Exciting moments from the OnePlus keynote
Yesterday, OnePlus led a live keynote event in which they introduced the new OnePlus 5 to the world. At 12pm EDT, OnePlus co-founder, Carl Pei, took the stage to kick off the event.
Pei spoke about the mission of the company, its three-year history, and their mission to build a smartphone that “we ourselves would want to use” — a statement that continues to come to fruition with each new phone release.
Enter the OnePlus 5: A monument of design that proves to be a worthy adversary to all the other smartphones out there.
Watch playback of the event here:
During the 45-minute speech, Pei — along with specials guests — revealed the specs of the phone, talked about everything that went into its production, and wrapped up by going into detail about its revolutionary camera. Here are seven moments from the keynote that made the biggest splash:
Carl Pei compares phones to food
“Great chefs don't just throw together every ingredient in the kitchen,” said Pei in a refreshing moment of frankness before diving into the design of the new phone. “Instead, they bring together ingredients that complement each other to create something truly special.” That’s what the OnePlus 5 is — a recipe perfected over time. And that’s what makes the phone so breathtaking – it takes everything into consideration to present an amalgamation of features aimed to drive superfans wild.
A tour of the phone
One of the most striking differences between the OnePlus 5 as compared to competitors is the size of the phone. Diego, a designer at OnePlus, dove into the little details that make this phone so different.
At 7.25mm, the 5 is the slimmest product from OnePlus yet — but that doesn’t mean there are fewer specs. The fingerprint scanner unlocks the phone in 0.2 seconds, leaving virtually zero lag time, while including one of the most debated features in recent phone history: A 3.5mm headphone jack.
Though the audience was teased at first about the possibility of a jack-less phone, OnePlus ended up coming through by including the jack right next to the USB type-C connector.
That camera, though…
The camera is bound to be the most talked about features upon the release of the OnePlus 5 — so here are some stats to get your blood pumping.
● A 16 megapixel front-facing camera for selfies that captures 34 percent more light than the OnePlus 3T camera.
● A 20 megapixel telephoto camera featuring “Fast AF” allowing autofocus up to 40 percent faster than OnePlus 3T.
● Portrait Mode: OnePlus’s custom software algorithm allows for crystal clear portraits with the type of depth of field focus you’d expect from a DSLR.
● Dual Camera Zoom up to 8.0x
● Pro Mode: Made specifically for those photo nerds out there, Pro Mode allows users to tweak with the ISO, white balance, shutter speed, and exposure.
● Smart Capture: OnePlus 5 automatically improves the clarity of photos through a High Dynamic Range algorithm that works quietly in the background.
Dash charge and smooth performance
One big point of contention between phones and the people who use them is the short battery life. OnePlus has taken this into consideration by making a serious effort to solve the short battery lives of smartphones. Enter Dash Charge: A simple answer to end slow and inefficient charging.
A half-hour charge gives your OnePlus 5 a full day of power, which is pretty mind-blowing when compared to some of the other Android phones on the market. As an added bonus: the phone can stay cool and consistent by keeping the voltage down to five volts.
Oxygen OS
OnePlus is excited by the new operating system, Oxygen OS. The designers talked about using Android as a base so as not to “mess with the foundation” — leading them to focus on user experience. One exciting feature for bookworms out there is Reading Mode, which presents an easy way for users to read on their device through grayscale mapping and filtering out blue light.
Then there’s expanded screenshots — a way to take multiple screenshots at one time through a new automatic scroll feature. Perfect for when you need to capture multiple pages without resorting to multiple screenshots.
OnePlus is always evolving
OnePlus has proven to stand out as a brand that stays humble. By ending the keynote with acknowledging shortcomings, OnePlus took the high road by moving forward at a remarkable speed. Most importantly, OnePlus takes every customer comment and complaint into consideration and will continue doing so after their fanbase gets their hands on the new phone.
A look at accessories + post-show wrap up
As the keynote came to an end, the team showed the audience some of the accessories they can expect to see released alongside the OnePlus 5.
After receiving praise from the community over a promotional backpack, OnePlus decided to expand production and release a new backpack. They also showed off the Karbon Bumper Case as well as a line of cases in partnership with Otterbox.
Finally, they debuted the retail price and the official release date: On June 27, the OnePlus 5 will be available for $479 is the US and EUR 499 in Europe.
At the New York pop up event, fans were able to purchase OnePlus 5 phones for pre-order with a line wrapping around the block.
So, what’s next for the OnePlus team? We’ll just have to wait next year — until then, continue checking in on OnePlus.net.
Topics OnePlus
