[ONE General] xanthene:
I've owned my OPO 64GB for about 10 days now. Here are my thoughts. Feel free to scroll down the the summary, if you don't feel like reading it all.

My trusty Nexus 4 has been having some hiccups for some time, where the power button would not work, required a lot of force or a single press was registered twice. So I was on the lookout for a new phone in the same price range and with the same promise of a clean Android experience. That is when I started seeing more and more glaring reviews of the OnePlus One, so I decided to try and get one.

I work in China, where the 16GB version is available for purchase directly from the Chinese website without the tedious invite system. The 64GB version is currently a limited release and it is only sold on two days a week. However, I was lucky to be able to purchase one on my first attempt. I paid online and the phone arrived within about two days.

The product packaging was appealing. I have never seen a cardboard box that required you to pull a string to rip it open and I really quite enjoyed that. The entire layout of the products inside the packaging, as well as the red and white design, was very high end and, as my colleague said, "Apple-esque". There were all sorts of little tiny details that made it nice. For example, there was a plastic strap that made it easier to take the phone out of its box (kind of like the plastic strap that helps to remove batteries from remote controls).

Build quality of the phone also was a pleasant surprise: the gaps between different parts of the phone can only be measured in microns. There are no stray pieces of plastic at the edges, the holes for the speakers and the USB port are all perfectly machined. The SIM-tray sits inside the case perfectly flush. While the buttons are quite small, they stick out far enough that they remain easy to find and press. The charger also looks nice, although I think it is larger than it needs to be and might get in the way of other plugs on some sockets. While I certainly agree that the USB cable looks nice, and the built-in strap allows you to always store it rolled to a nice coil, I do feel like it is prone to early breakage: First of all, sooner or later the strap is going to rip, and secondly, the fact that the USB-A plug is made of plastic and very flat, makes me wonder if it can withstand even half of the force of a normal USB plug.

I'm not too fond of the way the screen is seated in the phone. First of all, I really disapprove of these fake metal frames of many phones, because once the paint chips, there is no stopping. After 18 months, the silver frame around the screen of my Nexus 4 looks like a chewed pencil.

I also don't like that there is a little step between the silver frame and the screen. I'm fairly certain that it will collect dust and lint and look quite ugly after half a year or so of being carried around in my pocket.

I also don't like the dimensions of the phone that much. Due to the very sharp edges and the width, the phone feels uncomfortable to grasp in one hand. And since it's very heavy, I kept feeling like it would slip out of my hand easily.

Speaking of which: I bought the "babyskin white" version, which is a kind of a smooth, matte white. The appearance reminded me of the Nexus 5. Also, the press generally described the more grippy black version as "sandpaper-like" and I didn't want that in my pocket. There are some minor defects (gray scuff marks) on the back underneath the camera, but I was too lazy to get the phone exchanged. However, it does look like they cannot be removed.

Since the Chinese version ships with ColorOS, I immediately flashed the latest CM11s images on my phone. I was shocked to find that even the international firmware did not support 3G on China Unicom! In general, the radio part of the phone is a bit hit and miss for me. In the week that I owned the device, I had three or four occasions where the modem had apparently crashed and I had to enter my PIN code again. The OPO (just like my Nexus 4, by the way) only seems to find my 5GHz WiFi network 9 times our of 10, even if I set it to use 5GHz only. When it does find it, the signal strength is at 2 bars and the connection speed very slow, even if I'm sitting next to the router. 2.4GHz has no problems though. The connection is stable and fast. I have experienced a bunch of problems with Bluetooth as well where it either took a comparatively long time to connect my wireless headphones, or they wouldn't connect at all. I also frequently have interruptions when listening to music with my Bluetooth headphones, requiring me to turn Bluetooth off and back on. After the headphones have reconnected, it takes several seconds before the audio stream is routed through Bluetooth, rather than the phone speakers. That makes for a bunch of awkward moments when music came blaring out of the phone speakers rather than my headphones in quiet environments.

Otherwise, the hardware is good. I can't make any comparison to current generation flagships, but everything is very responsive. The camera takes very nice pictures under optimal light conditions, although I feel like they are a bit "grainy" when zoomed. Colour reproduction in sunlight also looks right to me, but (like many smartphone cameras) is a bit off under fluorescent lamps. Even at night I am surprised by how much light the front and back camera are able to capture. I love the fact that I can use face unlock 75% of the time when walking under streetlights at night. That didn't work at all with the Nexus 4.

Seeing how CM11s doesn't seem to have any benefit over the monthly builds of Cyanogenmod, I first changed to M8 and then to M9 yesterday.

Unfortunately, the software is very much a work in progress. For example, I get random reboots when playing "Sky Force 2014". I tried to set up a VPN connection to my router at home, only to find that it doesn't work. Since OnePlus announced that they would like to start building their own ROM, I honestly wonder whether Cyanogen will continue to officially support this phone over the next 18 months.

To end on a more positive note, I'm happy with the battery life. After a workday, with some Bluetooth music and light gaming, I am left with about 40% battery when I get back home. That's better than my Nexus 4, which barely made it home with 10% charge left, even without gaming. However, I feel like the phone disappoints a little when compared to the stamina of the Note 3.

Summary:

Pros:

Exceptional build quality

Great product packaging

Crisp screen (and no yellow discoloration)

Responsive

Decent battery life

Good front and back camera

Cons:

Incomplete software

Unstable radio

Official software support doubtful in the long run

Battery life disappoints a little compared to Galaxy Note 2

USB cable does not look very sturdy.

When I think of a flagship phone, is not just a bunch of highest-spec hardware. The flagship experience comes from a finely tuned software experience that underlines the quality of the hardware used. And that is exactly where I feel this phone falls short. It's a good phone, but it is overhyped and overrated. The software experience makes it feel like an unfinished product. I was expecting a Nexus-like device, but I find myself disappointed.