OnePlus had recently launched the X smartphone in India. The OnePlus X is using the same hardware that was/is used on the OnePlus One handset. It’s the Snapdragon 801, outdated, yet quite powerful. But what makes the X unique is the design.

Unboxing
Box Content : Handset, SIM tray ejector pin, silicon case, quick start and user guide, data cable and travel charger (5V ~ 2A). SAR Value : 0.428 W/kg @ 1g head and 0.60 W/kg @ 1g body.

Design
The OnePlus X is the best looking handset that OnePlus has launched so far. On the first look one would easily fall in love with this beauty. Screen is almost black on the front and the back (Onyx version) is complete black with glossy finish. There is glass on the front as well as on the back.

Oneplus X review and unboxing

This handset is using a metal frame – the side have grooves that help get a good grip. The front screen and the back glass is slippery. It is a curvy design with no sharp edges. Notification button is packed on the left. Power button, volume rocker and SIM tray is on the right. Micro USB port, single speaker and primary microphone is at the bottom and on the top there is secondary mic and audio jack.

The sides are silver colour, the black and silver combination gives a premium enchanting look. Moreover not only is the screen curved on the sides, even the back glass on the back is curved  – for a perfect symmetry. The X is also available with Ceramic back version – that is slightly costlier. I got the Onyx back for the review.

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Oneplus X build quality

Handset weight with battery is 140 grams and dimensions are 68.87 x 139.86 x 7.14 (mm). This smartphone is very comfortable to hold and because of a smaller dimension and screen size (5 inches) it is perfect for single hand operation.

Oneplus X review

This is a dual SIM handset – SIM 1 is a nano SIM slot and SIM 2 is a hybrid slot, you can either use a nano SIM or a micro SD card in SIM slot 2. Both the SIM slots support 4G.

Oneplus X dual SIM slots

There is LED notification, video calling option is there in call settings but the video call button is missing – you can however use Skype for making / receiving video calls. The X is packed with accelerometer, light, proximity, magnetic, gyro and hall sensors.

Display
The X sports a 5 inch screen with 1920 x 1080 pixels resolution. Screen is scratch resistant (corning gorilla glass 3 protected). The screen came with a factory fitted screen guard. OnePlus X is using an AMOLED screen that delivers excellent picture quality. Viewing angles are great and touch is very smooth and responsive.

Oneplus X 5 inch AMOLED screen with 1080p resolution

Memory, Storage and OS
The X is packed with 3GB RAM (1.9GB free) and 16GB storage (approx 11GB free). There is micro SD slot too. App are getting installed on the internal storage (move to SD card option is available). OTG works but for that you will need to enable the OTG storage feature from the settings -> storage option (check video review).

X is running Oxygen OS 2.1.1 based on Android Lollipop 5.1.1 (32 bit).

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Performance
As far as the performance is concerned we all are well aware of the Snapdragon 801 chipset. The X is using Qualcomm MSM8974PRO-AA 32 bit quad core chipset clocked at 2.3GHz coupled with Adreno 330 GPU. Performance is very smooth, the handset does tend to heat-up, but this is pretty much normal with 801 chipset. Max battery temperature I encountered was 42 degrees.

Benchmark

Benchmark App Score
Quadrant 22989
Antutu (32 bit) 1st – 39893 , 2nd – 39849
Nenamark 2 58.6fps
Internal Storage speed Read – 222MB/s, Write – 54MB/s
Multi touch 10 point

Gaming
I tried the Asphalt 8 in high visual quality mode. On every 801 chipset this game played really well, very smooth. The 801 processor is powerful and can play high end games. The apps / games are getting installed on the internal storage by default, there is an option to move to SD but not all of the app and/or data will be moved.

Camera
There is 12.4MP rear AF camera (f/2.2 Aperture, Phase Detection AF ISOCELL technology) with LED flash and a 7.6MP front camera. Rear camera can shoot 1080p videos – there is no pause option while the video is being recorded. You can choose from the following modes – panorama, slow motion, video, photo and time-lapse.  Camera quality is above average check the sample images and video at the end of this review.

The handset can shoot 1080p videos however the hardware can play 4K videos with ease.

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Oneplus X 12.4MP primary camera

Others
In-call sound is clear, loud speaker is loud and clear. No issues found with 4G, 3G, WiFi, GPS(instant lock) and Bluetooth.

The WiFi supports 2.4GHz and does not support 5GHz.

2.4GHz has longer range when compared with 5GHz. However 5GHz are more stable when there are huge number of connections. If you are facing a lot of interference issues using WiFi then 5GHz will help otherwise 2.4GHz is more than enough.

Battery
There is a 2525 mAh non-removable battery. It takes less than 2 hours 30 minutes to fully charge the battery and on a full charge you can expect about 3 to 4 hours of continuous moderate to heavy usage.

Performance Time Battery drop % Battery Max Temp
Benchmark 11 Minutes 5% 39 degree
Gaming (Asphalt 8) 24 Minutes 11% 41 degree
4K movie play with full brightness + Wi-Fi on 39 minutes 17% 42 degree
Wall Charge (on standby) 2 hour 17 minutes 6% to 100% (wall charge) 38 degree

Verdict
The OnePlus X is a beautiful handset. Apart from the battery performance that is just about good, everything is above average. The X is priced at ₹16,999 it is a bit costly since there are other handsets using the same hardware for a much cheaper price, however if you go by the overall performance, camera quality and the design the X is a good option.

OnePlus X is available (invite based) for ₹16,999 for Onyx version, the fire baked ceramic version is even more pricey.

Image Gallery


Rear Camera Sample


Front Camera Sample

Video Review

By Rajeev Rana

Founder and Chief Editor - gogi.in