These days, very few smartphone launches excite people enough to queue up for hours in the street. Apple's iPhones are pretty much the exception to the rule.
Yet on a warm, sticky day in central London, more than 200 people snaked around the streets outside the SwiftKey offices near London Bridge just to get a glimpse at the OnePlus 2, a smartphone few have even heard of.
Key Features
5.5in display (1920 x 1080)
Snapdragon 810/ 4GB RAM
9.85mm/175g
USB-C port
OxygenOS (based on Android 5.1)
13MP/5MP cameras
Dual SIM
Fingerprint sensor
Price: £239
Release date: 11 August (with invite)
The long queue – and the one million-plus people who have registered interest in the OnePlus 2 online – is testament to the hype the company generated on the back of the surprising success of the OnePlus One, which launched 15 months ago and sold 1.5 million units.
OnePlus 2 is selling its second smartphone (as it did its first) as a "flagship killer", and not only the flagship models from Apple and Samsung out now but the ones coming in 2016 too.
OnePlus 2: Design
Bulky and heavy were my initial thoughts when I saw the specs announced for the OnePlus 2. At 9.5mm and 175g, is it heavier and thicker than the iPhone 6 Plus and Galaxy S6. But holding it, the first thing that came to mind was how solid it felt.
OnePlus has added a touch of premium-build quality with a metal frame around the edge, but the rear cover remains plastic – though there are alternative covers you can get with various finishes such as wood and sandstone, which is a bit like a fine sandpaper.
The phone has a large 5.5in screen but it is significantly shorter than the cumbersome iPhone 6 Plus as well as being narrower, which makes it much easier to use one-handed, though it is still a pretty big phone.
