Display & Software

For the OnePlus ii, OnePlus have opted for a 5.5-inch LTPS-TFT LCD panel with a resolution of 1920 x 1080. This equates to a pixel density of 401 PPI, which isn't equally practiced as the latest 1440p panels we're seeing appear in flagships such as the LG G4 and Samsung Galaxy S6. However OnePlus believes that by trading-off pixel density the OnePlus 2 can gain the upper paw in both operation and battery life.

The company does have a signal here: 1440p displays pack 78% more pixels than 1080p displays, which requires more processing power to render to, and therefore consumes more power. We've seen some advances in brandish and processor technology that mitigate issues that take appeared due to 1440p displays, just you still should experience better performance and battery life by choosing 1080p.

Generally speaking, the brandish on the OnePlus 2 is great, and there are very few noticeable differences in resolution between this display and an equivalent 1440p display. Of grade, putting the OnePlus 2 upward against the LG G4 in a side-past-side comparison does highlight the extra detail provided by the G4's 1440p display, but in a standalone situation the 1080p OnePlus two display is well-baked when displaying text and imagery.

The OnePlus 2 display'south color reproduction is decent without existence outstanding. Color tone seems just about right – not too blue and not as well yellow – and colors are saturated enough to make photos look reasonable. While the display doesn't look equally expert in this department equally the Galaxy S6's, we're still talking about a loftier-cease phone with a brandish that slots firmly into the high-stop. In most situations it looks great, and in that location's enough contrast to brand the OnePlus 2 a peachy handheld movie histrion.

There are a few downsides to the OnePlus two'due south brandish, however. The console is somewhat difficult to run across in direct sunlight, and part of that has to do with the screen protector applied out of the box. The actress cloth separating the air and the LCD introduces reflections, but even when you remove the screen protector, this display but isn't every bit skilful as others I've seen in this department. LCDs can struggle in direct sunlight if they're non equipped with a range of filters, and then it'southward non a huge surprise.

Effulgence from the OnePlus 2'due south brandish is good despite some difficulties viewing it in strong outdoor lighting. The backlight can be reduced to such a level that information technology's comfortable for night-time viewing, which is great to see. Even so I wasn't very impressed with the automatic brightness mode, which almost always uses an incorrect brightness level for the conditions. During indoor usage, the display was often far too bright for comfortable viewing, which led me to manually adjust the brightness level on several occasions. A properly-calibrated auto-brightness mode wouldn't take me touching the manual brightness slider.

Equally for software in full general, the car-brightness result is just one of many software bugs and oddities I noticed using the OnePlus 2 equally my daily driver. The device is running Android 5.1.1 out of the box in a well-nigh-stock configuration through OnePlus' Oxygen Bone ii.0, but it just doesn't have the same level of polish I'd expect from a flagship smartphone.

On top of issues with brightness and the home button, which I mentioned earlier, at that place were several occasions when basic applications such equally Chrome and some games would crash on my handset. At other times, the OnePLus 2 felt unusually tiresome for a device powered by a Snapdragon 810 SoC, such every bit when loading full-resolution images in the Photos app.

There are other problems with the software but not working as seamlessly and coherently every bit I'd like. In the photographic camera app, for example, when viewing the image you've but taken you can't immediately zoom in to bank check details. Pulling down the notification pane from the right-hand side is the nearly user-friendly place to exercise and then when using the large smartphone in one paw, but this will display the huge quick-settings menu rather than all your notifications.

Information technology's these piffling things that brand the OnePlus experience less friendly and less seamless than other flagship devices. Even the Milky way S6 with all its Samsung bloatware delivers a more stable user experience than the OnePlus 2, which is disappointing for a near-stock smartphone.

Aside from the problems I had with the OnePlus 2's software, I do similar the look and feel of stock Android, as it gives the operating organization a consequent, appealing pattern throughout apps. You can brand some changes to the design, such every bit switching to a dark theme and installing icon packs, but personally I enjoyed the stock look.

OnePlus has baked in a few interesting features to Oxygen OS, ane of which is the ability to draw gestures on the display when it'due south off to launch the flashlight, or camera, or to control music playback. At that place's also the handy ability to modify what happens when you long press or double tap the iii navigation buttons, giving y'all loads of quick shortcuts on any screen.

SwiftKey is the default keyboard in Oxygen Os, which is awesome to meet equally it delivers a fast, efficient typing feel. The usually 3rd-party keyboard is what I always opt for on other devices when their keyboards fail the typing exam.

Aside from these features, in that location's not a whole lot else that'southward interesting near OxygenOS, which tin can brand the Bone feel somewhat barebones in comparison to other Android skins. OnePlus says their software skin doesn't include any "unnecessary gimmicks", which is true, but few more clever or interesting features wouldn't get off-target.