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OnePlus 2 rumor round-up: features, specs, price and release date

By Peter Kostadinov

Updated: Jun 18, 2015, 6:05 AM

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Android

OnePlus 2 rumor round-up: features, specs, price and release date

Thanks to a vast selection of marketing schemes and stunts, OnePlus acquired a lot of popularity even before its first product got announced and launched, despite being merely a startup. The device in question, the OnePlus One, was advertised as being a "flagship killer", and if we judge by its hardware specs and pricing, it is pretty safe to say that no other phone offered the same bang for buck at the time. No one can argue with that.

There was a really big fly in the ointment, though - the extremely limited, invite-based availability of the OnePlus One in the first few months it was sold made it pretty tricky to lay your hands on one. This, along with the several screw-ups that OnePlus came up with, was among the reasons for its slightly waning popularity.

Yesterday, it became clear that OnePlus will once again release tidbits of information about its next device, the OnePlus 2. We already have a piece of confirmed hardware that will power the next flagship killer. But more on that later.

Design

Design-wise, there is little we know about the device. Actually, the company already hinted at the design of the device, showing both an engineer test unit and another image depicting the silhouette of the OnePlus 2: both are suggesting that it will mostly resemble its predecessor. Carl Pei, the co-founder of the company, put some additional oil in the fire by hinting that the next OnePlus 2 might be targeted at a "different type of audience", one that puts "design before specs".

Size-wise, the OnePlus 2 will probably not differ much from the OnePlus One. We layered the images of the two phones one over the other and it turns out that the proportions are mostly the same.

We can say nothing about the build materials - we shouldn't rule out the possibility that OnePlus could use metal in the exterior, bringing its second OnePlus on par with the more popular phones.

As far as the rear cover is concerned, we should probably expect some diversity. Just like the original OnePlus, which came with a smooth-finished white and a sandstone black rear cover, the OnePlus 2 will most probably follow suit. If it doesn't come with a metal one, that is.

Display

If we put an ear close to the ground, we will quickly learn that the OnePlus 2 will either come with a 5.5-inch or a 5.7-inch display. Yet, the majority of rumors is mostly inclined towards the smaller option. While we don't expect a bump in display size, we do so for the display resolution.

With Quad HD already the norm in the top-end segment, we are expecting OnePlus to put such a high-res display on the OnePlus 2. Of course, this is pure speculation and we should not entirely rule out the possibility of a 1080p display.

Chipset

It has already been confirmed that the OnePlus 2 will sport the revised version of the top-end Qualcomm chip. An octa-core Snapdragon 810 v2.1 will be clicking and ticking inside the phone, and while it's pretty snappy and offers admirable performance, the overheating and throttling issues plaguing the silicon chip are certainly worrying most tech-savvy consumers.

The manufacturer, obviously aware of these concerns, quickly tried to shoot them down by revealing that the OnePlus 2 will come with a thermal gel coating and graphite inside; both of these will aim to dissipate the accumulated heat away.

It is also said that OnePlus doesn't intend to throttle the chipset and reduce its prowess the way HTC did with a software update for its One M9. Will all of this be enough to keep the OnePlus 2 cool and snappy? The company says that "after rigorous testing, the OnePlus 2 meets the industry standard for phone temperature, even with hours of use".

Memory, camera, battery

The OnePlus One came with 3GB of RAM and its successor is likely to either follow suit or step up its game even further - after all, phones with 4GB of RAM are already on the market. 4 gigs of operational memory will certainly extend the future-proofness of the phone and will be an additional selling point.

As far as native storage is cconsidered, we should expect some 32GB of native storage in the basic storage, but most importantly, the rumor mill suggests that the OnePlus 2 will also come with a microSD card slot, a feature that was not present on its predecessor. A 64GB (or why not even an 128GB one?) is also expected.

The OnePlus 2 might score a spec bump in the image-taking department - we are expecting a 16MP camera unit to grace the rear of the OnePlus 2, whereas a 5MP one will most probably sit at the front of the device. This will probably pave the way for 4K video-recording.

Battery-wise, the OnePlus One surprised us pleasantly with the endurance of its 3,100mAh battery. The OnePlus 2 is expected to score a slightly larger 3,300nAh juicer at the back. Here's to hoping that will provide an even better battery life for the device.

Fingerprint scanner

With most of the major players already putting fingerprints scanners in their high-end phones, it is perfectly natural to expect OnePlus to also jump on the bandwagon. Indeed, the OnePlus Two is expected to come with a laser focus fingerprint identification system embedded in the home button. With the upcoming native fingerprint support in Android M, it will be even easier to make use of this security-orientated feature.

Price and release date

The OnePlus One should be announced sometime in Q3. Judging by the official sneak peeks that OnePlus is giving us, this should happen sometime before summer's end. As far as the release is concerned, the universally-despised invite system will be back, but this time, OnePlus is rumored to release more invites to the willing adopters of the phone. Hopefully, it is likely that OnePlus will drop the invite system for the OnePlus 2 sooner than it did for the OnePlus One.

Price-wise, we expect the OnePlus to be a bit more expensive than its predecessor. As a reminder, the initial pricing of the OnePlus One was as follows: $299 for the 16GB version and $349 for the 64GB one. The OnePlus 2 will probably not be as affordable, with the reason being the rumored improved design and improved specs.

Will all of this be enough to warrant a success for the never-settling company? We'll see.

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Peter, an experienced tech enthusiast at PhoneArena, is captivated by all things mobile. His impartial reviews and proficiency in Android systems offer readers valuable insights. Off-duty, he delves into the latest cryptocurrency trends and enjoys sci-fi and video games.