In a world where smartphone brands like Samsung and Apple already existed, Chinese brand OnePlus took a bold step by introducing the world to a smartphone of its own. The company made its debut in the year 2013, with the main motive to make a high-end device with an affordable price range. And the company did just that! True to its tagline, “Never Settle”, the company brought to us the flagship killer OnePlus smartphones with amazing features and a price tag that was easy on the pockets. OnePlus has come a really long way since its first smartphone. Let’s take a look at how the smartphones have evolved since OnePlus One to the upcoming OnePlus 6.
OnePlus One
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OnePlus One was introduced in 2014. Unlike all other smartphones, which are easily available in the market, this smartphone required an invite for a buyer to place their order. However, it was the 64GB internal storage capacity that caught everyone’s attention. When most smartphones back in the day offered 32GB storage, OnePlus was offering a whopping 64GB at a reasonable price range. As for the design, the smartphone stood out from the rest of the other Android smartphones back in the day. OnePlus One sported a unique sandstone rear panel.
Other than that, the smartphone came with the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 processor. Additionally, with a 13-megapixel rear camera, the smartphone was able to capture some incredible images. If that wasn’t enough, the camera also had support for recording videos in 4K resolution and capturing images in burst mode. For a smartphone with features like most high-end devices, it was priced at Rs 21,000. A smartphone with an affordable price, don’t you think?
OnePlus 2
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The second smartphone by the company retained a lot of features from the first. Some of the similar features that we saw again were the sandstone finish and the storage capacity. Nevertheless, the company managed to make a lot of changes to its second smartphone. One key feature which was introduced was the ‘slider’. Positioned on the left side of the smartphone, the slider allowed users to switch between ring, silent and do not disturb mode.
On the other hand, another interesting feature was the introduction of the USB Type-C port. Back in 2015, a very few smartphones supported this port. So every OnePlus 2 user had to make sure to carry around their personal charger. Apart from that, the smartphone continued its support for 4K recording and came up with the new HDR mode.
OnePlus 3
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When compared to the first two flagship smartphones by the company, OnePlus 3 stood apart in terms of design. Instead of a sandstone finish, OnePlus 3 was the first smartphone by the company to sport a metal finish. Moreover, the rear panel also came with antenna lines on the top and bottom. Other than that, the phone also featured rounded edges which gave it a very classy look.
Moreover, the smartphone was also the first to come with ‘Dash Charging’. This allowed users to charge their OnePlus 3 smartphone in a matter of 30 minutes. Some of the other features included an upgraded Snapdragon 820 processor and 6GB RAM smartphone. During its launch, the smartphone was priced at Rs 27,999.
OnePlus 3T
This smartphone was an obvious upgraded variant of the OnePlus 3 smartphone. It made its debut 3–4 months after its predecessor. Some of the updates included- a better front camera, a bigger battery and an even more powerful processor. The company also launched a new 128GB storage variant of this smartphone which was priced at Rs 34,999. Similarly, the base variant was priced at Rs 29,999.
OnePlus 5
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OnePlus 5 created a buzz for being the first smartphone by the company to sport a dual rear camera setup. The setup included a 16-megapixel and 20-megapixel sensor with support for portrait mode. Apart from the vertically placed dual cameras, the smartphone came with the similar metal unibody design as its predecessors. Furthermore, the smartphone was fuelled by a powerful Snapdragon 835 processor. Even this smartphone was made available in two storage variants- 6GB RAM with 64GB of internal storage and 8GB of RAM with 128GB of internal storage.
OnePlus 5T
After seeing the success of the OnePlus 3T, the company decided to launch another updated variant called OnePlus 5T. Interestingly, OnePlus 5T was the first smartphone by the company to sport an 18:9 aspect ratio. This meant that the placement of the fingerprint scanner was moved to the rear panel. Other than that, the only other upgrade was the rear camera features. The update included support for low-light photography. With this phone, the company decided to go on a different track and launched a OnePlus 5T Star Wars Variant which was a treat for all the Star Wars fans.
OnePlus 6
This smartphone made its debut on May 16, 2018, in London. However, except for a complete design revamp, there is nothing that we haven’t seen before on the OnePlus devices. As for the design change, OnePlus has followed the most predictable notch display with rounded edges. What’s interesting is the glass design on the rear panel made of Corning Gorilla Glass 5. Additionally, we know that the smartphone runs on the latest Android OS. However, the device will also be compatible to download the Android P Beta build.
As for the specifications of the smartphone, it is powered by the superfast Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 processor. The smartphone is available in 6GB RAM (64GB storage, 8GB RAM (128GB storage) and 8GB RAM (256GB storage) variants. Apart from this, OnePlus has partnered with Disney to launch a OnePlus 6 Avengers Infinity War variant. The smartphone isn’t official yet, but we can expect it to launch soon.
Marvel Studio
All in all, we can say that the OnePlus smartphones are not designed to bring anything new but to do everything better. OnePlus smartphones are known for their amazing performance, usability and software. Maybe, that’s the main reason that OnePlus holds 48 percent premium market share in India. And what makes them even better is the mid-range price tag that they come with. Who wouldn’t want a smartphone with all the high-end features in an affordable budget, right? But what makes the OnePlus devices stand out from the rest is that they give the users exactly what they are looking for and that’s why the smartphones continue to prosper.