the glass back which gives it some additional heft.
OnePlus also opted to stick with standard micro-USB as opposed to USB-C / USB3.1. I like this decision, as no matter where you go, you'll likely have an easy time finding a nearby compatible charger should you need it.
OnePlus X display
AMOLED type displays also offer true blackThe display on the OnePlus X is AMOLED IPS OGS 5.0"@1080P, which gives us a retina PPI of 440. Being AMOLED, the display is beautiful, maintaining color and contrast from all angles; even the extreme diagonals maintain perfect color and contrast. OnePlus used a top-notch display for the OPX.
The AMOLED type displays also offer true black, which gives rich contrast, and when using dark themes can give us a nice step up in battery life.
At its brightest, the OPX reaches a Gizbeat record smashing 503 lux when measuring a pure white background. At its dimmest, the OPX hits an excellent 4 lux, and with adaptive brightness enabled goes as low as 1 lux. This is excellent news for those of you who spend a lot of bed-time with your mobiles.
OnePlus X Antutu
As mentioned previously, OnePlus touts a 50k+ score for Antutu. Running the test 2x on Antutu 6, the OPX 46k+, while on Antutu 5, again ran 2x, the OPX scored 40k. Not hitting the 50k mark as touted by OnePlus, but it's close enough and easily powerful enough to play modern games and offer a smooth 1080P Android experience.
OnePlus X GPS
GPS on the OnePlus X is great, cold-locking in seconds and maintaining high-30's to low 40's SNR at all times on multiple satellites.
| Full reviews to consider |
|---|
| Doogee F5 |
| Mi4i 2GB/32GB |
| Lenovo K3 |
| Redmi 2 Pro |
| Mlais MX Base |
 |
So far, so good. The OnePlus X looks like it will be a winner. Slick and compact, a great display and strong GPS. In the second and final part of the review I'll have image samples from its IMX258 camera, my experience with the OS, battery life results, battery charging results, closing thoughts and more. To save you suspense, this is a phone I'll be recommending.
OnePlus X forum, how to install adb, TWRP, root, CyanogenMod 12.1
