 You don't have to pay top dollar for a great smartphone anymore. Lots of companies are selling really nice phones for hundreds of dollars less than the flagships from Apple and Samsung. No company has pushed this harder than OnePlus, and its OnePlus 2 might be the best smartphone deal you can get. The OnePlus 2 follows the OnePlus 1, which came out roughly a year and a half ago. It carries on the idea of a high-end smartphone with a price tag that's well below an iPhone or Galaxy S6. But the 2 is a better device in almost every way than the OnePlus 1. It's better designed, has a nicer display, has a better camera, and has a faster processor. And it's still really cheap, you can get one for as low as $329, though most people are probably going to want the $389 64GB model. Despite its price, the OnePlus 2 is a really well built phone that can go toe to toe with most any full priced flagship. It's got a nice metal frame, clean lines, and is solid feeling, but not too heavy. The default back cover has a sandpaper-like finish that I really like. It reminds me a lot of the grip tape on a skateboard, and has a similar effect in keeping a large phone from slipping out of my hands. You can also swap that back for wooden design or other materials, and OnePlus is selling a handful of these for about $25 a pop. There's no getting around it, though, that the OnePlus 2 is a big phone. It's between the iPhone 6 and the 6 Plus, and notably bigger than the Galaxy S6. It's big enough that I find it mostly uncomfortable to use in one hand, but not too big to fit in my pockets. That's largely thanks to its 5.5 inch 1080p display. It's considerably improved over its predecessor. It's the same size and resolution as before, but it's brighter, punchier, and has better viewing angles. Other phones may have more pixels, but I didn't really miss them here. There are three other things of note in the OnePlus 2's hardware. It's got a fingerprint scanner that acts as a home button and as a way to unlock your phone without a password. It's accurate, but it's not as quick or responsive as ones I've used on Samsung or Apple devices. There's also a cool hardware notification switch, which is kind of like the ringer switch on an iPhone. That's awesome, and maybe my favorite thing about the OnePlus 2. The last hardware curiosity is its USB Type-C port, which is the only way to actually charge the phone. The 2 comes with one USB Type-C cable, and OnePlus is selling extras for only $5. But there's a good chance you don't have any just lying around your house like you might with standard micro USB cables. You also won't be able to easily find replacements in a store if you're traveling or forget to pack one. These likely won't be problems in a year or so, but right now they're valid concerns and make using the OnePlus more annoying than it should be. Fortunately the battery life on the OnePlus 2 is solid. I'm able to go a full day of use without much issue. Some people might even be able to go a couple of days without charging. I really wish it had fast charging though. As it is now, it takes 3 hours to fully charge the OnePlus 2, while other Android phones can charge fully in about a third of that. Performance is also really great. The Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 processor and 4GB of RAM never feel like they're stressed, and the phone is responsive for most anything I needed to do. OnePlus software is also really light. It's a slightly modified version of standard Android 5.1 with a few minor tweaks, but it's mostly a stock experience. The 2's new camera is a 13 megapixel unit with optical image stabilization and laser assisted autofocus. It's a much better camera than on the OnePlus 1, and it's capable of taking great shots in good to medium light. It can struggle in low light though, and it's not as good as the S6 or LG G4 in those situations. It's also a bit slow. There's a noticeable lag when taking a picture, and annoying processing time between shots. OnePlus has promised that software updates are coming to improve the camera software and performance, and I hope they specifically address that lag. But overall, there's really a lot to like about the OnePlus 2. It's well designed, performs well, and is really cheap, but that's where the slight hang up is. It's still really hard to buy a OnePlus 2 if you're interested in it. The process involves signing up for an invite and waiting for the opportunity to spend your money on it. That's probably enough of a roadblock for a lot of people to just go find something else, but for those that are patient, the OnePlus 2 is a nice reward.
 You don't have to pay top dollar for a great smartphone anymore.
 Lots of companies are selling really nice phones for hundreds of dollars less than the
 flagships from Apple and Samsung.
 No company has pushed this harder than OnePlus, and its OnePlus 2 might be the best smartphone
 deal you can get.
 The OnePlus 2 follows the OnePlus 1, which came out roughly a year and a half ago.
 It carries on the idea of a high-end smartphone with a price tag that's well below an iPhone
 or Galaxy S6.
 But the 2 is a better device in almost every way than the OnePlus 1.
 It's better designed, has a nicer display, has a better camera, and has a faster processor.
 And it's still really cheap, you can get one for as low as $329, though most people
 are probably going to want the $389 64GB model.
 Despite its price, the OnePlus 2 is a really well built phone that can go toe to toe with
 most any full priced flagship.
 It's got a nice metal frame, clean lines, and is solid feeling, but not too heavy.
 The default back cover has a sandpaper-like finish that I really like.
 It reminds me a lot of the grip tape on a skateboard, and has a similar effect in keeping
 a large phone from slipping out of my hands.
 You can also swap that back for wooden design or other materials, and OnePlus is selling
 a handful of these for about $25 a pop.
 There's no getting around it, though, that the OnePlus 2 is a big phone.
 It's between the iPhone 6 and the 6 Plus, and notably bigger than the Galaxy S6.
 It's big enough that I find it mostly uncomfortable to use in one hand, but not too big to fit
 in my pockets.
 That's largely thanks to its 5.5 inch 1080p display.
 It's considerably improved over its predecessor.
 It's the same size and resolution as before, but it's brighter, punchier, and has better
 viewing angles.
 Other phones may have more pixels, but I didn't really miss them here.
 There are three other things of note in the OnePlus 2's hardware.
 It's got a fingerprint scanner that acts as a home button and as a way to unlock your
 phone without a password.
 It's accurate, but it's not as quick or responsive as ones I've used on Samsung or Apple devices.
 There's also a cool hardware notification switch, which is kind of like the ringer switch
 on an iPhone.
 That's awesome, and maybe my favorite thing about the OnePlus 2.
 The last hardware curiosity is its USB Type-C port, which is the only way to actually charge
 the phone.
 The 2 comes with one USB Type-C cable, and OnePlus is selling extras for only $5.
 But there's a good chance you don't have any just lying around your house like you
 might with standard micro USB cables.
 You also won't be able to easily find replacements in a store if you're traveling or forget to
 pack one.
 These likely won't be problems in a year or so, but right now they're valid concerns
 and make using the OnePlus more annoying than it should be.
 Fortunately the battery life on the OnePlus 2 is solid.
 I'm able to go a full day of use without much issue.
 Some people might even be able to go a couple of days without charging.
 I really wish it had fast charging though.
 As it is now, it takes 3 hours to fully charge the OnePlus 2, while other Android phones
 can charge fully in about a third of that.
 Performance is also really great.
 The Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 processor and 4GB of RAM never feel like they're stressed,
 and the phone is responsive for most anything I needed to do.
 OnePlus software is also really light.
 It's a slightly modified version of standard Android 5.1 with a few minor tweaks, but it's
 mostly a stock experience.
 The 2's new camera is a 13 megapixel unit with optical image stabilization and laser
 assisted autofocus.
 It's a much better camera than on the OnePlus 1, and it's capable of taking great shots
 in good to medium light.
 It can struggle in low light though, and it's not as good as the S6 or LG G4 in those situations.
 It's also a bit slow.
 There's a noticeable lag when taking a picture, and annoying processing time between shots.
 OnePlus has promised that software updates are coming to improve the camera software
 and performance, and I hope they specifically address that lag.
 But overall, there's really a lot to like about the OnePlus 2.
 It's well designed, performs well, and is really cheap, but that's where the slight
 hang up is.
 It's still really hard to buy a OnePlus 2 if you're interested in it.
 The process involves signing up for an invite and waiting for the opportunity to spend your
 money on it.
 That's probably enough of a roadblock for a lot of people to just go find something
 else, but for those that are patient, the OnePlus 2 is a nice reward.