OnePlus 2 - New Features Focus

The OnePlus 2 is a smartphone that has made its way to our hands, and we're excited to share our first impressions with you. The device looks nice and it just feels kind of cool. But what really caught our attention was the cord itself, which is reversible on either end. This means that no matter how you plug in, whether it's upside down or right side up, it will go through just fine, taking out the guesswork from micro USB ones.

One thing we noticed about the USB Type-C cord is that it's a 2.0 construction, which means it won't be using USB 3.0 for data transfer and won't have quick charging capabilities. We tried using our Moto Quick Charger with the phone, but the charging speed was average at best. When the phone was off, it took about 90 minutes to get from zero to 100 percent, while when the phone was on and not being used very often, it took around two hours.

However, we're pleased that OnePlus is making these cords available for a very low price of around five dollars. This makes it easy for anyone looking to get into the standard of USB Type-C. Moving on to the Shelf feature, which was initially marketed as just two widgets for frequently used apps and contacts, but turned out to be more than that. We discovered that the Shelf is actually a page where you can put a bunch of different widgets, allowing users to customize their home screens.

One of the benefits of using the Shelf feature is that it allows users to keep their home screens bare while still having access to frequently used apps and widgets on a separate side screen. This is a great way to declutter your home screen without losing any functionality. Additionally, we found that you can rearrange the widgets on the Shelf with ease, making it easy to customize to your liking.

The Dark Mode feature is another exciting aspect of the OnePlus 2. Since Android's built-in dark mode is expected in future versions, but not yet available, OnePlus has included a similar feature in their Oxygen OS version 2.0. The idea behind the Dark Mode is to make the phone easier to view in certain situations, such as lying in bed at night or using it in low-light environments. We've had the chance to try out the Dark Mode, and we must say it's been a nice addition to our daily usage.

However, one thing to note is that not all apps support dark mode by default. You'll need to find an app that has this feature enabled for it to work seamlessly with the OnePlus 2's Dark Mode. We've found that Pocket Casts does change its elements when in Dark Mode mode, but we're not sure about other apps yet.

That's all for now from our first impressions of the OnePlus 2. In the next update, we'll be sharing our full review of the device, including its camera performance and general usage on a daily basis. So, keep an eye out for that and don't forget to like, subscribe, and listen to our Android Authority podcast for more Android news and updates. You can also head over to androidauthority.com for even more content.