OnePlus X Review
With a premium body and average internals, what we have is a device that might be OnePlus's most compelling yet. With a price only starting at $250, it certainly sounds great, but is it?
The Pros and the Cons
The cons of the phone is that it has no NFC, no wireless charging, no fast Charging, no USB-C, and a Snapdragon 801 which is from 2014. But if you take all that aside the OnePlus X has a great design, marvellous display, battery above average, expandable storage, and a GREAT PRICE!
Design
The design is definitely the one of the most striking of the
OnePlus X. The OnePlus X has dual glass panels and a metal frame for that premium touch. There is a ceramic version of the phone available as well (only is Europe), where the back is made with a substantially heavier fire-baked ceramic material. However the glass-encased “Onyx” edition seen in this review is the one that most people with be able to buy. With the metal frame, there are a number of micro-cuts in it that contribute a lot to the handling experience. These micro-cuts don’t scrape or cut the skin and are not uncomfortable, but rather provide a secure feel when holding the device. On the right side of the phone is the power button that is below the dual SIM/microSD tray and the volume rocker. On the other side is a feature returning from the OnePlus 2, the Alert Slider which has a nice grip to it. At the bottom of the phone is a microUSB charging port, and despite appearances with two speaker grills, only the left grill houses a speaker. The 5-inch screen is just the right size for comfortable one-handed usage, and above it is the proximity sensor that helps trigger the Ambient Display feature. You will need to have a closer look to see the markings for the capacitive navigation keys below the display which are not backlit, and as mentioned during the unboxing. Onthe back, the OnePlus logo is in the center, with the camera nestled in the corner. The OnePlus X also has a 2525 MAH battery which is better then average.
Display
The OnePlus X features a 5-inch AMOLED display with a 1920 x 1080 resolution, resulting in a pixel density of 441 ppi. 1080P allows for the right kind of display experience for a phone like this, with some punched up colors due to the black levels of an AMOLED screen. Text is sharp enough for reading, and media looks really great as well. Brightness is also pretty high, and at the highest level, the white areas of the screen might actually be a little blinding even in normal lighting conditions. OnePlus with it's AMOLED display has taken advantage of its Ambient Display mode, that can be triggered by waving your hand over the proximity sensor, with the screen then showing the a dimmed black and white version of the lockscreen for a quick glance at your notifications. The Oxygen OS theme is also set to Dark Mode by default, which is a really nice touch and allows for a battery life boost, by keeping the AMOLED screen from showing too many bright colors.
Performance
Under the glass-encased hood, the OnePlus X comes with a quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 processor, clocked at 2.3 GHz, and backed by the Adreno 330 GPU with 3 GB of RAM and 16GB of internal storage. This processor was from 2014 flagship standard. With daily tasks, like writing emails, listening to music, watching the occasional video, and general web browsing, the OnePlus X doesn’t skip a beat, and only when firing up the more recent graphically-intensive games is where you experience some slowdown.
Camera
The OnePlus X comes with a 13 MP rear camera that uses phase detection autofocus, comes with HDR mode, beauty mode and clear image mode. The OnePlus X also has a 8 MP front-facing shooter, that has a wide filled of view for all your friends to fit in the same photo. The camera application is the same as the one found with the OnePlus 2, which uses swipes on the viewfinder in order to switch between various modes, including slow motion video, time lapse, and panorama. There isn’t much manual control available. Taking a look at the camera samples, we find the OnePlus X is great in good lighting conditions, but quality deteriorates as conditions worsen, like most cameras on the phone. The app is fast enough, getting shots done in a decent amount of time. Video is average but can get choppy at times.
Software
On the software side of things, we have the return of the OnePlus built Oxygen OS, which brings a mostly stock-looking Android edition to the OnePlus X. It is really familiar, with a Lollipop inspired interface. Shelf, where frequent apps and favourite contacts, along with user-defined widgets, can be stored, which is off by default. More input options are available, with users given the choice between capacitive keys or on screen navigation keys, and gestures like double tap to wake and circle to open camera app are to be found as well. By highlighting the Dark Mode, OnePlus has taken that little step to make its version of Android a touch different from stock versions.
Conclusion
Even though you lose some features you still have to remember the price. With the OnePlus X priced at just $250 you get a premium body, above average battery, an AMOLED display and good internals makes this phone one of the best bang for your buck smartphones of the year. Of course, OnePlus’ famous invite system does return, but small windows for open sales will be available and then later becoming available to everyone in a month's time or so.
Specifications
Display: 5-inch display
1920 x 1080 resolution
Gorilla Glass 3
Processor: Qualcomm 2.3GHz Snapdragon 801 processor
GPU: Adreno 330
RAM: 3GB
Storage: 16GB
MicroSD: Up to 128GB
Connectivity: 2.4GHz b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0, GPS, GLONASS, BDS, LTE
SIM card: Nano SIM, dual compatible (but uses microSD slot)
Camera: 13MP ISOCELL 3M2 CMOS with f/2.2 rear cam, 8MP front cam
Battery: Non-removable 2,525 MAH LiPo battery
Software: Oxygen OS (based on Lollipop)
Dimensions: 140 x 69 x 6.9 mm, 138g for Onyx, 160g for Ceramic