The much-touted OnePlus 2 has been officially unveiled, aiming to challenge current flagships from Samsung, Apple and LG, but does it have a chance?
Dubbed the "2016 flagship killer," the OnePlus 2 enters a highly competitive smartphone market and is expected to go head to head with flagship handsets such as the Samsung Galaxy S6, Apple iPhone 6 and LG G4, among others.
Let's have a brief look at specifications to see how the OnePlus 2 stacks up against these rivals.
Display
The OnePlus 2 sports a 5.5-inch LCD display with a full HD resolution of 1920 by 1080 pixels at 401 ppi, not the QHD resolution rumored before the official unveiling.
The iPhone 6, meanwhile, features a 4.7-inch LED-backlit IPS LCD display with a resolution of 1334 by 750 pixels at 326 ppi, with Ion-strengthened glass and oleophobic coating.
The Samsung Galaxy S6 boasts a 5.1-inch Super AMOLED display with a QHD resolution of 2560 by 1440 pixels at 577 ppi, complete with ultra-resistant Corning Gorilla Glass 4 on top.
Lastly, the LG G4 rocks a 5.5-inch IPS LCD display with a QHD resolution of 2560 by 1440 pixels at 538 ppi, with Gorilla Glass 3 protection.
Under the Hood: Processor, Graphics, RAM
The OnePlus 2 packs in a 64-bit octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 processor (quad 1.5Ghz Cortex-A53 + quad 2.0GHz Cortex-A57), paired with 3GB/4GB of RAM and Adreno 430 graphics.
The iPhone 6 comes with an Apple A8 processor (dual 1.4GHz Cyclone - ARM v8-based), just 1GB of RAM and PowerVR GX6450 quad-core graphics.
The Samsung Galaxy S6 has an in-house Samsung Exynos 7420 octa-core processor (quad 1.5GHz Cortex-A53 + quad 2.1GHz Cortex-A57), 3GB of RAM and Mali T760MP8 graphics.
The LG G4 features a hexa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 808 processor (quad 1.44GHz Cortex-A53 + quad 1.82GHz Cortex-A57), 3GB of RAM and Adreno 418 graphics.
Storage
The OnePlus 2 comes with 16GB or 64GB of built-in storage capacity (available storage varies) and has no microSD support for additional storage.
The iPhone 6 comes in 16GB/ 64GB/ 128GB internal storage configurations, with no microSD card slot for additional memory.
The Samsung Galaxy S6 comes with either 32GB, 64GB or 128GB of built-in storage, also without microSD support.
The LG G4 comes in a single configuration with 32GB of internal storage, but is the only one of the bunch to feature microSD support for additional storage of up to 128GB.
Cameras
The OnePlus 2 features a 13-megapixel rear camera with Optical Image Stabilization (OIS), Laser Focus, and dual-LED flash, as well as a 5-megapixel selfie cam on the front.
The iPhone 6 has an 8-megapixel rear camera with phase detection autofocus, dual-LED (dual-tone) flash and a 1.2-megapixel front camera (FaceTime over Wi-Fi/ Cellular).
The Samsung Galaxy S6 rocks a 16-megapixel main camera with OIS, autofocus and LED flash, and a 5-megapixel front camera.
The LG G4 boasts a 16-megapixel rear camera with Laser Autofocus, OIS and LED flash, and an 8-megapixel front camera with 1080p video recording capabilities at 30 fps.
Connectivity
OnePlus 2 connectivity options include Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth 4.1, GPS with A-GPS, GLONASS, and USB Type-C reversible connector.
The iPhone 6 supports Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band, hotspot, Bluetooth 4.0, A2P, GPS with A-GPS and GLONASS, NFC (Apple Pay only), USB v2.0 reversible connector, and no radio.
The Samsung Galaxy S6 features Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band, Wi-Fi Direct, hotspot, Bluetooth 4.1, A2P, LE, apt-X, GPS with A-GPS and GLONASS, Beidou, NFC, Infrared, no radio, and microUSB 2.0, USB Host.
The LG G4 features Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band, Wi-Fi Direct, DLNA, hotspot, Bluetooth 4.1, A2P, LE, apt-X, GPS with A-GPS and GLONASS, NFC, Infrared, Stereo FM radio with RDS, and microUSB 2.0 (SlimPort 4K) and USB host.
Battery
The OnePlus 2 has a 3,300 mAh battery, the iPhone 6 features a 1,810 mAh battery, the Samsung Galaxy S6 comes with a 2,550 mAh battery with wireless charging capabilities (both Qi and PMA), while the LG G4 has a 3,000 mAh battery with fast-charging technology (Quick Charge 2.0) and optional wireless charging (Qi).
OS
The OnePlus 2 runs Oxygen OS based on Android 5.1 Lollipop, the iPhone 6 runs Apple's iOS 8 (upgradeable to iOS 8.4), the Samsung Galaxy S6 runs Android 5.0.2 Lollipop (upgradeable to v5.1.1) with TouchWiz UX on top, and the LG G4 runs Android 5.1 with LG Optimus UX 4.0 on top.
Fingerprint readers
The OnePlus 2, the Samsung Galaxy S6, and the iPhone 6 all come with fingerprint sensors, whereas the LG G4 doesn't. The iPhone 6 boasts Apple Pay, while the Samsung Galaxy S6's fingerprint reader is PayPal-certified and boasts Samsung Pay (Visa and MasterCard-certified). The OnePlus 2, meanwhile, also stands out from the crowd because it supports two nano-SIM cards.
Conclusion
All four of these smartphones aim to compete at the top-end segment of the smartphone market, and all of them have their strengths and weaknesses.
The Samsung Galaxy S6 could have the most powerful processor, considering the overheating issues plaguing the Snapdragon 810. The OnePlus 2, however, rocks 4GB of RAM, which is more than the other three smartphones have to offer. The camera tech on the LG G4, meanwhile, makes it stand out from the crowd, although its rivals can capture high-quality images as well.
Lastly, it's worth pointing out that the OnePlus 2 "2016 flagship killer" will be available on an invite-only system, just like its predecessor. Last year's OnePlus One received plenty of criticism for this invite-based approach, and it remains to be seen whether the new iteration will be more widely available.
In conclusion, all four smartphones have powerful flagship characteristics and the OnePlus 2 seems more than capable to stand up against its rivals, heating up competition even further. Pricing will likely play a big role as well, and the OnePlus has a huge advantage in this area: it costs $389, which is an extremely aggressive price for the specs it packs.
