OnePlus: How midrange flagship brand is discreetly inching towards premium

With smartphone prices gradually increasing with every new generation, the midrange flagship brand OnePlus has turned into a premium brand. Here is a look at the company's journey so far

In 2014, Chinese smartphone manufacturer OnePlus debuted in the smartphone space with the launch of the OnePlus One, which was termed a flagship but had the price of a midrange device. Thanks to its top-notch specifications and brilliant build quality, the phone famously became the first midrange flagship, giving birth to a smartphone segment that had never before been explored or experimented with but had a huge potential in India’s price-conscious smartphone market.

Over the years, the company has continued to offer value-for-money products in the midrange segment, redefining the flagship smartphone segment and proving that a flagship need not be costly. However, with every consecutive launch, the company has raised the price substantially and moved closer to the premium smartphone segment. OnePlus still continues to offer value-for-money smartphones when compared with premium flagships. However, with the premium edition of its current-generation flagship priced at nearly Rs 44,000, OnePlus does not look like a midrange flagship brand any more.

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OnePlus journey so far

OnePlus One

Launched in 2014, the OnePlus featured a premium design and top of the line innards. However, it was the launch price of Rs 21,999, almost half of other premium smartphones' cost that changed the notion of flagship smartphones, making this the first midrange flagship. The OnePlus One redefined the flagship smartphone segment and showed that a flagship need not be costly.

OnePlus 2

Riding on the success of the OnePlus One, the company launched the OnePlus 2 in 2015. Priced at Rs 24,999, the second-generation OnePlus smartphone featured top-tier specifications, coupled with a top-notch build quality which made it a value-for-money product that was hard to beat at its price.

OnePlus 3 and OnePlus 3T

Launched in 2016, the OnePlus 3 was a game-changer for the company. With the OnePlus 3, the company not only plugged the shortcoming of its predecessor, but also brought a new operating system that made it a robust flagship with an all-round performance. That justified its price tag of Rs 27,999.

Later that year, the company upgraded the model with a new processor, camera and improved user interface. Named the OnePlus 3T, the phone was an all-rounder. Launched at Rs 29,999, the phone had everything you expect from a premium flagship, but it had the price of a midrange. It is this smartphone that set the benchmark for the company’s future smartphones. (more)

Surprise! OnePlus 3, 3T also had OnePlus 5T's face-unlock feature all along

The face-unlock feature in earlier devices works flawlessly and is almost as quick as the one in the latest flagship

Chinese smartphone maker OnePlus has been promoting face unlocking as one of the OnePlus 5T, besides other upgrades that the phone brings. The feature is promised to roll out in the OnePlus 5 with the Android Oreo update. However, the yesteryear’s flagships are said to have been kept out from the list of phones that get the feature in the software update.

If you are using one of the earlier OnePlus flagships – OnePlus 3 and OnePlus 3T – and thinking of upgrading to the OnePlus 5T only for its face-unlock feature, we have a reason for you to stick around for a little more.

It turns out, the face unlock feature has all along been available in the OnePlus 3 and OnePlus 3T devices as well -- sitting within the settings options. And, it works flawlessly -- almost as quickly as the one in the latest flagship.

Here’s how to enable the face-unlock feature in the OnePlus 3 and OnePlus 3T devices running on the Android Oreo operating system:

Step 1: Go to settings and look for ‘security & fingerprint’ option and click on it

Step 2: In the security & fingerprint option, there is another option of ‘Smart Unlock’ under the device security tab

Step 3: The smart unlock option provides 5 different ways that can be used to unlock the device – On-body detection, Trusted places, Trusted devices, Trusted face and Trusted voice. Click on Trusted face option to set up the face-unlock feature

Step 4: Find a place, which is not too bright or too dim before setting up the face-unlock feature, and hold the phone at the eye level

Step 5: The phone recognises your face in the same manner as the OnePlus 5T does. (more)

OnePlus 5 launch imminent; company halts 'flagship' OnePlus 3T production

OnePlus 5 is due to be launched soon and it will feature Qualcomm's latest Snapdragon 835 processor

OnePlus has announced that its latest flagship OnePlus 3T, will soon be discontinued. The production of OnePlus 3T has already reached the end of its production life, and sale of the devices will continue till the stock lasts.

The latest development comes days after the company’s CEO revealed that the next flagship smartphone OnePlus 5 will be launched soon and will feature Qualcomm’s latest Snapdragon 835 processor.

Recently, the China-based smartphone manufacturer OnePlus teamed up with DxO, a software company with expertise in image processing software, to enhance the photography capabilities of the upcoming OnePlus 5 smartphone.

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In a blog post on the OnePlus official forum, the company said: "We are happy to announce that we have teamed up with DxO to enhance your photography experience with our upcoming flagship, the OnePlus 5. DxO is perhaps most well-known for creating the defining photography benchmark, the DxOMark. They’ve got years of imaging experience and expertise, both for professional cameras and for smartphones."

"But we can only go so far in telling you that we’re excited to be working with DxO. Our friend Etienne Knauer, SVP Sales & Marketing at DxO, had this to say: “OnePlus has always been one of the leading innovators in the smartphone industry, and we are proud to partner with them and support their exciting mobile photography strategy.” (more)