The OnePlus One smartphone is a year old. When it was announced, it was the flagship killer that everyone wanted, but very few could get. Due to its limiting invite-only purchase strategy, it was exclusive as it was inaccessible. For the longest time, the only way to get your hands on one would be through grey importers like DirectD or Dialog Hub. However, things are about to make a turn for the better. Maxis has announced its exclusive partnership with OnePlus, and is bringing the much-touted smartphone to Malaysia. Better late than never.
The variant that Maxis is offering is thankfully, the 64GB Sandstone Black OnePlus One with an RRP of RM1,199 (excluding 6% GST). The device is available with the MaxisONE Plan at just RM859.
Even by today’s standards, the OnePlus One’s specs holds its own, even against higher priced, newer smartphones. Featuring a 5.5-inch Full HD LTPS LCD (401PPI) display protected by Gorilla Glass 3, it’s powered by a quad-core 2.5GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 mated to an Adreno 330 GPU. It boasts 3GB RAM LPDDR3 and 64GB of storage.
It may lack microSD expansion, but at least it comes with ample stor
age out of the box.
In terms of camera optics, it packs a 13MP autofocus camera with dual-LED flash on the back, while on the front it gets a 5MP unit.
Design-wise, it shares a design language with OPPO’s Find 7 (another brilliant phone), measuring 8.9mm at its thinnest point, and weighs just 162g. The bundled battery is rated at 3,100mAh, which should last you an entire day of use.
The OnePlus One runs CyanogenMod 11S, a custom aftermarket version of Cyanogen on top of Android 4.4 KitKat.
The partnership marks the first time OnePlus One has gone offline, and partnered with a telco at a global level.
For those looking for a flagship minus a flagship-price, the OnePlus One shouldn’t be too difficult a decision to make.
Late, but definitely not too late.
