Today we’re comparing Apples to Oranges. Well not really, but instead Apple’s iPhone 6 to OnePlus’s new flagship killer on the block. Question is, does the OnePlus 2 bring enough to the table in order to take on one of the most popular smartphones on the planet?
Apple’s iPhone 6 may be nearly one year old, but that doesn’t mean anything in terms of performance with iOS. On the Android side of things, the OnePlus 2 features a Snapdragon 810 processor and 4GB of RAM, which makes the iPhone’s dual-core processor and 1GB seem kiddish, but both devices perform with ease.
We have two very different smartphone designs. Apple’s iPhone 6 is made up from all aluminum with a seamless metal and glass design, but like the OnePlus 2 there’s no removable battery or Micro SD card expansion. The OnePlus 2 features an improved build this time around, using a solid aluminum frame and keeps the same magnesium composition internally.
It initially ships with a Sandstone black back cover, but these can be swapped out for any of the various StyleSwap covers available. On the flip side, you can’t really personalize iPhone style outside of the Silver, Gold, and Space Gray colors offered by Apple.
Check out our OnePlus 2 vs iPhone 6 video below:
[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MVui8cHM6Sk]
On the bottom side of each device we’ll find speaker grilles and microphones, but the OnePlus 2 features a USB Type-C connection port, while Apple’s iPhone 6 sports its proprietary Lightning connector. Apple’s iPhone 6 features NFC, but it’ll really only be useful for Apple Pay.
Also, be sure to check out our OnePlus 2 unboxing and hands-on or our comparison to the OnePlus One.
Buttons between these two are somewhat similar. Apple’s iPhone has a lock button on one side, with volume buttons and a mute switch on the other side. The OnePlus 2 features a volume rocker and lock button on one side and an Alert Slider which functions similarly to the iPhone’s mute switch on the other side and allows you to switch between various alert modes in Android.
If you’re into small(er) smartphones, you may appreciate the 4.7-inch display on the iPhone 6, but its resolution is capped out at 750 x 1334. Over on the OnePlus 2 you’ll find a 5.5-inch display with a resolution of 1080 x 1920, but you’re also dealing with a much larger device here.
On the bottom end of the iPhone 6 you’ll find Apple’s signature home button with a built-in Touch ID fingerprint sensor. This can be used to unlock the device, input passwords, or even authorize mobile payments through Apple Pay. OnePlus included a fingerprint sensor this year centered at the bottom of the front panel, but with no NFC it won’t be used with Android Pay. On each side of that new capacitive fingerprint sensor/home button are two other buttons for back and multitasking.
As for camera performance, this may be somewhat subjective, but there’s definitely a difference in megapixel count with the iPhone 6 coming in with 8 of them and up to 1080p video recording, while the OnePlus 2 features a 13-megapixel shooter with optical image stabilization and laser auto focus. I’ve put together a OnePlus 2 photo gallery you can find here, or check out our iPhone 6 review for photo samples to compare.
At the end of the day, Apple’s iPhone is about to be refreshed and could bring some improvements to beat out the OnePlus 2, but for now I think I’ll stick with OnePlus. For $389 unlocked/off-contract it’s a great deal, but will never replace the compatibility and ease of use that comes along with iOS. That’s where the choice gets tough for people. If you want a solid (Android) smartphone that won’t break the bank, there’s no need to buy an iPhone. The OnePlus 2 will get the job done for sure, but that’s just my opinion. Let us know what you think with a comment below.
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Better get the software patched on the OnePlus 2 before you do anything with it.
Should have compared it to the iPhone 6 plus. Not sure why everyone so far is comparing it to just the iPhone 6.
You must be joking! You can’t compare a $389 device to a $749 device. But even if you compare them, OnePlus 2 may come ahead of 6 Plus on some points. Like camera and ram.
You’ve got to be kidding. There is more to a camera then mega pixels. The iPhone camera has been rated best in class time and time again (until recently with the S6 and G4). Theres much more to ram then the amount of ram. Ram management on Android is horrible, and with every app running a background service ram usage is just terrible. Android devices need high amounts of ram especially with all those Google services running. Android on 1GB of ram is not comparable to iOS with 1GB of ram. While more ram is certainly welcome on any device especially the 6 and 6+ its not the same experience as an Android device with 1GB.
My friend, i’m using iPhone 6 and i can tell you that: camera on iPhone 6 may be the best 8MP camera but in daylight, almost all smart phone cameras are better than iPhone 6. Why? Cause they’ve got more detail (but low light is a different story) Also most of them have more aperture and lower f point. While iPhone 6 has one of the best cameras and it has very good color reproduction but the detail is not so good because of 8MP and small sensor. Secondly, ram part is a bottleneck for iPhone 6. In Safari even when i have two tabs, it reloads when i switch between them or when i multitask, my iPhone closes apps. Now this can be good for battery but it closes apps without saving anything. Yes 1GB RAM on an Android device is not equal to iPhone 6, but 1GB RAM on an iPhone is not equal to 3GB RAM found on Android devices. Am i happy with my iPhone? Yes. But not as much as I used to be. Ahh, good old iPhone 4 times…
Is that how you compare a product is price to price? I would compare them because you have similar size phones. You would not compare a truck and a car.
@jesusfranco:
> Theres much more to ram then the amount of ram.
Yeah right. There is much more to horsepower thAn the amount for horsepower. But mainly it is horsepower.
Thru the entire history of computing memory was always the bottleneck and will always be. iPhones DO lack RAM. You can manage whichever way you like it, but you can beat simple laws of logic. More memory is always better.
Both the OnePlus 2 and that new Moto 2015 look nice.
the new moto actually moved me a little , it will be maybe the first time since the iPhone 5 launch that I’m considering to switch away from iPhone .
“That’s where the choice gets though for people.” I think you meant tough not “though”
Thanks for the heads up. Missed in edit, fixed.
Why not compare this to the 6+??? Screen size comparisons would then be meaningful.
” On the Android side of things, the OnePlus 2 features a Snapdragon 810 processor and 4GB of RAM, which makes the iPhone’s dual-core processor and 1GB seem kiddish, but both devices perform with ease.”
So both devices perform with ease….this is why your little spec comparison is petty and childish. Performance is what matters. Only techie tools get all chubbed up specs, paying customers care about results.
I’d consider this phone, but the support horror stories I hear are too much.
I was reading a 1+ owner’s tale of after-sales service woes in 1+ forums… And 1+ even have a service center in that country which you can’t say the same for lots of other places where they sell their phones
iPhone allways
The other phone is bigger than the iPhone why didn’t you use the iPhone 6+
Send from Ed’s iPad
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Yeah yeah, another of those China phones typing on you. But hey, buy it because it cheap and it’s faster by specs.
This guy has obviously been paid to write this stuff. Theres nothing wrong with paid promotion like how he mentions D brand skin in every video but this comparison is way off.
I had a OPO, and it was pretty neat; however, there is a catch with the little price tag! you basically get slow customer support. The hardware was great and I’m sure this new OP2 is a great phone, too; however, I rather have that insurance I get with Apple knowing that at least I can get my hands on support team if I need one.
Most people have been talking about 5 major problems that I don’t really think are problems.
1. No quick charging – this might most likely be sorted with Android M. Right now Android L versions do not support Quick Charge on USB C ports. It has been confirmed that the Android M will. Check here http://www.cnet.com/news/andro…, hopefully, this will come to the OnePlus 2.
2. No Micro SC card slot – Its 64 GB guys why do you need an additional slot?
3. Why no NFC and why dual SIM? – Well, OnePlus is smart. It is made for Asia as much as it is made for US and Europe. For Asia, dual SIM adds to sales and payment via Credit Cards and NFC availability is extremely limited. So no NFC is not a deal breaker in most fo Asia.
4. No 2K/UHD, just a 1080p screen – Well you said it, 2k would be a drain on the battery. 1080p is fine for a handheld.
5. Available via invite only – Remember they stories you heard about the all those unsold Samsung Galaxy S5s, http://www.forbes.com/sites/ew…. Well, OnePlus is a small company. (certainly much smaller than Samsung). They make one product at a ridiculously low price and they spend nothing on marketing. If that does not sell and 40% of those are in some warehouse somewhere the company will shut down. The invite system might be a problem but would help the company predict demand better, compete and survive.
The real risks are the 3 areas that might be potentially worse than the OnePlus One. These could make or break the phone and seriously impact the companies future.
1. Snapdragon 810 – Does it overheat? Has it been throttled? Will it be slow as some benchmarks videos claim? Also is it a battery hog? Many new flagships, such as the Samsung lineup, the LG G4 the new Moto X phones have steered clear of using it. Did OnePlus make a deal with the devil and “Settle” for the 810 in exchange a better financial deal with Qualcomm?
2. Battery life – Reliable benchmarks such as MKBHDs claim, despite the larger capacity, the battery drain as much as 20% faster than OnePlus One. That can be a major bummer. We can’t tell for sure till the embargos are lifted and we can get some real reviews. I would expect these sometime after 11th August.
3. Camera – It may have been improved on the hardware side, but the frontend software on the Cyanogen mod version was kick ass with tons of manual options. These are missing on the OnePlus 2, can be sorted with 3rd party apps and hopefully future updates by OnePlus. Unlike the 1st 2, this problem can be easily solved.
Overall the OnePlus 2 is a little disappointing, not because it’s a bad device, but more because of the expectations set with the OnePlus One and with taglines like “2016 Flagship Killer”.
If this was a new device with the same specs and price we would be going gaga over it. Just like we did with the OnePlus One. Remember for under $400, this phone is still great, but with new Moto X at about the same price, they have their work cut out.
I’ll take the Moto X just for better after-sales service + timely updates (I have 2 android devices so I frequent Android-centric blogs often and Moto is timely with their software updates) + better distribution channels + no invites!
I had a Moto X 2nd gen, great phone. Couldn’t replace an iPhone in my situation but it’s a great Android phone, IMO the best Android phone out right now. And I couldn’t agree more on Moto’s support and updates, they exceed any other Android phone maker.
We really should really concentrate on functionality. Can anyone see the difference in 8 meg pixels and 13 meg in a computer without zooming to the pixels? How many of you have a 4 k TV. And by the way the videos on a 4k tv are awful. It seems that for fast movements the TV processor can’t keep up.
I personally see the difference in storage though 13meg pics eat a lot more space.
Apple still has an overall superior offering with their ecosystem. Apps seem more reliable and more bug free than android. Plus apple stores are everywhere. Who produces the oneplus 2 by the way?
I love how everyone on has their head in the sand about the Android Hack that is out now. What is the deal?
Is there some rule that you have to edit out every micro second of silence? I don’t like watching the videos like this, you make me stressed. The videos would be much more enjoyable if you left natural speaking in please.
Why wouldn’t you compare the OnePlus 2 to the 6 Plus? They’re the same size screens, it’s only natural to compare them.
And the Moto X Play (2015) with the iPhone 6+ ? Battery, Photo etc ? 1/3 price iPhone 6+ ;-) ;-) ;-)
Get your invite for the Oneplus2 here:
https://oneplus.net/invites?kolid=NJ34JU
what’s the point of owning an android when all your data can be hacked by a single text message?
i rather go with iOS than anything else.
No one is responding to this info and 9to5 basically is ignoring that fact and not reporting on it. Not sure if they are afraid they will get in trouble from Google or what but I would think you would want to keep your readers informed of major issues out there right now.
Can anyone tell me what that wooden case is on the iPhone in the video? Thanks!