OnePlus 2 gets the teardown treatment

Although consumers interested in the OnePlus 2 have to continue to go through the OnePlus invite system to be able to buy the device, the team at iFixit was able to get their hands on one of the units to check out its repairability after putting it through the teardown paces. The original OnePlus smartphone scored a mere 5 out of 10 on the iFixit repairability scale. OnePlus wants the new device to be a “flagship killer” so keep reading to see whether easy repairability is considered part of that equation.

As has been the case with recent teardowns, the iFixit team was able to submit the OnePlus 2 unit they had to some X-ray vision, giving us an idea of what the inside parts look like even before the teardown starts. The unit itself has no external screws, so the first step is snapping off the back cover. iFixit notes this is secured with some plastic clips, making removal easy. That makes sense since OnePlus is selling StyleSwap covers for the smartphone this time around. Getting that cover off gives users access to the Nano SIM tray, but not the battery.

While the exterior of the OnePlus 2 does not have any screws, the midframe is chock full of them. iFixit counted 18 screws to be removed, some readily apparent, some underneath rubber covers, and one that appeared to be under a tamper-evident seal. Fortunately, OnePlus did not use any adhesives to secure this mid-frame cover, so it is easily removed once the screws are out.

With the mid-frame cover removed, one can access the “non-removeable” battery which is rated at 3,300 mAh. Considering all it takes is some time removing screws, replacing the battery is not the chore it is with some other smartphones. Once the battery was popped out, the iFixit team found removal of the motherboard only required one more screw to be taken out and some cables disconnected. As far as the many components, one item that will require some significant effort to replace would be the vibration motor which will take some soldering.

With the various circuit boards and components removed, the team moved on to the display. This meant application of heat and some prying tools to separate the screen from the mid-frame. Once removed, one thing iFixit found was that the soft home button sits below some cables for the side buttons, which will make replacement a bit of a challenge.

At the end of the process, the iFixit team determined the OnePlus 2 deserved a repairability score of 7 out of 10 (where 10 is the easiest to repair). There were many positives noted like the use of non-proprietary screws, modular components, and a simple flex cable for the USB-C port. Even the battery, which will require some disassembly, is not too terribly difficult to get to for replacement. Like so many devices these days, the glass and LCD are fused together which means they will have to be replaced as a unit, driving up the cost of repair.

source: iFixit

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OnePlus rolls out first batch of invites but good luck getting one

We here at AndroidGuys, along with everyone else in the Android world, have covered quite a bit of news about the OnePlus 2. We’ve covered the information leading up to the announcement, the specs, some of our feelings on it, as well as some ways to get the 2015 “flagship killer” without an invite. The OnePlus 2 has made such a splash, in both positive and negative ways.

Today, though, for those of you who are un-phased by all of the coverage, we have some good news. According to the OnePlus Goolge+ page, the first batch of OnePlus 2 invites have started to roll out. Even the folks over at Android Central have gotten 50 invites to giveaway, so I would imagine that OnePlus is gearing into over drive.

Personally, I’m sitting in the 300,000’s so I can definitely say that I have yet to receive an invite. But that’s okay, we signed up for the invite system, and know what happened with the OnePlus One, so it’s just a waiting game.

If you haven’t tossed your name in the hat for an invite, just head over to the OnePlus page, and sign up. You’ll receive an email confirming your participation, and you’ll be able to follow your way up the list as time progresses. Just know, it still may be awhile before you can get your hands on just the invite. Oh and one more thing, OnePlus has announced a 2 to 3 week delay in the release for those of us in North America. So even if you are lucky enough to get your hands on an invite from the first batch, you still may have to wait a bit longer.

Drop us a line below, and let us know where you sit in the over 3 million folks in the waiting line. What feature(s) from the OnePlus 2 have you the most excited, and OTHER THAN NFC, what disappoints you the most?

Source: Phandroid via: OnePlus Google+

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Ola Cabs teams up with OnePlus in India to let customers experience the smartphone

Earlier today, India’s most popular travel app, Ola Cabs, took to its official blog to announce that it has now formed an exclusive partnership with OnePlus, in order for customers using the service to experience the company’s latest smartphone is they so desire.

You may be asking yourself: “How can you experience a smartphone if you’re taking a cab?” Well, a select number of vehicles in Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Kolkata and Delhi will have a OnePlus 2 on board for their fares to dabble with.

Customers who wish to acquaint themselves with the device can book these cabs in the same way they hail other Ola cabs. However, when using their mobile app they will need to ensure they tap the OnePlus 2 icon, followed by the Ride Now button.

The cabs will be rolling out in Bengaluru and Chennai on 17/18 August, Hyderabad and Mumbai on August 21/22, and Kolkata and Delhi on 25/26 August.

For more information, hit the source link below.

Source: Ola Cabs

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OnePlus pulls in $70,000 for UNICEF from eBay auctions

OnePlus has announced they generated over $70,000 from the eBay auctions they were conducting to benefit the UNICEF Tap Project. The auctions were for a total of 100 invites for the new OnePlus 2 smartphone. That translates to just over $700 per invite for the average winning bid. The successful bidders now have one week to claim their newly won invites and then another month to complete their purchase.

The UNICEF Tap Project brings clean, safe water to underprivileged children around the globe.

The auctions are part of a bigger strategy that OnePlus launched called “Invites for a Cause.” In the past, some of the OnePlus marketing efforts have stirred up some controversy and connecting their invite system with charitable giving is a way to maintain a positive spin on their efforts.

source: OnePlus (Twitter)

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OnePlus 2 – New Features Focus

The OnePlus One, while being a high-end smartphone, didn’t come with a whole lot of bells and whistles, which wasn’t really an issue, given how budget-friendly the device was. The affordability factor continues with its successor, the OnePlus 2, but the latest flagship offering from OnePlus does manage to pack a few extras in both hardware and software. Here is a look at some of the new features of the OnePlus 2!

Alert slider

Starting with the alert slider, this is one of the main additions to the OnePlus 2 seen on the left side of the device. It is a three stage slider that allows you to toggle among the different notification settings in Android 5.1 Lollipop, and have the slider set to allow all notifications, priority notifications, or no notifications, with the last one essentially used to silence the phone. Moving between the three stages is now actually become very simple, and with the ridged design on the button, it is very easy to locate, for example when the phone is in your pocket.

Fingerprint sensor

The other very obvious addition to the OnePlus 2 that is seen on the front of the phone is the fingerprint sensor below the display. This area also doubles as the home button, but it has to mentioned that this isn’t a tactile home button with an integrated scanner as seen on Samsung flagships, but rather a capacitive area that has been marked out to house the actual reader itself. This is also of the touch type variety, which is certainly the better implementation compared to the swipe variant, and setting it up is simple, requiring multiple touches until the scanner gets all the information. You can also save up to 5 fingerprints at a time.

You can wake and unlock the device using the fingerprint scanner, but the slight issue that comes up is when using it as a home button is that it isn’t as sensitive as you might want it to be. When using it as a fingerprint reader, you do have to cover the entire area with your finger and put a little bit of pressure, which makes sense, but that is also required when using it as a home button. This is not really an issue but rather something that will take some getting used, and you of course, do have the option to opt for on-screen navigation keys as well.

Dual-SIM capabilities

This next feature may not be a big deal in the west, but is a welcome inclusion for users in emerging markets, and that is dual-SIM capabilities. In the US, dual SIMs isn’t a particularly necessary feature given the current network carrier landscape and the fact that it is quite expensive to have just one connection, but it can prove to be useful for some. With a dual SIM phone, you can use the data from card and take calls on another, and really cater the experience to the way you want it to be, and it can also be useful for the frequent traveler, who can avoid having to switch out SIM cards every time.

That said, I did find that switching between the two SIM cards can be quite cumbersome. Having to change which data you want to use from which card can sometimes make the phone slow down, it does take a while for the cards to register, before you can switch between the two. Whether this is a software issue, or if this is just how it’s going to work on the OnePlus 2 remains to be seen, but there are other dual-SIM devices out there that do work better.

USB Type-C

The USB cable it comes in a very similar construction to what we got with the OnePlus, with its flat, tangle-free design and red and white color scheme. The best part about this chord is that it is reversible on either end, so no matter what orientation you plug it into the phone or the USB port, it’ll work, which is fantastic, and takes the guess work out of finding the right way.

The port is of the USB 2.0 variety though, so you won’t be able to take advantage of fast data transfer speeds, along with the fact that the OnePlus 2 doesn’t offer any fast-charging capabilities. USB Type-C charging does seem to be a little above average, with the device charging fully in 90 minutes when the phone is off, and in up to 2 hours when on and with minimal usage. While not too bad, this isn’t nearly close to the less than hour standard set by some devices with quick charging out there. Other than the cable included in the box, they can also be picked up separately for around $5.

Shelf

At first glance, Shelf seemed to essentially be just two widgets, with one housing your most frequently used applications, and the other featuring a list of favorite contacts. It’s great to see that this isn’t the case though, with Shelf functioning as a page where you can add a number of different widgets, apart from the two that are already available, giving you an easy, single point of access for all your widgets. Other small changes that can be made is changing the cover at the top and the re-arranging of the order of the widgets. Basically, it isn’t just a place for the phone to put your favorite apps and contacts in a quickly accessible area, but also lets you put your most used widgets there, allowing you to keep your homescreens clutter free.

Dark mode

Dark mode is a feature that is expected to be a part of the upcoming Android M release, but OnePlus has been able to put it into their latest 2.0 version of the Oxygen OS. The idea behind dark mode is to just take all of the light elements and make them dark, to make things easier to view in certain situations, such as when your in bed with the lights off and are looking at the phone. The white background and other elements can be very jarring at that time, and that is where dark mode makes a huge difference. Dark mode can also be contextualized in certain applications, automatically changing the in-app elements as well, but this isn’t a functionality that is available across all apps just yet.

So there you have it for this quick look at some of the new features available with the OnePlus 2! Stay tuned with Android Authority for other great coverage of the OnePlus 2, including a camera shootout, the full in-depth review, and a lot more.

OnePlus 2 in India will begin shipping on August 14

The OnePlus 2 is now available in India exclusively through Amazon. This news comes not long after OnePlus announced a delay in shipping units in North America by several weeks.

Invites are going out today to purchase the device in India are going at today. However, we’re not sure how many invites OnePlus is initially sending out. Some consumers may have to wait some time before getting a chance to buy the OnePlus 2, as the invite list for the device has reached 2 million and it’s still growing.

Those who received an invite will be able to purchase the device through their Amazon account, and Amazon will begins fulfilling orders on August 14.

The device will cost ₹24,999, which translates to $390 USD for the 64GB model of the OnePlus 2.

While India is one of the first markets to see the OnePlus 2, OnePlus will be selling limited stock of the OnePlus 2 at Colette’s in Paris today. Additionally, European invites for the device are set to go out today as well.

source: OnePlus

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