The OnePlus Two Might Be My New Favorite Phone

And I haven’t even used one yet. Considering everything that was announced yesterday during the OnePlus event, their tagline of “Never Settle” takes on a whole new meaning. Last year’s OnePlus was good. It was a $300 smartphone that fit into virtually everyone’s budget, but was built to be a flagship phone. It had specs that would rival some of its highest end Android competitors, and managed to steal some of the spotlight from the pure-bred Google Nexus devices. It was essentially the smartphone to beat, and may have even held the crown of being the best Android phone available, but the problem was…. Nobody else knew it.

OnePlus has a very ambitious business strategy, one that combines a very unique pre-order system with hardcore loyalty and an insanely low price. So the question now becomes, how can they top what they accomplished last year with a new model? Tech pundits predicted that it couldn’t be done, and if OnePlus did pull it off, they have to exponentially increase the price of their devices. Yesterday’s event showed us that not only is OnePlus capable of pulling it off, but they succeeded on raising the bar for everyone else in the process.

The tech specs on the OnePlus Two are nothing short of a dream. The device will be available in two different configurations at two different price points. The phone comes packing a full 1080p, 5.5 inch display, Type-C USB connection, a 13MP camera with dual tone flash and Optical Image Stabilization, a 5MP front facing camera, and a Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 processor. There will be a 16GB model with 3GB of RAM for $329 and a 64GB model with 4GB of RAM for $389. Yes, there is  a price increase, and yes it is every bit worth it. The technology available on this device will not only rival some of Android’s current finest phones, but it actually flat-out beats them. One of the best things about the OnePlus Two is the decision to include a Type C USB port which will eventually become the new charging standard.

As for looks, OnePlus will give buyers the ability to change the appearance of their device with replaceable back plates. There’s the OG granite back that last year’s users will be familiar with, along with three wooden options, and a Kevlar back similar to Motorola’s Droid line. On the inside, the device will ship with Android 5.1.1 but will sport the OnePlus Oxygen OS overlay for a distinctive look and vibe.

You can head over to the OnePlus website now to try to score an invite (good luck), and the phone will officially launch in the US, India, and Europe on August 11th.