More than a year has now passed since the announcement of the OnePlus One and in the meantime the company has already presented the successor to what has been called "Flagship Killer".
But today we will talk about the first range medium of OnePlus, or the OnePlus X, device characterized by hardware "dated" (but still very interesting) and, as per tradition OnePlus, a good quality / price ratio.
OnePlus X is available on the official website with the classic invitation method or, alternatively, at third-party retailers, such as TopResellerStore.it, which offers shipping from Italy and 24 months of warranty and Italian assistance. On the store it will be possible to take advantage of a discount through the voucher GIZCHINA.
OnePlus X, the complete review of GizChina.it
OnePlus X - Sales package
As usual, the attention to detail by OnePlus emerges from the sales package, which does not disappoint even in the packaging of the OnePlus X. Inside we find:
- OnePlus X;
- USB cable - anti-tangling micro USB;
- USB charger with Chinese plug (or European, depending on the version you buy) from 2A;
- protective cover in TPU;
- SIM removal pin;
- instruction manuals and warranty.
OnePlus X - Design and materials
Once again OnePlus does not disappoint and even the new OnePlus X from the construction point of view is confirmed to be really well made and free of "weak points", starting from the materials used, up to the overall assembly.
One Plus X has a size equal to 140 x 69 x 6.9 mm and alone 138 grams in the “Onyx” version in our possession (a variant will also be available in the coming weeks Ceramic with different construction materials and weight).
The design is studied in detail; the edges are rounded and the whole side frame is in aluminum painted in the Champagne color, which, combined with the white of the back cover, guarantees the device an elegant and premium appearance.
The side buttons are characterized by a knurled finish and painted in the same color as the frame.
Following the arrangement of the buttons and plugs on the OnePlus X.
Starting from the lower side we find the micro USB connector centrally for charging and connecting to the computer, while on the two sides there are the speaker and the main system microphone, made with the same design.
On the other hand, on the other hand, we find the 3.5 mm jack for the headphones and the second microphone for the reduction of environmental noise from the left.
On the right side are the slot for inserting the two SIM cards in Nano format (or a SIM nano + MicroSD), the rocker for volume adjustment and the on and off button.
The left side, however, has a single "switch" button that allows you to adjust the settings related to the notifications in three steps, each of which corresponds to a "click" of the button (Do not disturb, only priority and all notifications).
Frontally, in the upper part, we find the front camera from 8 mega-pixels, the ear capsule, the proximity sensors and for automatic brightness adjustment and a small LED.
At the bottom, finally, on what we commonly define "chin", we find the three touch buttons, also in champagne color, not backlit and with a slight vibration feedback. On the software supplied with the device it is also possible to activate the display of the on-screen keys, with the consequent deactivation of the physical keys. However, among the options there is a mode that allows you to leave the Home button active.
OnePlus X - Display
One of the most amazing aspects of OnePlus X is definitely the one related to the quality of the display.
Besides a "right" dimension of 5 inches, a resolution FullHD 1920 x 1080 pixels and a panel of type AMOLED excellent quality, the screen has a slight curl 2.5D which makes the device much more elegant and, from some points of view, facilitates its use, making the user experience more pleasant.
Obviously we are talking about a display that has very saturated colors, but this does not surprise us as we are faced with an AMOLED panel, which, however, as now known, has extremely deep blacks.
The extreme saturation of colors may not be appreciated by those users who prefer the more "realistic" shades from IPS.
OnePlus X - Internal memory
The OnePlus X is equipped with 16GB of internal memorybut excluding the system partition we find it available around 11.53GB, usable as usual to install applications and store data.
There is also a memory expansion slot via Micro SD provided, however, that the device is used with only one SIM card, because the slot dedicated to expansion is shared with that of the second card.
OnePlus X - Hardware and performance
The trend (in our intelligent opinion) of some Chinese manufacturers is to propose smartphones with dated SoCs at this end of 2015 and, more precisely, with the tried and tested and still performing Snapdragon 801. This is how interesting mid-range devices are born -high, such as, for example, lo Zuk Z1 and of course the OnePlus X.
That said, on board OnePlus X we therefore find a SoC Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 Quad-Core from 2.3GHz, 3GB RAM memory and a Adreno GPU 330. Today's use of a device with such hardware does not detect blocks or slowdowns of any kind, thus confirming the validity of this solution. Furthermore, even in the most "stressful" sessions the device showed excellent management and dissipation of the heat produced.
However, the configuration of the OnePlus X slightly shows the side in gaming and, more precisely, on Asphalt 8 there are no excellent performances, but only mediocre ones. In every other situation, OnePlus X runs perfectly, starting from the very fluid web browser, up to the playback of FullHD and 4K videos.
Then you will find the results of the benchmarks made on the OnePlus X.
OnePlus X - Antutu Benchmark
OnePlus X - Audio
While the bottom edge design might suggest a dual stereo speaker, the OnePlus X is equipped with a single speaker.
The audio output is qualitatively excellent, the sound is strong and the equalization is good, a symptom of how OnePlus has been attentive to every single detail.
OnePlus X - Connectivity
Also in the connectivity compartment this OnePlus X does not disappoint; the device is equipped with a double Sim slot, but it is good to make a clarification regarding the trial version, ie the "Chinese" one.
Unlike the international version of the device, in fact, this variant does not have the 20 band (800Mhz), a frequency which, although not much more performing than HDSPA + connectivity, is necessary to connect in 4G with the Wind operator and in the areas. “Remote” (outside the major centers) with TIM.
In general the reception is average, the telephone quality is good and the speed of cell changes is satisfactory. Good data transmission under the 4G network, which turns out to be really fast.
OnePlus X - Camera
The camera supplied with OnePlus X is a unit from 13 mega-pixels with aperture f / 2.2 and with a decent quality in the shots; in good light conditions the camera is able to offer good shooting performance, but with the flash at night the photos are very noisy.
The front room, on the other hand, is a good unit from 8 mega-pixels with aperture f / 2.4 and a very wide angle, such as to guarantee even group photos without problems. The quality is good when there is a lot of light, but the first difficulties immediately emerge when the sun goes down.
OnePlus X - FullHD 1080p video recording test
OnePlus X - Software
On board the OnePlus X we find the distribution of Android Lollipop 5.1.2 with relative OxygenOS 2.1.2, the ROM made by OnePlus after the end of the official CyanogenMod support on board the OnePlus One.
The software is responsive, fast and free of trivial applications that could slow down the system; the interface is the classic stock of Android Lollipop with very few customizations, one of these, Shell, OnePlus's automatic aggregator.
Among the other options available we find only the possibility of setting gestures within the system (double tap to activate the screen, open the camera, control the music player).
OnePlus X - Autonomy
From the standpoint of autonomy, the OnePlus X does not excel. There are only 2525 mAh available to the device, results not sufficient to cover a day of intense use.
Considering the use almost exclusively under Wi-Fi network we managed to get to dinner time with about 3 hours of active screen which are reduced if you use the device under 3G / 4G network.
However, the classic energy saving mode of Android Lollipop is present, which, however, guarantees an increase in autonomy of less than 10%, but at the expense of the performance of the device which is decidedly reduced.
Obviously, considering the presence of an AMOLED display, the DARK theme plays a fundamental role in optimizing the autonomy of the OnePlus X, and therefore the use of backgrounds with prevalent black shades.
OnePlus X - Photo Gallery
OnePlus X - Final considerations
In light of what was reported in the course of the review and considering the list price of the device, or about 295 euros shipped, it is very difficult to bring out valid reasons for not recommending its purchase.
The OnePlus X, in fact, combines in the same product everything an average user looks for: a beautiful design, good performance with good balanced hardware, an acceptable camera and a “fair” price.
The only drawback of the OnePlus X? Certainly the battery, a bit castrated by the constructive choices (the reduced thickness), but still well optimized in terms of consumption if we consider the available amperage.
OnePlus X is available on the official website with the classic invitation method or, alternatively, at third-party retailers, such as TopResellerStore.it, which offers shipping from Italy and 24 months of Italian warranty and assistance. On the store it will be possible to take advantage of a discount through the voucher GIZCHINA.
