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.
When is the iPhone 7 coming out, and what new features can we expect in the next iPhone? We round up all the iPhone 7 release date rumours, clues to design changes, and some beautiful images of what the iPhone 7 could look like. Here's everything we know (or can guess) about Apple's iPhone 7, including the latest (terrifying) iPhone 7
In a nutshell: Macworld's verdict on the iPhone 7
In our iPhone 7 rumour roundup we cover a lot of ground: you'd be amazed by the clues, hints and general speculation about the iPhone 7 that people have managed to dig up. But for those who don't want all the detail, the following section sums up our verdict on the whole thing. Consider it a sort of TL;DR for the article as a whole.
In a nutshell, then, we reckon:
1) Apple will launch a couple of iPhones - probably two, maybe three - in September 2015, much as it does every year.
2) We think this will be a 4.7-inch phone called the iPhone 7, and a 5.5-inch iPhone 7 Plus. If Apple does make another 4-inch iPhone (which, thanks to the success of the larger iPhones, is by no means a certainty) then we think it'll be called something like the iPhone 7 Mini.
3) But this is Apple we're talking about, and consistent naming conventions aren't its strong suit. It could be called the New iPhone Max for all I know.
4) The iPhone 7 won't be a fat phone, but we can't see that the iPhone 6 series phones need to be significantly thinner. At all. We expect roughly the same dimensions as the current generation. Tim Cook will probably be able to boast that it's "the slimmest and lightest iPhone ever", but the minor reduction in thickness will be exaggerated by favourable lighting.
5) Battery life may be a little better, but it won't be a lot better. Jony Ive's comments have made it plain that Apple doesn't consider a higher battery life to be worth significant sacrifices in other areas. (And we suspect that, if they're honest, most smartphone buyers would agree.)
6) Higher screen resolution is a possibility - Apple exploded the 'Retina is as sharp as your eyes can see' myth with the iPhone 6 Plus, and the company is playing catchup against many of its rivals in this department. Apple may well apply the pixel density of the iPhone 6 Plus to all the models in the next generation; it could go even higher. And a harder screen material would play well, whether Apple manages to resurrect the sapphire situation or goes with Corning's new Project Phire.
7) We find the rumours of a dual-lens camera offering 'DSLR-like' picture quality wholly convincing. The camera is a key area for every new iPhone and would be something Tim Cook could build a launch presentation around. The effects of the LinX acquisition probably won't be felt for another generation of iPhone, but the company's 3D camera sensors should make an appearance in future iPhones.
8) The iPhone 7 could get a USB-C port, like the new 12-inch MacBook, but we think this is unlikely. The change from 30-pin to Lightning is recent enough (and was painful enough for many users) that to switch again now would be highly controversial.
9) And as for the other out-there rumours? 3D screen: no. Curved display: almost certainly not. Curved or flexible iPhone: nope. Edge-to-edge screen: yes, quite possibly. Spring-out gaming joystick in the Home button: definitely not. Wireless charging: maybe, but probably not yet.
Very good and perfect device iPhone Apple. This is confirmed by the high demand on the branded mobile phone . But he too ordinary against the present-day smartphones , perhaps it’s time to change the established standards? British designer tried to develop this idea in his concept iPhone Pi. He is confident, that Apple phones will become even more stylish, if the company give up rectangular
