# OnePlus One Sandstone Black 64GB Review - Crafted to Perfection [Raw images bandwidth warning]



## amjath (Dec 21, 2014)

*OnePlus One Sandstone Black 64GB Review​*
*i.imgur.com/72rQs7g.jpg​
I waited 6 months for my first phone Samsung Galaxy S2 for the Indian launch and I bought it on the 2nd or 3rd day from the launch. So again I waited ~6 months for OnePlus One to launch in India and I bought it on 3rd day from the launch. Any confidence? Okay I heard all your mind voices ("Dude seriously?"). Before going to the review I would like to tell you few things. First, the reason why I switched from my beloved galaxy s2 to the One. 
1. Lollipop. Devs did a marvellous job by supporting galaxy s2 for the past 3 years. Still I'm running lollipop build on my s2. But the lack of driver support from Samsung made long time devs to move on. The early lollipop build is great but the animations on the lollipop will not be great.
2. The need or the amount of background apps which I run on my s2 is high, the hardware is also not supporting.
3. Battery life. Nothing else
Now what the One attracted me.
1. The chipset which will have support from devs as well as manufacturer.
2. Battery life.
3. Design
4. Display.
5. The One's unique features.
6. CyanogenMod but now I came to know that there is a world without CyanogenMod. More on that later.
7. Price but not much of a importance for on my side honestly.
Note: This review was written using the One with office suite. The software/ROM is changed time to time so look for the red colored text mentioning software and applications used.
Okay with no further due let's get started.

*The un-boxing:*
*i.imgur.com/fJrCz2u.jpg
*i.imgur.com/lkUe0Lq.jpg
*i.imgur.com/SQ3ePHj.jpg
*i.imgur.com/sCznIh7.jpg
*i.imgur.com/Qats1z8.jpg
*i.imgur.com/WlzuwNC.jpg
*i.imgur.com/wWywqCu.jpg
*i.imgur.com/twaBsTZ.jpg
*i.imgur.com/2laaeIV.jpg
*i.imgur.com/fUrnpuL.jpg
*i.imgur.com/kayVYWj.jpg
*i.imgur.com/b6rdpMn.jpg
*i.imgur.com/cj3D5uA.jpg
*i.imgur.com/8qzgF5d.jpg
*i.imgur.com/Sjpdsna.jpg
* Video:*

*The Specs:*

*BASIC PARAMETERS*ColorSandstone BlackDimensions152.9 x 75.9 x 8.9 mmWeight5.71 ounces (162 g)Operating SystemCyanogen 11S based on Android 4.4CPUQualcomm© Snapdragon™ 801 processor with 2.5GHz Quad-core CPUsGPUAdreno 330, 578MHzRAM3 GB LP-DDR3, 1866MHzStorage64 GB eMMC 5.0, available capacity variesSensorsAccelerometer, Gyroscope, Proximity and Ambient LightBatteryEmbedded rechargeable 3100 mAh LiPo batteryMax. SARHead: 0.270 W/kg, Body: 0.540 W/kg*CONNECTIVITY*Connectivity•        GSM: 850, 900, 1800, 1900MHz• WCDMA: Bands: 1/2/4/5/8• LTE: Bands: 1/3/4/7/17/38/40Wi-FiDual-band Wi-Fi (2.4G/5G) 802.11 b/g/n/acBluetoothBluetooth 4.0NFC65T (software card emulation, payment methods and multi-tag support)PositioningInternal GPS antenna + GLONASSDigital Compass*PORTS, SLOTS, BUTTONS AND INDICATORS*PortsData & Charging: Micro USB 2.0Audio: Jack 3.5mmButtonsPower ButtonVolume RockersCapacitive / On-screen buttonsSIM1 slot - Micro SIMIndicators1 LED notification light (multicolored)*DISPLAY*Size5.5 inch JDIResolution1080p Full HD (1920 x 1080 pixels), 401 PPITypeLTPS IPS with TOLProtectionCorning© Gorilla© Glass 3*CAMERAS*Sensor13 Megapixel - Sony Exmor IMX 214Lenses6 lenses to avoid distortion and color aberrationFlashDual-LEDAperturef/2.0Front Camera5 Megapixel - Distortion freeVideo4K resolution video with stereo recording Slow Motion: 720p video at 120fps*AUDIO*SpeakersBottom Facing Dual SpeakersMicrophonesTri-microphone with noise cancellation*MULTIMEDIA*Audio supportedPlayback: MP3, AAC, AMR, OGG, M4A, MID, WMA, FLAC, APE, AAC, WAVformatsRecording: AAC, M4AVideo supportedPlayback: MP4, H.263, H.264, RMVB, FLV720PformatsRecording: MP4Image supportedPlayback: JPEG, PNG, GIF, BMPformatsOutput: JPEG, RAW*IN THE BOX*1x OnePlus One1x USB Cable1x Nano Sim tray1x Sim Ejecting tool in a key chain pouch
*The Design:*
Its big not huge at least for my hands. The curved back is so good and excellent to handle. IMO the phone without the case is best for handling. The material used by the company to make back and side is impressive. I can rub the back all day (Still rubbing :lol ). The sides are protected by metal construction. This metal construction which looks to me like stainless steel which looks study and continued on the front. From the front, the glass on top of the metal frame looks sexy. The display is projected out of the device, so a fall will make impact on the screen. But I don't mind I bought a crystal case which protects the screen and the sides. Coming on to the components, the glass slab measures 5.5 inch 1080p LTPS IPS with TOL (Touch On Lens) 401ppi display protected by Corning gorilla glass 3 by Japan Display (JDI) manufacturer. The company has given a statement for the absence of oneplus partnership mentioned on Corning site. Since JDI is the manufacturer of the display, JDI partnership with Corning is mentioned on the Corning website.
There is a on-screen capacitive buttons which features home, menu and back button functions. The 5 mp front facing camera, proximity sensor, multi colored notification light 8) and other sensors are located near the ear piece.
Hint: There is a mod to make the ear piece as a speaker.
On the right hand there is a thin power button and on the left hand side there is a thin volume  rocker button which is placed in the right spot to reach with one hand. On the left hand side there is a sim card slot with a tiny hole. The sim card slot pops when the sim tray ejecting tool is used. The sim card slot is barely barely visible. Company is giving away a nano sim tray as well. So both micro sim and nano sim are compatible. 
On the top there is a noise cancellation mic and 3.5 km jack. On the bottom, there is a mini USB port for charging and data transfer which is also support USB OTG. There is a mic and grilled speakers on both side of the USB port. The speakers are not stereo. 
Now on the back, (I'm rubbing again ) there is a 13 mega pixel 6 lens f/2.0 aperature Exmor IMX 214 shooter from Sony which avoid distortion and color aberration. Dual led falsh is placed right below the camera sensor which is a made of simple 2 LEDs. There is a noise cancellation mic beside the camera wait what!? Another mic? Will see in what these mics does for video recording. The whole camera and flash setup is protected a little bit out, so a case is definitely needed to avoid scratches.
There is a beautifully designed oneplus logo at the back and Cyanogen logo with FCC certification and "Designed by oneplus assembled in China" are printed.
*Internal components and components review:*
Inside the device, the beast is powered by quad core Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 clocked at 2.5GHz with Adreno 330, 578MHz GPU. The memory is 3 GB DDR3 clocked at 1866MHz, wait so in numbers to speed is faster than the one in my gaming PC  
The network connectivity wise it supports lte bands in india especially airtel I guess (mine is Vodafone so couldn't test.)  There is a Dual-band Wi-Fi (2.4G/5G), Bluetooth version 4.0 and a NFC for payment and other stuffs. The Internal GPS antenna + GLONASS snaps the my location instantly when I open Google maps. The beast is packed with 3100mah battery which is put to immense test below.
Overall this package is faster and flagship equivalent, everything is snappy. The multitasking, gps, gaming, the touch screen everything. Nowadays I don't close my apps at all  when I open the recent tab for the multitasking, there is a hell a lot of apps stacked up in the recent(lollipop).
The display is crisp and very bright. The screen is legible to read on direct sunlight. The 1080p display produces perfect color and colors on lollipop ROM makes me lick the display.
The dual speaker at the bottom is really loud. My Manager who sits beside me literally jumped out of his seat when my Caller ringtone rings [full volume] during the call [Ringtone: Digital Phone]. The low bit rate file distorts at full volume but not for the high bit rate files. 
Note: I'm seriously in short of time to review elaborately, so from now on pic and videos speaks. I'm going to do less typing.
Edit: I played Asphalt 8 and Train Crisis HD for 15 min each. I see no hiccups in gameplay and loading even with multilayer and the games looks absolutely stunning.
*Benchmarks: *
*i.imgur.com/d9rDtpg.png
*i.imgur.com/r3Tc3L9.png
*i.imgur.com/0yT3mIE.png
Below Benchmark are performed on CyanogenMod 11S 44S
AnTuTu Benchmark v5.3
*i.imgur.com/zxieDHI.png
*i.imgur.com/eiixcqf.png
*i.imgur.com/UXiYUfu.png
*i.imgur.com/jdTpbCx.png
*i.imgur.com/UFIpzHv.png
*i.imgur.com/JpKExGe.png
GeekBench 3:
*i.imgur.com/An0X6q2.png
*i.imgur.com/rrNDN61.png
*i.imgur.com/QKekxqQ.png
*i.imgur.com/qkIlZS6.png
Other Bench:
*i.imgur.com/KCirZzL.png
*i.imgur.com/raoebZb.png
Network Benchmark;
3G [Vodafone]
*i.imgur.com/4DuRi6F.png

*Camera samples:*
Below images are taken on lollipop liquidsmooth ROM 12/06 build using CM11s camera app.
All images are raw. The images produced gives perfect natural color. There is no over saturation on the color of the images.
Some photos which I managed to take.
 *i.imgur.com/QPELBMW.jpg
Non-HDR
*i.imgur.com/EhqpUJZ.jpg
HDR
*i.imgur.com/Wm2HOZN.jpg
Non-HDR
*i.imgur.com/RZIZIRA.jpg
HDR
*i.imgur.com/TZsju89.jpg
Non-HDR
*i.imgur.com/OyDo0qW.jpg
HDR
*i.imgur.com/2OwhbsW.jpg
Non-HDR
*i.imgur.com/zYJ0mY8.jpg
HDR
*i.imgur.com/r9hWTHo.jpg
Cropped Non-HDR
*i.imgur.com/FSLa667.jpg
Cropped HDR
*i.imgur.com/zxHbNNM.jpg
Non-HDR
With different Focus
*i.imgur.com/rL1wNWe.jpg
*i.imgur.com/ZFqWdVD.jpg
Night shots with flash.
*i.imgur.com/xhN7kxZ.jpg
*i.imgur.com/MCrtVOz.jpg
*i.imgur.com/HXyR1P6.jpg
*i.imgur.com/CrmpyXa.jpg
Video is recorded from a public transport on a noisy road, so judge yourself what the tri microphone performs.
*1080p*

*720p*

*Battery life:*
Below tests are taken on lollipop liquidsmooth ROM 12/06.
I did a restore of all my apps around 100 using helium and updating all of them via play store, 3 hours of music and 25 mins of call with wifi almost half of the time and an hour of strategy game (crossme) which gives us this.
Brightness level all the time
*i.imgur.com/NqQ8JJr.png

Battery life
*i.imgur.com/8NCmVsT.png
*i.imgur.com/tbaWiyx.png
*i.imgur.com/oNhTwyI.png
*i.imgur.com/5dRW7kx.png
*i.imgur.com/xSiO1Z4.png
*i.imgur.com/pb1xnuw.png
*i.imgur.com/IO2CKNq.png

BBS[BetterBatteryStats]
*i.imgur.com/D6SfyeJ.png

Loss of battery during my sleep, after full charge 
*i.imgur.com/4W0CsGi.png
Impressive isn't it

Charging time is ~2 hours from 3% to 100% proof? Here it is
*i.imgur.com/24zL1xS.png
*i.imgur.com/CrfijCL.png
*i.imgur.com/i0PK6ZK.png

[strike]Sorry no gaming no time.[/strike]
Edit: I played Asphalt 8 [with multiplayer] and Train Crisis HD for 15 min each, battery drain is only ~10%. I think it is impressive, because it's been a while I have played heavy games on my S2
Conclusion:
If you want to enjoy the cool, smooth animation of lollipop with rich and powerful CPU and GPU combo with natural taking photos with a wide angle 5mp selfie. This is the device you should lay your hands on. This device beats all the flagship in performance and mid range phone in price and takes a lead which is so high. A company named OnePlus promised a excellent device on the sheet and delivered it perfectly. Due to the yellow tint, cyanogen and yu from MMX cannot make a negative impact on the device. For yellow tint, use a sunlight of UV source for the treatment cause its just a glue which is not dried properly. For Cyanogen issue, there is a ton of other dev with roms which delivers the same and other that of the Cyanogen is giving. I'm running a liquid smooth ROM so stable and using as a daily driver(so early). For the mmx's yu, f*$k you.

*I rate a 9.45 out of 10 for the device, *performance and package and everything. Don't miss the device if you can lay your hands on. Every colleague of mine is speechless after seeing the ONE. Let's make everyone jealous.
Sent from my mightier OnePlus One.
Images from my mighty Samsung Galaxy S2.
Yeah that's right I'm keeping the both


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## amjath (Dec 21, 2014)

Spoiler



S2 and One
*i.imgur.com/z1hLKeq.jpg
*i.imgur.com/ZD6WtQF.jpg
*i.imgur.com/Cgcn5Gj.jpg
*i.imgur.com/q6uxAU8.jpg
*i.imgur.com/wVZlZN9.jpg
*i.imgur.com/nHDazJ4.jpg
*i.imgur.com/5KZGyBL.jpg
*i.imgur.com/BuFuhow.jpg
*i.imgur.com/QKcPYL0.jpg
finally
*i.imgur.com/72rQs7g.jpg


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## Nanducob (Dec 21, 2014)

> Lollipop ROM makes me lick the display.


Lol xd
Nice review mate ,cant see pics in phone,will do once I  get to pc


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## daemon1 (Dec 21, 2014)

Nice!! very detailed analysis. Helpful for any one looking for this phone. By the way I also had S2 and one of the initial guys to have that handset...still using it

I had plan for OPO but due to various issues decided against it. Got Note 3 instead.


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## amjath (Dec 21, 2014)

Thx [MENTION=128807]Nanducob[/MENTION] and [MENTION=138953]daemon1[/MENTION]


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## Zangetsu (Dec 22, 2014)

Excellent review...

btw u have yellow tint issue now?
also check the dead pixel test.

give rating out of 10 for each category (sound,display,perf etc)

and in Antutu benchmark scores above Meizu MX is equal to Samsung Note 4


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## Nanducob (Dec 22, 2014)

Which site did you buy it from?


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## amjath (Dec 22, 2014)

[MENTION=34930]Zangetsu[/MENTION] Thanks bro,
A bit of Yellow tint is there, I placed it in the sunlight. A little tint reduced but the weather here is cloudy. So will do again when the climate is good. 
As soon as turn the device on, my first app was display tester. I see no dead pixels.
About the rating will try to give number ratings later. 
 [MENTION=128807]Nanducob[/MENTION] R u asking if so, its a Amazon exclusive


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## Zangetsu (Dec 22, 2014)

amjath said:


> [MENTION=34930]Zangetsu[/MENTION] Thanks bro,
> A bit of Yellow tint is there, I placed it in the sunlight. A little tint reduced but the weather here is cloudy. So will do again when the climate is good.
> As soon as turn the device on, my first app was display tester. I see no dead pixels.
> About the rating will try to give number ratings later.


k00l....also give the rooting methods used


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## Nanducob (Dec 22, 2014)

Mm.before it was launched people bought it for 27-28k including customs.


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## amjath (Dec 22, 2014)

Nanducob said:


> Mm.before it was launched people bought it for 27-28k including customs.


Yeah from Oneplus directly. But I bought it after india launch


Zangetsu said:


> k00l....also give the rooting methods used



Sure bro, thx for reminding me


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## kamikaz (Dec 22, 2014)

man dont keep it in sunlight or stuff like that , just keep using as regularly , eventually it will settle on its own, and you would also forget about it 
Honestly its not a big issue and hard to notice unless you do a lot of stuff in white background


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## tanmaymohan (Dec 22, 2014)

Great review


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## amjath (Dec 23, 2014)

kamikaz said:


> man dont keep it in sunlight or stuff like that , just keep using as regularly , eventually it will settle on its own, and you would also forget about it
> Honestly its not a big issue and hard to notice unless you do a lot of stuff in white background


That's right as well.


tanmaymohan said:


> Great review


Thanks


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## Ronnie11 (Dec 23, 2014)

[MENTION=127004]amjath[/MENTION]..First of all..Thanks for the review.Seems to have covered everything. However i need some help. I am having to now hand over my OPO to my cousin since he loved the looks of the phone and he is getting married. So since i didn't want to be the bad guy, i offered to give him the phone. But i promised to add liquid smooth and give him thus buying time..  . So if you do not mind, could you please assist in installing liquid smooth to OPO.


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## $hadow (Dec 26, 2014)

Nice review brother.


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## amjath (Dec 27, 2014)

Ronnie11 said:


> [MENTION=127004]amjath[/MENTION]..First of all..Thanks for the review.Seems to have covered everything. However i need some help. I am having to now hand over my OPO to my cousin since he loved the looks of the phone and he is getting married. So since i didn't want to be the bad guy, i offered to give him the phone. But i promised to add liquid smooth and give him thus buying time..  . So if you do not mind, could you please assist in installing liquid smooth to OPO.



extremely sorry for late reply, I remember posting the below message during work but i think i didnt submit 
First unlock bootloader and install custom recovery using this method
Read carefully. In sdk manager dont download all the packages, download only the one mentioned in the first post.
*forums.oneplus.net/threads/guide-o...oader-install-custom-recovery-and-root.64487/
Here is a LiquidSmooth ROM
*forums.oneplus.net/threads/rom-android-l-near-stock-liquidsmooth-install.185669/

I dont think a third party kernel is needed for this ROM



$hadow said:


> Nice review brother.



Thanks


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## Ronnie11 (Dec 30, 2014)

amjath said:


> extremely sorry for late reply, I remember posting the below message during work but i think i didnt submit
> First unlock bootloader and install custom recovery using this method
> Read carefully. In sdk manager dont download all the packages, download only the one mentioned in the first post.
> *forums.oneplus.net/threads/guide-o...oader-install-custom-recovery-and-root.64487/
> ...


Thanks for the help. Will try it out


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