So finally after a long wait, OnePlus One has finally arrived in India. It is available in 16 and 64 GB variants worldwide and here the 64 GB variant will go on offer. It is priced around 22K and offers top of the line specifications for that money. The manufacturers have been tagging this phone as the flagship killer as it offers high end specifications at a budget without compromising. That is why the tagline “Never Settle”.
On the other hand, ZTE has recently launched an impressive device called the Grand S II at a really attractive price of around 14K. For that you get quite powerful hardware with large full HD display and good built quality. While with this price tag, it is more of a product in Xiaomi Mi3’s class, which isn’t on sale anymore. We are pitting the device against OnePlus One because both of them offer similar display size and while the hardware is different, the difference is not very significant. The price of this device makes it an excellent value for money and thus a strong rival to the “flagship killer”. We put the two phablet against each other to figure out which one of them is a better deal.
Design
Both the devices come with 5.5 inch displays so it is inevitable that they have large sizes. The ZTE Grand S II has got a rectangular design with the edges rounded off. This device comes with a non-removable battery. There is metal on the back but it doesn’t cover all of the back as there is plastic on top and bottom. We can’t say that the design is impressive but then it isn’t bad at all. Moreover it isn’t very common to get this kind of build quality at this price.
The device, as we said already, is quite large. In fact it is bigger than the OnePlus One despite the same display size. It is 4 mm taller and 1 mm wider than the One. But at the same time it manages to be lighter and tips the scale at 150 Gms. Overall this device has got pretty good look & feel and it doesn’t feel cheap at all.
The One manages to look better than the ZTE with its simple design and impressive built quality. The bezels around the display are thin giving it a good size for such a large display. It takes a step away from the usual crop of metal or polycarbonate devices and comes with a sandstone finish on the back which feels really nice. On top of that, it also helps keep the scratches away and provides decent grip. It is slightly heavy weighing 162 Gms. This one also comes with non-removable battery like the ZTE Grand S II.
Display
Both these devices offer full HD displays measuring 5.5 inches. The size of these displays is excellent for people who like to watch a lot of videos on their mobile phone. The ZTE device has got an IPS LCD display which is pretty good. It offers good contrast ratio and brightness levels. The display on OnePlus One has got a LTPS LCD display measuring the same 5.5 inches. Both these displays have got pixel density of 401 ppi which is pretty crisp and it is not possible to notice individual pixels. The One’s display isn’t as bright as the display on ZTE. It is acceptable most of the times but it doesn’t serve very well under direct sunlight.
It is not only the brightness which is unimpressive. The contrast ratio isn’t very good either. There are many semi HD IPS displays that offer better contrast ratios. Thankfully the display comes with Gorilla Glass 3 protection to keep it safe from scratches. ZTE hasn’t said anything about display protection so it is not sure if it has got any protection.
Hardware
The Grand S II runs Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 chipset which is quite powerful. It comes with 2 GB of RAM which is plenty to go with it. The OnePlus One runs slightly more powerful Snapdragon 801 chipset with the processor clock speed going up from 2.3 GHz on 800 to 2.5 GHz on 801. The difference isn’t very significant just like the numbers suggest. It comes with 3 GB DDR3 RAM to go with it so the OnePlus One has got a clear advantage here.
The Grand S II comes with 16 GB of internal storage and has got a micro SD card slot which can support up to 32 GB of memory. This should be plenty for most people. The One hasn’t got a micro SD card slot but then the Indian market has got the 64 GB variant which is really a lot. Connectivity options are almost similar with the One supporting 4G networks as well. Both the devices are powered by 3100 mAh battery and that gives impressive batter life to both the devices. The ZTE runs a custom android operating system and so does the One. Worldwide the OnePlus One runs Cyanogen mod but in India Micromax has got an agreement with CM so OnePlus will have to switch to a different operating system.
Camera
It is inevitable that manufacturers have to cut some corners in their rush to minimise the cost. The camera is one such area where they usually save money. This is the case with OnePlus One. While the camera is decent as it is a 13 megapixel Sony camera, the quality isn’t very impressive. Many devices in this bracket offer better cameras and this doesn’t go in line with their claim of it being the flagship killer. That said, the camera is still decent and can yield some nice shots in good light. The photos aren’t very well saturated though. The primary camera can record videos at high frame rates as well. The front camera has a 5 megapixel sensor and can shoot impressive selfies. The ZTE has also got a 13 megapixel primary camera which has got more or less the same performance with slightly better colour saturation.
Author Bio : The Author have great interest in writing article on Technology and Handset reviews, currently he is working with 91mobiles.
