The OnePlus X review is out, the camera comparison has been done, but some questions regarding the OnePlus X remained. Are the OnePlus One and OnePlus X vividly different, or is it just the design and camera, on which they differ? Here are 10 things that you should know about the OnePlus X from a OnePlus One user's perspective, using it as a daily driver.
Camera
The camera happens to be the most important factor for many, and the short answer is that the OnePlus X has a better camera, in terms of overall performance. While the OnePlus One's camera is no yardstick to start with, the OnePlus X (with a similar setup) wins, with some clever processing. Images taken in daylight have plenty of details, but somewhat fails in silhouette or contrast photography. Low light images look amply lit, as the camera can operate at ISO level of almost 5000, and does good noise reduction.
Form Factor
Form factor is not a major factor these days when it comes to buying a smartphone, as almost every good phone lies in the 5.5-inch segment. But, we prefer more compact form factors, purely based on ergonomics. A 5-inch phone is apt to work with, and one-handed usage is absolutely perfect with the OnePlus X.
Design elements
A glass black does look really good, but it is equally difficult to keep it clean. The OnePlus X attracts fingerprints like no other. Needless to say, it acquires scratches quite easily. Through the entire duration of usage, we were constantly wary of breaking the glass on either side, and that is not a good feeling to have.
Display
Unlike the OnePlus One or OnePlus 2, the OnePlus X comes with a 5-inch AMOLED display. It is rich in colours, and like every other AMOLED display, the level of blacks on it is brilliant. There is, however, a slightly bluish tint to the display, and sunlight legibility is not too great. OnePlus phones with LCD displays look somewhat better.
Performance
The Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 is a capable but old processor, and we all know that. However, in real life tasks, I figured that the OnePlus X was marginally slower in loading apps, offered lower frame rates in games, and took half-a-second more, while switching between camera modes, in comparison to the OnePlus One. However, opening multiple tabs on the browser, or clicking an image in HDR mode, was faster. It can be an issue with the OS. For our tests, the OnePlus X uses a factory-fresh Oxygen OS v2.1.2, and the OnePlus One is on a rooted version of Cyanogen OS v12. Additionally, the OnePlus One has seen half-a-dozen ROMs, over the past year.
Battery Life
This is a mixed bag, and we believe that there are some flaws in performance, which the Oxygen OS team needs to address. On some days, the phone gave about 8-9 hours of usage with ease, and sometimes, it died within 4-5 hours from full charge. Once you clear background applications, the battery life became normal again, but this is not how it should be. Another frustrating aspect is that it does not support fast charging.
Cyanogen ROM for OnePlus X?
The OnePlus X, unfortunately, does not support Cyanogen. Not yet, at least.
Future updates
OnePlus has already announced that all three of its phones will be getting the latest Android Marshmallow update in the next year, but the company has not given any specific dates.
No NFC
NFC could have easily been added to the smartphone, but the exclusion here looks more like an oversight, than a conscious decision on OnePlus' part.
Fingerprint sensor
One thing that I believe which could have been included is a fingerprint sensor. OnePlus has been known to offer good hardware at affordable prices and the omission of a fingerprint sensor is somewhat surprising.