 It's no secret that your smartphone is the most important gadget in your life. You're probably watching this video on your phone right now, and chances are that smartphone in your hand is made by one of two companies. There are lots of players competing for this space, and many have failed or are failing. But the smartphone world is so large that in between all of this is room for a small company to come in. We went to Shenzhen, China to meet with OnePlus to see how it found its niche and how the new OnePlus 5 came to be. In Shenzhen, if you're making hardware products, I think Shenzhen is probably the best place in the world. The support for the accessories is very good, and the factories are very close. There are also many other places around the city, like some of the original accessories and some of the parts. All of these are around the city. For example, we used to make a sample of some of the cable samples. You could call in the morning and it would be delivered to you by tomorrow morning. So it's very efficient. So people say that software can be stacked, but in Shenzhen you'll find that hardware is stacked very quickly. So the advantage is very obvious. Secondly, there are a lot of people in Shenzhen. Being based in Shenzhen has a number of advantages for OnePlus. All of China's engineering talent is concentrated here, and it's about as close as you can get to the supply chain that fuels all of the electronics manufacturing. Even still, OnePlus doesn't have the resources or supply chain management of the bigger players, so might not be able to secure the latest and greatest tech advancements you might get from Apple or Samsung. OnePlus isn't quite a startup, but it is tiny compared to the likes of Samsung or Apple. It has a few hundred employees versus the tens of thousands the other guys employ. OnePlus does not make a lot of products, it focuses all of its efforts on making one really great phone per year. And unlike other Chinese phone makers, OnePlus designs and markets its phone for a global audience so you and I can buy them in the US, which means it competes on the same fields as Apple and Samsung. OnePlus's goal is to build a phone for a specific audience, someone that wants the best performance, specs, and software support, but maybe doesn't want the same phone as everyone else. No one accidentally buys a OnePlus phone, to even get one you need to know what it is and where to buy it, which isn't at your local carrier. I think the full screen of the OnePlus 5 is something that I want to do but I don't have the resources to do it. When I saw a lot of concept images online, I thought, wow, this is so cool. But it's actually very difficult. That's the first thing. The second thing is that the battery life and the appearance are very thin. That's the part that's contradictory. When we see a phone that's thin enough to almost not have the same thickness, we think, wow, this is so cool. But when we compromise the battery life, the thickness changes. And the curve changes too. Despite that disadvantage, OnePlus says its goal is to make the best Android phone you can buy, and it listens to its fan base and current customers to find out what it needs to do to make that happen. Last year's OnePlus 3 received a claim for its design and build quality, but one recurring piece of feedback was the camera just wasn't up to par. I think one of the most common things have been the camera. It is a, the OnePlus 3T is a phone that can compete with all the flagships out there, but the camera is slightly, it's a good camera, it's not an amazing camera. So that's what we really chose to focus on for the OnePlus 5, and that's also going to be the positioning for our new phone. Now it may seem like a lot of importance is being placed on just one thing, but the camera is often what separates the best phones from the rest of the field. And if it can't move forward with camera performance, it may leave many of its fans asking just how exactly the OnePlus 5 is better than last year's phone. So for the 5, OnePlus is using a dual camera setup, similar to what Apple and other companies have already done. There are two lenses to it. Combined, OnePlus can do interesting tricks with focus and perspective. It's a familiar concept, which OnePlus doesn't really shy away from acknowledging. Being a smaller company, OnePlus wasn't equipped to do this kind of camera until now. Now in terms of features, the main two new stuff are the portrait mode that is brought in from the dual camera, and we are providing some degree of zoom that should be lossless. There are also technologies that allow us to provide portrait mode with single camera. Yes, that does exist, but at this point, the output is still not as good as those provided by dual camera modules. The choice to go with a dual camera setup had repercussions throughout the phone's design. The cameras moved from the center of the back of the phone to the upper left corner to minimize its bump. This required a lot of back and forth between OnePlus's designers and its camera engineers to find the right balance. The problem is it's a dual camera setup, so basically naturally it takes more than two times of the traditional space. So that is like a lot. I mean, very much a lot. So that was very difficult. It started out that we had to choose something a lot smaller than previous models actually. But we were able to end up with the main camera being actually pretty much the same size. It's a little difficult to make two cameras, two holes in the back and make it not look ugly. Plus, actually we're making three because there's another hole for the flashlight. Solving complex photographic problems requires a lot of clever engineering and software work. Even Apple released the iPhone 7 Plus's portrait mode in beta first. And OnePlus is constantly iterating to make it better. Basically, the software will make or break whether or not the OnePlus 5's camera is a success. For us, if we compare the loading, if you're talking about software versus hardware, for us, it would be something 8 to 2, something like that. 80% versus 20% of entire work. Success for OnePlus isn't selling as many phones as Samsung or Apple. It knows quite well that it can. But it is measured by how well it provides what its highly specific customers want. That means making a phone that has the best performance, the highest quality design, and yes, a class-leading camera. For a long time, OnePlus has sold its phones at an aggressively low price. But each new iteration has been more expensive than the last, and the OnePlus 5 is its most expensive phone yet. So execution becomes all that much more important. That also makes it harder to keep its very vocal fans happy. And if it isn't able to, OnePlus doesn't really have much of a reason to exist. There's a lot of companies on the market that can make good products. And if that were our goal, we don't need to be around, because this need can be fulfilled by many others. But there's not a lot of people who are willing to go the extra mile in going from something good to something great. Because oftentimes it's very painful. You make something, you spend a lot of time debating it, then you have to redo it over and over again. And personally I think that if you're not willing to bet your sanity on creating something as perfect as possible, then it's going to be difficult to make a really, really great product. Making a great phone is an increasingly difficult task, and prior success is no guarantee of a future triumph. A great camera is what OnePlus customers have been asking for, and the OnePlus 5 is the company's best attempt at giving them everything they want. If it doesn't deliver, OnePlus fans might look elsewhere for their next phone. But for a small company like OnePlus, that's a risk it just can't take.
 It's no secret that your smartphone is the most important gadget in your life.
 You're probably watching this video on your phone right now, and chances are that smartphone
 in your hand is made by one of two companies.
 There are lots of players competing for this space, and many have failed or are failing.
 But the smartphone world is so large that in between all of this is room for a small
 company to come in.
 We went to Shenzhen, China to meet with OnePlus to see how it found its niche and how the
 new OnePlus 5 came to be.
 In Shenzhen, if you're making hardware products, I think Shenzhen is probably the best place
 in the world.
 The support for the accessories is very good, and the factories are very close.
 There are also many other places around the city, like some of the original accessories
 and some of the parts.
 All of these are around the city.
 For example, we used to make a sample of some of the cable samples.
 You could call in the morning and it would be delivered to you by tomorrow morning.
 So it's very efficient.
 So people say that software can be stacked, but in Shenzhen you'll find that hardware
 is stacked very quickly.
 So the advantage is very obvious.
 Secondly, there are a lot of people in Shenzhen.
 Being based in Shenzhen has a number of advantages for OnePlus.
 All of China's engineering talent is concentrated here, and it's about as close as you can
 get to the supply chain that fuels all of the electronics manufacturing.
 Even still, OnePlus doesn't have the resources or supply chain management of the bigger players,
 so might not be able to secure the latest and greatest tech advancements you might get
 from Apple or Samsung.
 OnePlus isn't quite a startup, but it is tiny compared to the likes of Samsung or Apple.
 It has a few hundred employees versus the tens of thousands the other guys employ.
 OnePlus does not make a lot of products, it focuses all of its efforts on making one really
 great phone per year.
 And unlike other Chinese phone makers, OnePlus designs and markets its phone for a global
 audience so you and I can buy them in the US, which means it competes on the same fields
 as Apple and Samsung.
 OnePlus's goal is to build a phone for a specific audience, someone that wants the
 best performance, specs, and software support, but maybe doesn't want the same phone as
 everyone else.
 No one accidentally buys a OnePlus phone, to even get one you need to know what it is
 and where to buy it, which isn't at your local carrier.
 I think the full screen of the OnePlus 5 is something that I want to do but I don't have
 the resources to do it.
 When I saw a lot of concept images online, I thought, wow, this is so cool.
 But it's actually very difficult.
 That's the first thing.
 The second thing is that the battery life and the appearance are very thin.
 That's the part that's contradictory.
 When we see a phone that's thin enough to almost not have the same thickness, we think,
 wow, this is so cool.
 But when we compromise the battery life, the thickness changes.
 And the curve changes too.
 Despite that disadvantage, OnePlus says its goal is to make the best Android phone you
 can buy, and it listens to its fan base and current customers to find out what it needs
 to do to make that happen.
 Last year's OnePlus 3 received a claim for its design and build quality, but one recurring
 piece of feedback was the camera just wasn't up to par.
 I think one of the most common things have been the camera.
 It is a, the OnePlus 3T is a phone that can compete with all the flagships out there,
 but the camera is slightly, it's a good camera, it's not an amazing camera.
 So that's what we really chose to focus on for the OnePlus 5, and that's also going to
 be the positioning for our new phone.
 Now it may seem like a lot of importance is being placed on just one thing, but the camera
 is often what separates the best phones from the rest of the field.
 And if it can't move forward with camera performance, it may leave many of its fans
 asking just how exactly the OnePlus 5 is better than last year's phone.
 So for the 5, OnePlus is using a dual camera setup, similar to what Apple and other companies
 have already done.
 There are two lenses to it.
 Combined, OnePlus can do interesting tricks with focus and perspective.
 It's a familiar concept, which OnePlus doesn't really shy away from acknowledging.
 Being a smaller company, OnePlus wasn't equipped to do this kind of camera until now.
 Now in terms of features, the main two new stuff are the portrait mode that is brought
 in from the dual camera, and we are providing some degree of zoom that should be lossless.
 There are also technologies that allow us to provide portrait mode with single camera.
 Yes, that does exist, but at this point, the output is still not as good as those provided
 by dual camera modules.
 The choice to go with a dual camera setup had repercussions throughout the phone's design.
 The cameras moved from the center of the back of the phone to the upper left corner to minimize
 its bump.
 This required a lot of back and forth between OnePlus's designers and its camera engineers
 to find the right balance.
 The problem is it's a dual camera setup, so basically naturally it takes more than
 two times of the traditional space.
 So that is like a lot.
 I mean, very much a lot.
 So that was very difficult.
 It started out that we had to choose something a lot smaller than previous models actually.
 But we were able to end up with the main camera being actually pretty much the same size.
 It's a little difficult to make two cameras, two holes in the back and make it not look ugly.
 Plus, actually we're making three because there's another hole for the flashlight.
 Solving complex photographic problems requires a lot of clever engineering and software work.
 Even Apple released the iPhone 7 Plus's portrait mode in beta first.
 And OnePlus is constantly iterating to make it better.
 Basically, the software will make or break whether or not the OnePlus 5's camera is a success.
 For us, if we compare the loading, if you're talking about software versus hardware,
 for us, it would be something 8 to 2, something like that.
 80% versus 20% of entire work.
 Success for OnePlus isn't selling as many phones as Samsung or Apple.
 It knows quite well that it can.
 But it is measured by how well it provides what its highly specific customers want.
 That means making a phone that has the best performance, the highest quality design,
 and yes, a class-leading camera.
 For a long time, OnePlus has sold its phones at an aggressively low price.
 But each new iteration has been more expensive than the last,
 and the OnePlus 5 is its most expensive phone yet.
 So execution becomes all that much more important.
 That also makes it harder to keep its very vocal fans happy.
 And if it isn't able to, OnePlus doesn't really have much of a reason to exist.
 There's a lot of companies on the market that can make good products.
 And if that were our goal, we don't need to be around,
 because this need can be fulfilled by many others.
 But there's not a lot of people who are willing to go the extra mile
 in going from something good to something great.
 Because oftentimes it's very painful.
 You make something, you spend a lot of time debating it,
 then you have to redo it over and over again.
 And personally I think that if you're not willing to bet your sanity
 on creating something as perfect as possible,
 then it's going to be difficult to make a really, really great product.
 Making a great phone is an increasingly difficult task,
 and prior success is no guarantee of a future triumph.
 A great camera is what OnePlus customers have been asking for,
 and the OnePlus 5 is the company's best attempt at giving them everything they want.
 If it doesn't deliver, OnePlus fans might look elsewhere for their next phone.
 But for a small company like OnePlus, that's a risk it just can't take.