April 23, 2014. OnePlus has just unveiled the OnePlus One, and the tech media is processing it with a mixture of genuine enthusiasm and careful skepticism. Snapdragon 801. 3GB of RAM. 5.5-inch 1080p display. 3100mAh battery. CyanogenMod 11S. $299 for the 16GB model, $349 for 64GB. Those specifications at that price in April 2014 are not just competitive. They are embarrassing for every manufacturer that has decided a Snapdragon 800 and 2GB of RAM at $599 is an acceptable proposition.
The hardware is based closely on the OPPO Find 7a, a fact that OnePlus is acknowledging openly and that matters less than the media is making of it. All hardware at any tier uses shared components and reference designs. What matters is the configuration, the software, and the price at which the combination is offered. On all three, the OnePlus One is delivering something genuinely different.
CyanogenMod and why it is the right call for 2014
The decision to launch with CyanogenMod rather than a custom OnePlus ROM is both practical and strategically correct. Cyanogen Inc. brings instant credibility with the Android enthusiast community. CyanogenMod is what Android is supposed to be before manufacturers load it with bloat: fast, clean, feature-rich without being heavy, actively maintained by a community that takes performance seriously. For a phone positioning itself as the enthusiast’s choice, launching with CyanogenMod is the equivalent of launching a car with a Recaro interior. It signals who the audience is and what they are expected to care about.
The question nobody can answer today
How many units will actually sell? OnePlus’s internal projections are: 30,000 phones and you have kept your job, 50,000 is a good year, 150,000 is exceptional. The company is a four-month-old startup with no retail presence, no carrier partnerships, and a buying model that requires an invitation to purchase. The “flagship killer” framing has landed well in tech media this morning. Whether that media attention converts into actual purchase demand from real consumers is the question that will determine whether OnePlus is a brand by December 2014 or a failed experiment.
The Indian market is already signaling interest, which is important: India is a price-sensitive market where the gap between Samsung’s flagship pricing and what consumers can afford is wide enough to drive real volume. The US and European online tech enthusiast communities are the early adopter base. The invite system means demand will outstrip supply regardless of total interest levels, which is either a thoughtful community management approach or a customer service problem waiting to happen, depending on how long the invites stay scarce.
The OnePlus One is a good phone. Possibly a great phone. Whether “never settle” becomes something people say in reference to a real brand or a failed startup is a question only time can answer. The early signs are good.
Part of OnePlus: The Complete Story, my full history of OnePlus from founding to the Realme merger.