The OnePlus 2 pushes the boundaries of how cheap a flagship phone can be • Hacker News Board

Re: The OnePlus 2 pushes the boundaries of how cheap a flagship phone can be

#51

Post by tdkl » Tue, Jul 28, 2015, 9:00 AM UTC

kijin wrote: post #12

Give me a 4.5-inch phone with slightly lower specs (a battery-saving 720p screen would be enough at that size) for less than $300, and I'm sold. For the time being, though, I'm going to wait out the "my phone is bigger than your dick" game that everyone and their dog seems to be engaged in. 175 grams is way too heavy to carry around in a pocket, let alone hold with one hand for more than a few minutes. And yet everyo…

Sony z3 compact is the one you're looking for. Sadly it's one of the dying breed of non huge phones with flagship specs and good software (just don't upgrade to Lollipop, it's junk).

Re: The OnePlus 2 pushes the boundaries of how cheap a flagship phone can be

#52

Post by jkot » Tue, Jul 28, 2015, 9:04 AM UTC

kijin wrote: post #12

Give me a 4.5-inch phone with slightly lower specs (a battery-saving 720p screen would be enough at that size) for less than $300, and I'm sold. For the time being, though, I'm going to wait out the "my phone is bigger than your dick" game that everyone and their dog seems to be engaged in. 175 grams is way too heavy to carry around in a pocket, let alone hold with one hand for more than a few minutes. And yet everyo…

Sony has some decent options. I just switched to 'stupid' Nokia.

Re: The OnePlus 2 pushes the boundaries of how cheap a flagship phone can be

#53

Post by icelancer » Tue, Jul 28, 2015, 9:13 AM UTC

smcl wrote: post #44

Is anyone else in the "My perfect phone would be my current one but with a battery that easily lasts 3+ days" boat? I've currently got an iPhone 5S, and I can achieve this with those portable USB chargers. I've no need for any of the other features which new generations of smartphones are adding (multi-core\multi-ghz processors, huge amounts of RAM etc), though there's perhaps a killer app round the corner which will…

When mobile OS gets good enough to export HDMI (and a docking bay) and use it as a desktop-type replacement, then I'll want a more badass phone. Unfortunately the thing I care about the most (slow-motion / high frame rate video recording) isn't being pushed by anyone but Apple, which means the current 120/240 FPS sensors that Apple uses will be the peak of technology. Very disappointed Android or others didn't push this; it has implications for machine vision and other externalities that make the price of some of the most interesting tech (high sampling rate video for computer vision and other related industries).

Oh well.

Re: The OnePlus 2 pushes the boundaries of how cheap a flagship phone can be

#54

Post by slowmotiony » Tue, Jul 28, 2015, 9:17 AM UTC

userbinator wrote: post #32

TeMPOraL wrote: post #17

I'm completely disappointed with the way phone market evolves. I don't want a cheap phone, I want a phone that works. I want my phone to have enough memory and processing power to handle its operating system without hiccups. It is ridiculous that even a $700 phone can just start lagging on you. I want my phone to have it all - Bluetooth, WiFi, IrDA, accelerometer, thermometer, barometer, SD card, double SIM, removabl…

It is ridiculous that even a $700 phone can just start lagging on you IMHO the blame for that lies with the software, not the hardware. Android is basically the realisation of the original Java OS, but on hardware fast enough that its performance has become "acceptable" - most of the time. As for the other features; Bluetooth, WiFi, accelerometer (and compass/magnetometer), SD, dual-SIM, and removable battery are pre…

Can you recommend a good chinese phone with similar specs that I could find on aliexpress?

Re: The OnePlus 2 pushes the boundaries of how cheap a flagship phone can be

#55

Post by crdb » Tue, Jul 28, 2015, 9:18 AM UTC

smcl wrote: post #44

Is anyone else in the "My perfect phone would be my current one but with a battery that easily lasts 3+ days" boat? I've currently got an iPhone 5S, and I can achieve this with those portable USB chargers. I've no need for any of the other features which new generations of smartphones are adding (multi-core\multi-ghz processors, huge amounts of RAM etc), though there's perhaps a killer app round the corner which will…

Depending on how heavy your use is, you should look at the Xiaomi Mi4i.

I picked it up as a Nexus 5 replacement solely for the ridiculously large battery (3100mAh or 72% more than the similarly sized iPhone 6 and still 6% more than the 6 Plus). It's slimmer and more solid (the N5 has a tendency to get dented), and arguably has better specs (it definitely deals with Skype, my only performance hog, much better). When I was in the market, there was nothing that came close in terms of battery life. IRL it has been alright, if I read a book and check emails most of the time it will die in about 32 hours but going into town for meetings (i.e. only using maps, email and the odd Kindle), I've found it only lost 30% battery/day.

Cost me around 205 USD including shipping and a 6 month warranty, but if it breaks I'll just buy another one. It's only 1/5th the cost of an iPhone...

The Xiaomi portable chargers are also pretty neat.

I don't know about US availability as it appears most things Xiaomi are directly ripped off Apple and there's probably copyright issues. Check out the Mi Note to see what I mean...

Re: The OnePlus 2 pushes the boundaries of how cheap a flagship phone can be

#56

Post by chei0aiV » Tue, Jul 28, 2015, 9:19 AM UTC

TeMPOraL wrote: post #17

I'm completely disappointed with the way phone market evolves. I don't want a cheap phone, I want a phone that works. I want my phone to have enough memory and processing power to handle its operating system without hiccups. It is ridiculous that even a $700 phone can just start lagging on you. I want my phone to have it all - Bluetooth, WiFi, IrDA, accelerometer, thermometer, barometer, SD card, double SIM, removabl…

Sounds like you might want one of these:

http://neo900.org/

Re: The OnePlus 2 pushes the boundaries of how cheap a flagship phone can be

#57

Post by vinceyuan » Tue, Jul 28, 2015, 9:21 AM UTC

> For $300, you got a well-made, nice-looking phone with cutting-edge hardware and few compromises to be found

I don't think it is nice-looking. It's not ugly. It's just normal. It looks very similar to some Android phones.

Re: The OnePlus 2 pushes the boundaries of how cheap a flagship phone can be

#58

Post by SimplyUseless » Tue, Jul 28, 2015, 9:37 AM UTC

In all of the comments, I see a lot of excitement about the "features" the company is able to pack for a "low" cost.

I would like to say this in simplest possible way

-- One plus one support model and execution is poorest of all phone makers --

The emphasis and culture in the company is to grow fast without concern towards individuals paying still very high prices for their phones but not getting the worth. The half life of the phone is lower than market and people do face issues when the OS changes are pushed without a good amount of testing.

One plus one forums are inundated with people all over the world having hardware issues and the insufficient support they have been receiving. The founder Carl Pei has made commitments to improve support however the progress has fallen short on promises.

One Plus One ended up being a huge lesson for many customers. One plus two would just end up being another phone without company getting its act together.

Re: The OnePlus 2 pushes the boundaries of how cheap a flagship phone can be

#59

Post by ofcapl_ » Tue, Jul 28, 2015, 9:37 AM UTC

smcl wrote: post #44

Is anyone else in the "My perfect phone would be my current one but with a battery that easily lasts 3+ days" boat? I've currently got an iPhone 5S, and I can achieve this with those portable USB chargers. I've no need for any of the other features which new generations of smartphones are adding (multi-core\multi-ghz processors, huge amounts of RAM etc), though there's perhaps a killer app round the corner which will…

I have lumia 735 and battery lasts here for 3-4 days (if 3G internet and WiFi is off)

Re: The OnePlus 2 pushes the boundaries of how cheap a flagship phone can be

#60

Post by Alterlife » Tue, Jul 28, 2015, 9:45 AM UTC

ofcapl_ wrote: post #47

userbinator wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It is ridiculous that even a $700 phone can just start lagging on you IMHO the blame for that lies with the software, not the hardware. Android is basically the realisation of the original Java OS, but on hardware fast enough that its performance has become "acceptable" - most of the time. As for the other features; Bluetooth, WiFi, accelerometer (and compass/magnetometer), SD, dual-SIM, and removable battery are pre…

I don't want to start here any flame war or something, but that's the main reason why I've switched to Windows Phone OS - for 100$ - 150$ You've got the system that runs like a charm (I'm not smartphone power user so all apps I need are available in Windows Store)

I HAD a windows phone (Lumia 620) for about 6 months before I gave up trying to get used to it and went back to Android.

The animations are just too slow and annoying for me to get used to. There needs to be a way to turn them off. The phone wasn't laggy. It's just the animations that got on my nerves.