OnePlus 2 hopes to be a new flagship killer to rival iPhone, Galaxy

Eli Blumenthal, Special for USA TODAY | USA TODAY

NEW YORK — On the heels of last year's sleeper hit, Chinese start-up OnePlus has announced a new phone that promises iPhone-type specs at half the price.

Late Monday the company unveiled the OnePlus 2, its successor to last year's OnePlus One. The OnePlus 2 has the same core idea as its predecessor —offering impressive Android smartphone specs at a low cost.

Priced at $389 without a contract for the 64GB version, this year's model includes a new aluminum and magnesium frame with customizable backs, an improved 5.5-inch full HD display that the company claims will be better in direct sunlight, a Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 processor with 4GB of RAM for zippy performance as well as a larger 3300mAh battery.

Similar to the One, the device will support AT&T and T-Mobile's LTE networks in the U.S. and will be sold "unlocked" so users can freely switch between the networks or easily use the phone outside the U.S.. As with other unlocked phones, it will not work with Verizon or Sprint.

The display puts the OnePlus in the phablet category and in direct competition with phones like Apple's iPhone 6 Plus and Samsung's Galaxy Note line, which boast similarly sized screens (though Samsung's is at a higher resolution). Both of those phones, however, are several hundred dollars more expensive than the OnePlus 2, with a 64GB unlocked iPhone 6 Plus running $849. Full retail price for an unlocked Galaxy Note 4 with 32GB of storage is approximately $525 on Amazon.

The new OnePlus device also boasts an upgraded 13-megapixel rear camera with a sharper sensor and laser-enhanced focus for better low-light shots. A 5-megpaixel camera remains on the front for selfies and video chat.

While the above specs are to be expected in the growing trend of high-quality, low-cost phones from China, the OnePlus 2 will additionally feature a fingerprint scanner for unlocking the device as well as be among the first phones to offer a USB Type-C port for charging and data transfer, replacing the microUSB port found on the OnePlus One and most Android devices. USB Type-C is the next generation of the USB standard and is best known for its versatility in allowing the USB plug to be reversible.

Another notable difference in the OnePlus 2 is that it runs on OxygenOS, the company's own customized version of Android 5.1 Lollipop, as opposed to software created by popular Android start-up Cyanogen. While similar in design to Google's own Android interface, OnePlus' software includes a few custom tweaks including new Camera and Audio Tuner apps as well as support for gestures.

The $389 64GB version will be available to those in the U.S. on Aug. 11, while a cheaper 16GB version with 3GB of RAM will be available later on for $329 without a contract. As with the intial orders for the One, OnePlus will be bringing back the invite system for those who wish to order the phone.

The company says that those who purchased the One will be given a priority in invites to buy the OnePlus 2, but it will also be offering invites at nine "pop-up experience centers" located around the world on July 31 as well as on its social media pages beginning on Aug. 1. Those who purchase a OnePlus 2 will also be able to share three invites with friends.

While the invite system may disappoint fans, in an interview with USA TODAY earlier this year, OnePlus founder Carl Pei justified the system as way to better manage inventory. Said Pei, "we don't want users to wait a long time after a pre-order and we don't want users to rush to the website and find it sold out."

OnePlus surprised many in the tech world last year with its OnePlus One smartphone, which started at $299 unlocked for a 16GB version. After selling over 1 million One phones since April of last year, the company hopes to sell between 3 million to 5 million phones this year. While that's tiny compared to Apple's yearly iphone sales, the volume was seen as impressive for a start-up, and the company quickly grew popular among the tech and social-media savvy.

It embraced those fans again on Monday, launching the OnePlus 2 using a virtual reality Android app as opposed to the traditional press conference or webcast.

The strategy seems to be working. The #OnePlus2 was trending worldwide on Twitter late Monday night.

Follow Eli Blumenthal on Twitter @eliblumenthal