1,499 yuan aims at social channels OnePlus Mobile X review

IT168 Review "If you are poor, you will change, if you change, you will be general, and if you are general, you will last." This is a common rule in almost every industry, and for smartphone manufacturers, this experience must be deeper. Whether you are a leader in the industry or a rising star, you must have gone through many trials and tribulations. OnePlus Technology is one of the lucky ones. In just two years, it has successfully built the OnePlus mobile phone brand. It has not only been welcomed by domestic users, but also gained international recognition. It has extended the brand structure a step forward in advance and has become one of the two mobile phone brands. A dark horse among domestic brands this year.

With the expansion of the brand structure, it is inevitable for OnePlus mobile phones to expand the existing product line. Repositioning the brand or creating new product ideas have become options for OnePlus, but this time OnePlus chose the latter. The new OnePlus phone Another test of the brand’s long-term planning. So what is the story behind this OnePlus phone x, and can it win high praise from domestic and foreign media again? Maybe you can get a glimpse of it from this article.

First of all, let’s briefly review the relevant features of this OnePlus phone Le texture, it also achieves an ultra-thin body of 6.9 mm and 138 grams, and the design is quite exquisite. As for the hardware, the 5-inch 1080p SuperAMOLED display, Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 processor, 2GB/3GB optional memory, 13 million pixels, dual SIM 4G and many other features are also currently mainstream, and the equipped Hydrogen OS 1.2 software It also has a simple and efficient interface. The price of the phone starts at 1,499 yuan (basic version), and ceramic version and standard version are available (1,599 yuan). Click to go directly to the official website to make an appointment

From the most practical point of view, the OnePlus Phone OnePlus 1 is priced at 1,699 yuan, and OnePlus 2 is priced at 1,999 yuan. The difference between the three seems not obvious. So why did OnePlus launch this product? What is the story behind it? Are there any differences between them?

Let’s try to solve a problem, why does OnePlus launch the X series instead of launching low-end products?

This problem is actually not difficult to understand. Since the launch of OnePlus mobile phones, it has positioned it in a "don't settle" pattern. The two generations of products currently on sale (OnePlus 1 and 2) have exquisite designs and mainstream configurations, and are equipped with personalized customization solutions. , precise positioning made OnePlus become another popular brand of Internet mobile phones in a short period of time. In order to continue the style of the original product line and ensure the established style of the brand, making the original series of products low-end is obviously not a long-term solution.

The launch of the X does not continue the style and ideas of the original product.

The price difference between OnePlus X (here refers to the 3GB memory version, 1,599 yuan) and OnePlus 2 is only 400 yuan. What is the original intention of such differentiation?

From now on Judging from online feedback, most users who have been paying attention to OnePlus before have doubts. It seems that OnePlus Phone In comparison with competing products from rival manufacturers, it seems that OnePlus Phone

Although OnePlus has not made a clear official statement, it is not difficult for us to guess. OnePlus 2 has not been able to achieve full supply so far. Its market concept and strategy determine that it will focus more on online channels, and social (offline) channels are only a platform for its marketing.

In order to expand the user base and capture more market share, OnePlus must launch a product that is friendly to the people and focuses on offline products, and uses it to supplement and improve the social platform, and the OnePlus Phone A heavy responsibility.

In addition, some users are wondering, which one is more worth buying, OnePlus The OnePlus 2 is still the most affordable flagship phone priced at 1,999 yuan.

With a price of 1,499 yuan, why does OnePlus Phone Such a processor platform is an embarrassment. Judging from the current products of the same price/level in the market, there are only a few processors to choose from, such as Helio X10 MT6795 series, Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 series, and Snapdragon 808 series. MediaTek is obviously not the first choice, and it does not meet the brand attributes of OnePlus. , OnePlus is still a loyal customer of Qualcomm. So in fact, only Snapdragon 801/808 is available. In this case, why not choose Snapdragon 808 and compete head-on with Xiaomi 4c? The main consideration here is the market and cost issues. Snapdragon 801 has a very mature solution, and It can easily achieve full network access, but the Snapdragon 808 is not only relatively more expensive (the chip costs about 350 yuan, twice as expensive as the 801), but the later software adjustment is not as stable as the former. Therefore, for a product that focuses on offline channels and requires distribution and volume, it is obviously not advisable from an economic and market perspective.

Of course, there are actually Snapdragon 615/617 options, but the performance of the former is slightly outdated, and the adaptation and optimization of the latter is relatively cumbersome. For the OnePlus mobile phone x that pursues practicality and stability, it is obviously not optimal. So although Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 is not the best choice, it is indeed the most economical, practical and stable solution for OnePlus at the moment. In addition, we have to make a special note about this chip. OnePlus X uses the early MSM8974AA. In fact, this is not as powerful as the MSM8974AC used on OnePlus 1, but in fact it is still the current mainstream level in terms of performance. . Of course, this chip is last year's masterpiece, so it may be slightly outdated in terms of attributes. For example, it is only a 32-bit platform, and subsequent updates will be relatively slow. However, from the perspective of offline channels, meeting comprehensive needs is not a problem.

We will not go into details about the performance of Snapdragon 801. Interested netizens can follow our previous article. The chip (MSM8974AA) scored around 45,000 points under AnTuTu software, and its performance remains the same. It is remarkable and is currently used in mid-range products of major manufacturers. At present, in addition to OnePlus X, it actually also includes ZUK Z1, OPPO N3 and other popular products with the same attributes.

Why is there obvious difference from previous OnePlus phones? OnePlus Phone In fact, this sentence also illustrates the fact that today’s thousand-yuan smartphones still have limitations in software user experience and appearance industrial design. In this era where Internet thinking is prevalent, how to ensure a perfect Internet user experience is obviously not something that can be solved by selling more machines worth a thousand yuan.

We have always said that being an ID designer for a flagship mobile phone is a blessing, but being a designer for a thousand-yuan phone is very painful. After all, it is difficult to let go of the huge mountain of cost that has been weighing on your shoulders. The designers are using their imagination to the fullest. Today, the price of OnePlus Phone What are its features?

First of all, OnePlus Phone X is OnePlus’ first dual 2.5D glass phone.

Liu Zuohu said at the press conference that many manufacturers are currently trying to make 2.5D curved protective glass thinner, but OnePlus believes that only a certain thickness of 2.5D curved glass can ensure the perfect curvature of the edge, which will be protected under light. The rendering effect is better, so this time OnePlus Phone (The current flagship OnePlus 2 is not equipped with this solution).

On the top of the front, the earpiece speaker, 8-megapixel front camera and light distance sensor are integrated. At present, more and more domestic mobile phone manufacturers are beginning to pay attention to the miniaturization and symmetry of the top opening. The top of OnePlus X also follows these two design ideas, and a polycarbonate strip is also designed between the metal frame and the protective glass. The ester isolation belt reduces the risk of the fuselage falling and breaking the screen. This design has also been used by manufacturers such as Apple and Huawei.

At the bottom of the fuselage, OnePlus Phone Is it similar to some brands? However, it is worth mentioning that OnePlus Phone Adding mobile phone X will also cause black borders around it. But considering that Super AMOLED has a better display effect and contributes a lot to making the body thinner, the problem of black borders is still acceptable.

On the back of the fuselage, a whole piece of 2.5D curved glass is also used. This time, the OnePlus mobile phone X also launched a special version of the ceramic back cover, the price has not yet been announced. We saw on the official website that currently only the white version of the OnePlus X is available for online pre-order, and the black version at the press conference may be postponed later. In fact, I think the black version is actually more beautiful.

On the top of the back, OnePlus X uses a 13-megapixel camera that supports phase focusing. Officials claim that it only takes 0.25 seconds from turning on the camera to capturing a photo. In fact, there are currently not many 13-megapixel phase focusing sensors in the industry. Therefore, the author speculates that OnePlus Phone X is likely to use Sony IMX258 or Samsung S5K3M2 sensor. In fact, the previous two generations of OnePlus mobile phones have designed the camera in the center of the fuselage, and the use of metal decorative rings has become one of the iconic designs of OnePlus mobile phones. This time, the OnePlus mobile phone X has the camera integrated into the fuselage. On the upper left, there are fundamental design differences with previous OnePlus products, which makes the author feel that the "OnePlus temperament" of the whole machine has been reduced a lot.

The top of the fuselage is equipped with a 3.5mm headphone jack and noise reduction microphone. The top of the fuselage is also an important reception and overflow channel for radio frequency signals such as WiFi, Bluetooth, and FM. This time, the OnePlus X also has two NMT nano-injection moldings on the top of the fuselage to ensure good antenna signals.

On the bottom of the fuselage, the antenna line is still designed using NMT nano-injection molding. And CNC technology is also used to make the sound control of the call microphone and speaker. But this time, OnePlus Phone But it is worth mentioning that the inner edges of the microUSB and 3.5mm headphone jacks are injection molded for insulation, and the workmanship is relatively rigorous. By the way, the data cable uses the same data cable as the OnePlus 1 generation.

On the side of the fuselage, it is equipped with a power button, an integrated volume button and a unique Do Not Disturb button for OnePlus phones. This button can be said to be the biggest appearance feature of the OnePlus X, and even the only one. status symbol. As for the overall metal frame design, in addition to using CNC, polishing, sandblasting and other processes commonly used in the industry, OnePlus also specially designed the so-called Arles texture.

In fact, the idea of ??designing textures on the frame has been implemented by many manufacturers before. The ones we are most familiar with are the Samsung Galaxy S5 and Samsung Note4. However, these models only implement texture design on the plastic frame, and it is rare to implement texture design on the metal frame. Both the look and feel have been improved. By the way, the 1,499 yuan basic version does not support this feature.

In terms of card slots, the OnePlus X uses a dual nanoSIM card slot design. One of the card slots can be used as a microSD card slot, which is quite conscientious. In terms of network, OnePlus Mobile In fact, there is no difficulty in implementing the full Netcom version on the Snapdragon 801 platform. OnePlus may have postponed the launch of the full Netcom version due to two considerations: 1. The market’s response to the OnePlus Phone X. 2. If the full Netcom version is launched at the same time, the price will definitely exceed 1,599 yuan, which is not cost-effective. It is very likely that the full Netcom version will be launched during the subsequent full-line sales.

At the end of the appearance industrial design section, the author would like to mention two values: 6.9mm and 138g. This is the thickness and weight of OnePlus Phone X, and OnePlus Phone X is also completely thin and light. Two words. Some users are worried that the thin and light design will affect the feel. In fact, I would like to say that the feel does not depend more on the weight, but on the material. When the human eye sees the material of the mobile phone, the brain will reflect the corresponding feel. That is to say, for mobile phones of the same weight, different materials of plastic, metal, and glass can reflect different feel. This is why the iPhone is very light but not It makes people feel light and cheap. In the same way, OnePlus Phone

In addition, I have to say that I don’t know whether it’s because OnePlus adopted a dual 2.5D glass design for the first time or for other reasons. I feel that OnePlus Phone It focuses on the design elements of offline channel brand products, but it is undeniable that the OnePlus X is indeed the most satisfying appearance among the recently launched mobile phones.

How does 13 million pixels perform? OnePlus Phone Both points will be reflected in the camera. For the camera to be easy to use, it must be quick to take pictures. This time, the OnePlus phone What makes it look good is the 84-degree wide-angle selfie with an 8-megapixel front-facing camera, which satisfies more users who love selfies. So with the rise of the Android camp, we will also conduct a simple comparison today on OnePlus X, OnePlus 2, and iPhone6s Plus.

▲Wood grain comparison under indoor desk lamp mode

▲Comparison of magazines under indoor desk lamp mode

According to OnePlus’s custom, past products will be compared with Apple models. This time we can also see that Apple’s camera adjustment method is simulated in terms of taking pictures. In the indoor table lamp sample, we can see that the OnePlus Phone At this point, we can see that the sample after soft adjustment will be darker than the flesh.

▲Outdoor night scene proofs

In addition, it can be clearly seen from the city lantern proofs that the low-light imaging of the OnePlus 2 is not ideal. This time, OnePlus phone But if we take a closer look, we will find that the local details of OnePlus X are not as good as those made by Apple, especially the carved wood behind the lantern, which still requires later efforts.

▲Details of outdoor night scene buildings

This time, the OnePlus phone But there will also be different differences between the two in terms of white balance.

OnePlus X is overall whiter under lighting, while OnePlus 2 is a bit yellowish. OnePlus 1 once said, “The white balance will make you tremble. OnePlus 2 has been upgraded from 100 to 273 scenes for accurate debugging. Now let’s look at OnePlus X’s higher white balance debugging.” layer.

▲Contrast between green and red indoor fruits

In the past, smartphones had a weakness in that red and green apples would appear white. From the sample photos, we can see that the two OnePlus phones are almost the same as the benchmark Apple, so their color reproduction capabilities are very good! But if you look carefully, we will also be divided into 123 among the three phones. First, the first. The first place must be the iPhone 6s Plus, which is worthless. It is almost exactly the same as what you see with the naked eye. The second place we think should be awarded to the OnePlus phone x, because its red color is not that bright, and the second place is. The third model OnePlus 2 will feel a bit reddish

▲OnePlus x sample ()

▲OnePlus x sample ()

▲OnePlus Mobile Phone x Sample ()

▲OnePlus Mobile Phone x Sample ()

▲OnePlus Mobile Phone x proof ()

▲One plus x proof ()

▲One plus x proof ()

In addition to the good photo effects, The PDAF phase focusing used by OnePlus Phone It is of great help to detect objects moving down or moving. In addition, due to the re-modulated white balance, the overall color transition of the sample is still very delicate. Of course, as a light flagship product, it is not equipped with dual-color temperature fill light and optical protection. The configurations such as camera shake are indeed regrettable, but from a comprehensive perspective, in October, when new phones are constantly being launched, focusing on the offline channel market, and priced in the 1500-2000 yuan price range, the OnePlus X is still good at taking pictures. It is worth recommending.

As the medium that interacts most frequently with users, the importance of customized OS to a mobile phone brand no longer needs to be emphasized, but as Lei Jun, a senior in the industry, said, do a good job. Customizing the OS is a “vast project.” If OnePlus is simply trying to earn some extra money from app downloads, it can just build an app store and then make a few top-level design themes. But that’s obviously not the case. "Don't settle for anything", so OnePlus is still gritting its teeth and doing this "vast project"

OnePlus OS will officially meet with everyone on May 28 this year, and the first batch will be officially pre-ordered. The installed model OnePlus 2 was launched in early August, while the older generation OnePlus 1 only officially tested Hydrogen OS on September 26th... After talking about so many time points, what we want to say is that the current OnePlus The development progress of the Hydrogen OS system is still relatively slow, so much so that at this OnePlus Phone different.

Sensory design of OnePlus X-Hydrogen OS:

Sensory design is the most prominent part of Hydrogen OS at present, and it is also a part that OnePlus can easily do well in the early stages of OS, including The interface design of icons, desktop wallpapers, menus, basic functions, etc. not only has its own unique style, but also makes small innovations like Hydrogen Window. Together, these greatly increase the recognition of Hydrogen OS.

▲Hydrogen Window

Hydrogen Window Dock: Hydrogen Window is simply to solve the world’s eighth largest “problem” that has only appeared in the past two years. Should mobile phones have it? wallpaper. Different manufacturers have different approaches. OnePlus' Hydrogen Window is a "compromise" approach, somewhat similar to the previous native Android system's photo frame widget (Hydrogen OS has canceled the widget function), but stretches the "photo frame" to a system level. On the surface, it seems that the upper two rows of the home screen are occupied by the "widgets" of the desktop wallpaper and clock.

But in fact, OnePlus has made more in-depth optimizations, such as automatically extracting and matching the interface background color based on the color of the hydrogen window wallpaper. The Dock bar has also been canceled on Hydrogen OS.

▲Hydrogen OS icon

OnePlus has tailored 16 system-level APP applications for Hydrogen OS, including browsers, music, app supermarkets, maps, weather, etc., each One is newly designed after the designer figured out the user's usage habits. The overall tone and color gamut are very consistent. In this regard, it is the same as the Meizu Flyme system.

▲OnePlus Weather

OnePlus Weather is also an item highlighted by Liu Zuohu in Hydrogen OS. Compared with ordinary weather, OnePlus Weather does a better job in dynamic weather display. For example, during thunderstorms, raindrops will tilt as the phone tilts, making full use of the role of the phone's hardware sensors.

▲Hydrogen OS charging status

The animation design of small feelings is best reflected in the charging interface. The dynamic effect of charging will change with the change of power, from red > orange > green Gradient changes slowly, very intuitive and lively.

▲Cross-border clock and recording interface

The clock is a very personalized functional interface design of Hydrogen OS. For many business people, jet lag is a very headache. , taking the United States as an example, there is still a daylight saving time problem. Whenever my colleagues in China ask me what time a certain event will be held in Beijing time, I always can't answer. With this interface, I don't have to worry so much. , in addition, the recording interface is also a good place to show dynamic design. The sound recorder wave of Hydrogen OS will adjust the amplitude according to the sound size.

OnePlus All of them can only be regarded as 60 points, such as Xiaomi MIUI's roaming and family photo albums, Meizu Flyme's daily notes, music/video resources, Huawei EMUI's Tianjitong, wallet, etc., these all require the help of a large number of external resources. It has its own user base to realize the ecosystem, and these are the areas where Hydrogen OS is relatively lacking at this stage, so its functions and services are still relatively weak compared to first-tier domestic brands.

▲The life functions in the phone can provide various services over the phone or online

In terms of phone calls, major mobile phone manufacturers are no longer satisfied with services such as call attribution and harassment rejection. , but have added yellow pages functions based on LBS to the phone functions. Hydrogen OS has also added this feature. Through cooperation with Express Assistant, Grape Life, Guevara, Qunar, etc., it provides functions such as checking express delivery, recharging, movie tickets, and airplane tickets.

▲Card-style text messages and folder animation menu effects

Card-style text messages: There is another function on Hydrogen OS that needs to be discussed separately, which is card-style text messages. With the popularity of free SNS software such as WeChat and the decline of network bandwidth and tariffs, text messages have begun to gradually withdraw from the stage of history. But at present, non-point-to-point information reminders are still the biggest reason for the existence of text messages. Various notification text messages, such as booking information, shopping vouchers, etc., are still sent to users in the form of text messages. For these fixed-format text messages, OnePlus has adopted a method of streamlining, extracting the main content, and generating a card-style format that is more easily accepted. And by identifying the text message content, the corresponding APP can be opened directly on the card for operation.

For more information about OnePlus OS, we have already made an in-depth introduction when OnePlus 2 was released. Since there are not many differences between the OnePlus X and OnePlus 2’s Hydrogen OS, Same, so you might as well click on the video above to review it.

I believe that after reading the previous long review article, you will still have some unsolved problems in your mind that have not been mentioned previously. By observing OnePlus Mobile’s official Weibo and OnePlus Mobile’s official forum and other communities, the author collected several major questions that users are concerned about, and summarized the answers one by one to facilitate everyone to better understand this product.

Has the Hydrogen OS used by OnePlus X been upgraded?

At the press conference, Liu Zuohu did not explain the upgrade of Hydrogen OS in too much length. According to the author's personal experience, the current hydrogen OS software version has indeed been greatly improved compared to the hydrogen OS when OnePlus 2 was first released, especially in the repair of software bugs. In addition, there have been many improvements in the smoothness of operation. There are no major problems in daily use. However, after long-term use, the software will still freeze and the transition animation will drop frames. If you are not a mobile phone enthusiast, or you are relatively familiar with mobile phone software, it is still not recommended. The stability of the system is still not comparable to established products such as MIUI and Flyme.

Does OnePlus X support Type-c?

It is a pity that OnePlus X does not use the Type-C port. There are probably two reasons for this. First of all, this phone is positioned as a mid-range product. Since the price is controlled within 1,500 yuan, most mobile phone manufacturers only put Type-c ports in their flagship phones, not mid-range models. For example, Meizu PRO 5 and Meizu MX5 are good examples. There is another reason. The appearance design of OnePlus Phone X is indeed very similar to that of OPPO phones. This also inevitably makes people think about whether OPPO designers have joined the design team of OnePlus X this time. Since OPPO has not launched a mobile phone that supports Type-c before, this feature has not been included in OnePlus X. used in.

Does OnePlus X support fast charging technology?

OnePlus X does not support fast charging technology and uses a more traditional 5V/2A power format on the power adapter. In addition, the battery capacity of OnePlus X is 2525mAh, which is basically the average level of the market at this thickness and size. However, due to the obvious advantages of AMOLED screens in terms of power saving, and the minimalist design concept of Hydrogen OS, there are no redundant bundled software, so the theoretical battery life is still good. But how it performs in terms of battery life, we will introduce it to you in detail in a later special evaluation.

When will the full Netcom version of OnePlus X be launched?

Although Liu Zuohu talked about launching a 4G full Netcom version at the launch of OnePlus Mobile X, he did not disclose when this version will be launched. It is also worth mentioning that when browsing the official website of OnePlus mobile phones, the author found that the subsequent all-Netcom version is not a dual-card slot that can use all networks at will, but a traditional 4G GSM solution, and when telecommunications cards are involved , China Telecom can only use it as the main card, and the secondary card is GSM. This is consistent with previous dual-card mobile phones, and there is no special treatment.

Has the price of the OnePlus X ceramic version been announced?

The official price of the OnePlus X ceramic version has not been announced. Since the production process of this material is more difficult than that of ordinary glass, it is unknown whether there will be technical difficulties in quality control during mass production. Therefore, it is relatively safer to price and start selling when the supply is sufficient. Therefore, the price of the ceramic OnePlus Phone X was not given at this press conference.

Is OnePlus Phone X worth buying?

In the author’s opinion, OnePlus X is more inclined to social channels than OnePlus 2, which is what we often call the offline market. It is no longer built for geeks who love digital technology, but more in line with public aesthetics, especially female aesthetics. After all, OnePlus 2 is indeed too masculine. OnePlus needs a mobile phone for most consumers, so OnePlus X was born.

It is indeed very good in terms of appearance, comparable to traditional mobile phone manufacturers such as OPPO and vivo. However, when it comes to the stability and functional perfection of the system, there is indeed a lot of room for improvement, which requires software development and technical precipitation over a long period of time in the future.

Therefore, if you are more pursuing the appearance design of mobile phones, then OnePlus Phone X is a good choice. If you are more pursuing the stability of the system and want the phone to be more practical, then the OnePlus Phone X is not the most worth buying product at the price of 1,499 yuan. In terms of cost performance alone, OnePlus 2 is more worth buying.

When will OnePlus X go on sale?

Currently, OnePlus Mobile The first batch of OnePlus mobile phones X*** available for purchase are divided into two options: basic version and standard version. The former is 2GB RAM and 16GB ROM, and the middle frame of the fuselage does not have a 14-channel fine Arles texture design; the latter is a 3GB RAM 16GB ROM, and has a 14-channel fine Arles texture design. Click on the official website for reservation details

In two years of exploring the Internet, we can see that OnePlus is constantly trying to change, whether it is from OnePlus 1, OnePlus 2 or this OnePlus x, products The brand exploration reflected by the changes is very obvious. As a rising star of the Internet, OnePlus is trying to find a fast and efficient route to achieve rapid brand breakthroughs. This is not a bad thing for the growing OnePlus mobile phone, but how to weigh the brand and users well may OnePlus have to bear more market effects in the future.

From a product perspective, this OnePlus phone X has double-sided 2.5D glass, a delicate metal frame, a personalized back cover, and the overall design style is quite sophisticated. The hardware is also fairly mainstream, with a 5-inch 1080p AMOLED display, Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 processor, optional 2GB/3GB running memory, 2525 mAh battery, etc., coupled with OnePlus’ unique Hydrogen OS interface, its comprehensive Quality can definitely afford the price of 1,499 yuan through social channels.

Although OnePlus Phone , service is the idea, but this part of the user group relies heavily on software services and experience, and the simple and efficient hydrogen OS interface needs to continue to improve in this regard, and the customization and modification of software are far inferior to other third-party systems (MIUI, Flyme, EUI, etc.), are not friendly enough in many aspects such as multimedia video, local life, business applications, camera ease of use, etc., and this will take a long time to improve.

So for the question of whether OnePlus Phone If you already have a deep understanding of mobile phones and can build a smart application environment by yourself, then it is still worth recommending. If you just want a simple and easy-to-use product, OnePlus Phone

Note: The prototype evaluated in this article is the OnePlus Mobile Represents final device properties. (IT168 Leng Xi/2015.10.31)