Display & Software

For the OnePlus 2, OnePlus have opted for a 5.5-inch LTPS-TFT LCD panel with a resolution of 1920 10 1080. This equates to a pixel density of 401 PPI, which isn't as good equally the latest 1440p panels we're seeing appear in flagships such every bit the LG G4 and Samsung Galaxy S6. However OnePlus believes that by trading-off pixel density the OnePlus 2 can gain the upper manus in both performance and battery life.

The company does have a bespeak here: 1440p displays pack 78% more pixels than 1080p displays, which requires more processing power to return to, and therefore consumes more than power. Nosotros've seen some advances in display and processor engineering that mitigate problems that have appeared due to 1440p displays, only y'all all the same should experience amend 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 brandish and an equivalent 1440p display. Of course, putting the OnePlus 2 upwards confronting the LG G4 in a side-by-side comparison does highlight the actress detail provided by the G4's 1440p display, but in a standalone situation the 1080p OnePlus ii display is crisp when displaying text and imagery.

The OnePlus 2 display's color reproduction is decent without being outstanding. Color tone seems merely about right – not too blue and not too yellowish – and colors are saturated plenty to make photos expect reasonable. While the brandish doesn't look as good in this department as the Galaxy S6's, nosotros're still talking about a loftier-finish phone with a display that slots firmly into the high-end. In most situations information technology looks great, and there'southward enough contrast to make the OnePlus 2 a great handheld movie player.

There are a few downsides to the OnePlus two's display, however. The panel is somewhat difficult to meet in direct sunlight, and part of that has to practice with the screen protector practical out of the box. The extra material separating the air and the LCD introduces reflections, but fifty-fifty when you lot remove the screen protector, this brandish merely isn't equally good as others I've seen in this department. LCDs can struggle in direct sunlight if they're not equipped with a range of filters, so it'southward not a huge surprise.

Brightness from the OnePlus 2'southward display is good despite some difficulties viewing it in strong outdoor lighting. The backlight tin can be reduced to such a level that it's comfy for dark-time viewing, which is swell to meet. However I wasn't very impressed with the automatic brightness manner, which near always uses an incorrect effulgence level for the conditions. During indoor usage, the display was often far also bright for comfortable viewing, which led me to manually adapt the effulgence level on several occasions. A properly-calibrated auto-brightness mode wouldn't accept me touching the manual brightness slider.

As for software in general, the automobile-brightness result is simply one of many software bugs and oddities I noticed using the OnePlus 2 as my daily driver. The device is running Android 5.ane.ane out of the box in a near-stock configuration through OnePlus' Oxygen OS 2.0, but it but doesn't have the aforementioned level of shine I'd wait from a flagship smartphone.

On top of problems with effulgence and the home push, which I mentioned earlier, there were several occasions when basic applications such every bit Chrome and some games would crash on my handset. At other times, the OnePLus ii felt unusually slow for a device powered past a Snapdragon 810 SoC, such as when loading full-resolution images in the Photos app.

At that place are other problems with the software but not working as seamlessly and coherently as I'd like. In the camera app, for example, when viewing the epitome you've merely taken y'all can't immediately zoom in to bank check details. Pulling downwardly the notification pane from the correct-manus side is the most convenient place to do so when using the large smartphone in i paw, merely this will display the huge quick-settings menu rather than all your notifications.

Information technology's these piddling things that make the OnePlus experience less friendly and less seamless than other flagship devices. Fifty-fifty the Galaxy S6 with all its Samsung bloatware delivers a more stable user feel than the OnePlus 2, which is disappointing for a near-stock smartphone.

Aside from the issues I had with the OnePlus 2'south software, I practise like the await and experience of stock Android, as information technology gives the operating system a consequent, appealing blueprint throughout apps. You tin make some changes to the design, such as 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 information technology'south off to launch the flashlight, or camera, or to command music playback. There's also the handy power to modify what happens when y'all long press or double tap the three navigation buttons, giving yous loads of quick shortcuts on any screen.

SwiftKey is the default keyboard in Oxygen OS, which is awesome to see every bit it delivers a fast, efficient typing experience. The commonly third-party keyboard is what I always opt for on other devices when their keyboards fail the typing test.

Aside from these features, there'due south not a whole lot else that's interesting almost OxygenOS, which can make the OS feel somewhat barebones in comparison to other Android skins. OnePlus says their software skin doesn't include whatever "unnecessary gimmicks", which is true, simply few more clever or interesting features wouldn't go off-target.