Phones OnePlus 2 - initial thoughts

[0970373]

I signed up for a OnePlus 2 invite and it finally came in last week. I figured I'd try it out. It arrived a couple days ago and I've been playing with it and I really kind of like it. I had tried the Sony Z3 compact previously and it was ok. I wanted to try out a bigger phone and I have to say it's really nice for the price point. Android does much better with larger phones because of where you can place the icons. I love iOS but it's impossible for me to use the 6S+. OxygenOS also doesn't have a whole lot of bloatware like Samsung and Sony. It runs well, slight lag but I think I'm just in that using a bunch of stuff because it's new thing. I'm not sure of that yet.

The screen is nicer than I expected but the camera is worse than I thought it would be. I really like the dual SIM tray and will be great for travel. The fingerprint sensor has worked 8 out of 10 times, I'd say equal to the 6 in responsiveness. The 6S is much much faster on the fingerprint unlock.

What I like most about it is how it feels in your hand. It's very comfortable, much more so that other large phones I've held. The textured back makes for a nice grip.

I do wish it could use TMobile WiFi calling but I hear that might come with an update later. I'll cross my fingers for it. Overall, it's a keeper as my 2nd phone and it didn't hurt the pocket book too much for what you get.

UPDATE: The TiVO app can't seem to play back videos. It keeps saying that my phone has unauthorized modifications but it is definitely NOT rooted or modified in any way. This is a problem and I've reached out to both TiVO and the OnePlus folks.

 

[kasakka]

One of the things I appreciate about the big Oneplus phones is that despite being big phones they are quite comfortable to hold and I think part of that is that their dimensions are just a little bit smaller than much of the competition.

I decided against the Oneplus 2 and went for a used One instead because I don't want to deal with the Snapdragon 810's heat. All Oneplus models also have somewhat annoying capacitive buttons that require you hitting the icon quite precisely because the button is really only that area. I went with on screen buttons instead as they are also easier to reach.

The issue with big phones is that the OS is not taking into account the larger display. While turning the DPI settings down (and thus allowing more stuff on screen, don't know if OxygenOS has this) helps it's not ideal. You can still only cram maybe a few more icons on the home screens and browsing websites is very much the same as it is on a 5" phone.

 

[Tig Bitties]

OnePlus One, OnePlus 2 Marshmallow updates won’t happen until Q1 2016

http://phandroid.com/2015/11/16/oneplus-marshmallow-updates/

Why am I not surprised, but this is pretty crappy from OnePlus. Android 6.0 marshmallow was released in October, and OPO is shooting for most likely a February release for officially updating their phones to 6.0, which would be 4 to 5 months after Google released source. This is far worse then LG, HTC, and Samsung, which will have updated their current flagships from Dec to Jan.

I know you can flash CM13 ROM's, which I did on my backup OnePlus One phone, and it runs great, but that's not the point. OPO should officially support their phones better. I always looked at the OnePlus One as sort of Nexus 5.5 last year, and it runs AOSP type OS, and I just assumed it would be updated fairly close to a Nexus, maybe a month after Nexus devices get updated, and no way longer than Samsung takes to roll out updates.

I'm done with this company, F the OnePlus Three now.

 

[kasakka]

OnePlus One, OnePlus 2 Marshmallow updates won’t happen until Q1 2016

http://phandroid.com/2015/11/16/oneplus-marshmallow-updates/

Why am I not surprised, but this is pretty crappy from OnePlus. Android 6.0 marshmallow was released in October, and OPO is shooting for most likely a February release for officially updating their phones to 6.0, which would be 4 to 5 months after Google released source. This is far worse then LG, HTC, and Samsung, which will have updated their current flagships from Dec to Jan.

I know you can flash CM13 ROM's, which I did on my backup OnePlus One phone, and it runs great, but that's not the point. OPO should officially support their phones better. I always looked at the OnePlus One as sort of Nexus 5.5 last year, and it runs AOSP type OS, and I just assumed it would be updated fairly close to a Nexus, maybe a month after Nexus devices get updated, and no way longer than Samsung takes to roll out updates.

I'm done with this company, F the OnePlus Three now.

They're a very small company by comparison too and since they no longer have CyanogenOS support for anything except the One they have had to scramble to develop their own version (Oxygen OS). For the record Samsung also seems to be releasing Marshmallow updates from Jan to Feb.

Like said, if you can't wait for the official releases then just install a ROM from your favorite developer. I don't really see much useful features in Marshmallow beyond doze mode and the fingerprint API which is of no use on anything but the Oneplus Two.

 

[0970373]

OnePlus One, OnePlus 2 Marshmallow updates won’t happen until Q1 2016

http://phandroid.com/2015/11/16/oneplus-marshmallow-updates/

Why am I not surprised, but this is pretty crappy from OnePlus. Android 6.0 marshmallow was released in October, and OPO is shooting for most likely a February release for officially updating their phones to 6.0, which would be 4 to 5 months after Google released source. This is far worse then LG, HTC, and Samsung, which will have updated their current flagships from Dec to Jan.

I know you can flash CM13 ROM's, which I did on my backup OnePlus One phone, and it runs great, but that's not the point. OPO should officially support their phones better. I always looked at the OnePlus One as sort of Nexus 5.5 last year, and it runs AOSP type OS, and I just assumed it would be updated fairly close to a Nexus, maybe a month after Nexus devices get updated, and no way longer than Samsung takes to roll out updates.

I'm done with this company, F the OnePlus Three now.

The Sony took 6+ months to be upgraded so 4-5 months isn't so bad. This is the problem with Android in general and why it can't ever be my primary phone. As a secondary phone, I'm enjoying it.

 

[Neverbepeace]

Thought about getting the Oneplus 2. I think I'll try the Oneplus X instead.