OnePlus AMA - post-launch edition

[u/[deleted]]

[u/DeadSalas]

How much money was saved per unit by cutting NFC? I can understand if you're unwilling to divulge a specific number, but are we talking ten dollars, a few dollars, less than a dollar?

[u/fliptrik]

Can you explain the reasoning behind the decision to cut off Android Police?

[u/OiYou]

Why is Qualcomms Quick Charging 2.0 missing from the OnePlus 2? Despite using Qualcomms latest processor.

Also why USB 2.0 only used as opposed to using Type C in conjunction with USB 3.1?

[u/istealthbro]

Do you feel like Motorola's products took some of your spotlight among the media?

[u/reluctant_engineer]

1.Now that OP2 is released,when will we get the 5.1 update for oxygenos & cos12? also will we get the Android M for Oneplus one?

2.Mkbhd said that the battery life's not as good as oneplus one,will the final software release fix this disadvantage?

3.I've heard that you're also improving the camera performance through another software update.Will there be features like slow shutter like we had in oneplus one? And where would you position OP2's improved camera performance,better than galaxy s6/lg g4 or inferior?

4.Is the audio quality improved in OP2 too?(both through headphone jack and speakers)

Edit: Also please we'd love to have 1080p 60fps with sound and playback at normal speed option.Both for Oneplus One & Two.:)

[u/CreamofWhale]

With a mantra as powerful as 'Never Settle', why am I forced to settle without quick-charging or wireless charging if I choose your phone?

[u/Flex007]

I know this question will be raised several times, but don't you honestly think your resources and investment would have been better spent on NFC rather than implementing metal pins to recognizance the type of back panel i have on my phone? and honestly speaking, as a team, how split were you on taking the decision to leave this out?

Honestly speaking - The pins on the back is a "SAMSUNG" kinda move, very gimmicky

[u/linuxwes]

How long to you plan to continue selling and supporting the OPO?

[u/psychoindiankid]

How do you guys think that your new phone will stack up against the competition? (namely the new Moto Xs)

[u/SirWetWater]

Thanks a lot for doing this AMA! I've got 7 questions I hope you can answer. If you want to skip one, feel free to do so of course!

1. You've announced you're busy with a second phone in several interviews already. Are those plans still up and if so, is there anything you can tell us about that project?

2. You've probably noticed there have been loads of people complaining about the lack of NFC. Do you think it is possible to include NFC in a later batch of OP2's and if so, would you consider doing so?

3. The two pins on the Styleswap cover. We know they're not for NFC and there's a rumour they change the phone's theme based on which Styleswap is attached in HydrogenOS. Can you confirm this and will this also be featured in OxygenOS?

4. OnePlus posted a tweet today saying there's going to be a new way to get invites starting next week. Could you give us a small hint on what that could be? (Source: https://twitter.com/oneplus/status/627901724720787457)

5. I've heard that the Carbon Fiber (also known as Kevlar) Styleswap actually lacks the texture you'd expect it to have due to the coating. Can you confirm it's more of a smooth surface?

6. Many people are in doubt on whether to get the OP2 or the Moto X Style. What would you like to say to those people either in order to convince them or just to speak your mind?

7. This question is a tiny one, but I hope to get a positive reply nonetheless. At the Popup events, you've given away a lot of OnePlus backpacks (the grey one). I'm in love with that backpack ever since I saw it and I was hoping you could tell me if it's available to purchase anywhere?

Last but not least, I just want to thank you all for being so dedicated to your jobs! Even now, I happen to know you guys won't be home until like 1am but yet here you are. I wish I could give y'all a high five!

-Waterdroid

[u/GinDaHood]

What is the status on VoLTE for the US version? Will it be activated in an OTA update?

[u/xsynergy510x]

I had some thoughts and ideas about the smartphone industry with the launch of the OnePlus Two. I was wondering how you could affect the smartphone cycle be releasing every two years and focusing on a truly 2-year future proof phone. If I were to create a phone, it would have 32GB storage, 1080p display, 3000+mah battery and an assortment of features to keep up with the competition up and until the next year. This lead me to a couple of questions:

1. What are your thoughts on releasing on a 2 year cycle? Would it be beneficial to concentrate on one phone for a whole 1.5-2 years until the release of the next iteration?

2. Is the OnePlus startup sustaining itself on a one phone per year strategy?

3. How feasible would it be to make your baseline phone spec'd a little higher than flagships and possibly be matched with the next generation's specs? (ex. baseline 32GB rather than 16GB)

4. r/Android might be a very niche subset of the whole Android population, but what do you think of common criticisms they have of all smartphones, such as: "If X company added a couple more millimeters, I wouldn't mind a little bulkiness for a bigger battery." Would you take this into consideration, or is being smaller/slimmer than the competition more important?

5. Has the design process for the next iteration already begun?

6. How does the designing process work? Do you look at current technologies (ex. SD810,1080p/4K displays) and see cost-benefit ratio, or is each part chosen with another (ex. SD810 and DDR4 RAM)

7. Who am I watching on periscope as I type this up?

My questions may have become a bigger mess than I thought, but I thank you if you took the time to read through them!

[u/TitsMcGrits]

Before the OP2 event, there was a lot of talk about how you were planning to improve customer service and support. I haven't heard anything about it since, and recent interviews suggest you want to put as many as 5m units in the market (meaning you will have 3x the customers out there) which could be a disaster for customer service rather than an improvement if you haven't scaled up and improved that side of the business. Comments?

[u/jerdog76]

So here's the thing - you've twice proclaimed your devices as "Flagship Killer", and when the OPO was announced it was a worthy adversary against what was out. But by the time it could be actually purchased, it wasn't any different from other devices that were out. Fast forward to 2015 - you're proclaiming the OP2 as the "2016 Flagship Killer".

1. Why such a bold statement, when it's missing features which last year's (and even this year's) flagships had?

2. What makes you feel your device is better than anything else that hasn't even come out yet?

3. Carl himself said the OP3 due out in December was more interesting and possibly higher spec'ed than the OP2 (http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2015/08/02/oneplus-carl-pei-interview/30947799/). If that device has higher specs, then haven't you just killed your own phone?

[u/infffy]

What about custom roms. As that was one of the best parts of the One. Now that OxygenOS is going to be closed source, will you release anything else than the kernel sources to the developer community?

[u/[deleted]]

Since I'm sure many of the more technical questions will be asked by everyone else, I have two questions regarding shipping and warranty.

1. Shipping can take up to three weeks, which is understandable since the company is located in China. Are there any plans to have warehouses in other countries or any of your offices in other countries to store Oneplus products to improve shipping time?

2. Warranty is 12 months and limited in what it covers, is there any chance that Oneplus would add an extended warranty option that either lasts longer or covers accidental damage?

Thank you very much for the AMA, I love it when companies are more involved with their customers. Keep up the great work!

[u/jpswer]

Can any of you discuss how you want to improve how you deal with the community to prevent things like the NFC thing blowing up like it did? @Mike you hinted about some changes on the forums :)

Did you expect such a backlash?

[u/Potato_Gamer]

Are you aware of the insanity that's going on the forums XD Everyone want's an official word on stuff, instead of having to look at news articles and just guess? I personally don't care but a lot of forumer's do :P

[u/istealthbro]

When will media get their review units? WE NEED REVIEWS!

[u/[deleted]]

NFC is literally just a coil, and costs practically nothing. Why would you not suck it up and put it in the phone? Seems an unnecessary risk of alienating many customers for something so cheap.

[u/Armsheezy]

Can you please clear out the reason why the OnePlus 2 doesn't have Quick charge?

[u/super_evil_alien]

1. In one of previous AMA number of us recommended OnePlus to release a phone with smaller size due to result of various polls. You asked for proof & someone did provide you with the result. So I would like you to provide some kind of hard fact to back your claim that NFC is overated not many people use it.

2. Is the 3+ hours of charge worth the trade for USB Type C? I personalty think you guys should have worked with Qualcomm/Google to include some kind of adaptive charging.

3. What's your plan with the OS strategy? How often are you planning to update the OS & will OPO get most of the updates that goes to OP2?

4. Any comment regarding the AndroidPolice article? I think they raised some reasonable issues with your company.

[u/Vreckie]

What happened with the mystery battery tech you talked about a year ago?

[u/DeadSalas]

I'm very much not a fan, but I do hope the mods are on top of things and clean up all the low-effort "#NEVERSETTLE" stuff that will probably arise.

[u/JakeChambersOy]

This is my second RMA and right now I am waiting for over 2 weeks for my replacement device. Your response was that you are waiting for confirmation from your warehouse (because of short supply I guess...). But meanwhile the OPO was back in stock in Germany three times at least.

WHY do you sell new devices instead of helping your loyal customers? I would appreciate some help. Thank you! Request #353062