OnePlus Two release date, news, specs and rumors: Q3 launch date still stands

The OnePlus One was a massive success worldwide, regardless of some obstacles, like availability on an invite-only basis and some odd marketing stunts (like blowing up competitor feature phones), but it looks like the company has grown and the OnePlus Two is already planned and ready to go for Q3, 2015. Despite recent speculation that the OnePlus Two release date would be delayed until 2016, everything is continuing as planned. See below for more.

OnePlus Two release date

Update: You may have seen some recent wild speculation about a delayed launch of the OnePlus Two based on a comment made by OnePlus CEO, Pete Lau, on Weibo. The comment simply said that Lau believed the OnePlus One could remain competitive for the rest of 2015, and that's perfectly fine - it probably can. In no way did Lau state or even loosely imply that the OnePlus Two launch would be delayed until 2016.

The matter was clarified quite aggressively by OnePlus co-founder Carl Pei on Twitter, stating that the OnePlus Two is not delayed at all. Pei went on to re-confirm that the OnePlus Two release date will indeed be Q3, 2015. 

Previous coverage: At CES 2015, Carl Pei dished some new information about the future of the company and the OnePlus Two. Pei confirmed that the OnePlus Two is coming out (which we already knew), and once it does, the OnePlus One will be sold at a discounted price until stocks run out.

Secondly, Pei said that the release date is still up in the air but that you can expect the new OnePlus smartphone by Q2 or Q3 of 2015, so a little ways to go yet. Lastly, Pei said that the size of the OnePlus Two ''will surprise people'', so we don’t know if it will be bigger or smaller, but our vote goes to smaller.

Last time we reported on the OnePlus Two, Carl Pei had already confirmed that it would be available by Q2 or Q3 of 2015, so between April and September, which is actually a large amount of time, but it is confirmed.

We are planning to announce the OnePlus Two in Q2 or Q3 next year. [...] So it is one year after this phone [OnePlus One].

He also went on to say that India will be one of the first countries where it will be released. The OnePlus One became available on April 25th 2014 first in Asian and European markets, before making its way to the US, so April 2015 would be your best bet for availability.

To get a OnePlus One, you had to sign up and try to get an invitation. Once you were invited, you had to destroy your current feature phone in a creative way and catch it on tape. This destructive marketing ploy was quickly remedied, giving those interested the option of donating the phone. Hopefully OnePlus will rethink their marketing ploys for the OnePlus Two, but it looks like the "invite-only" sales system will remain in place. 

OnePlus Two price

The OnePlus One starts at 299 USD / 269 Euro / 229 GBP for the 16 GB model, and 349 USD / 299 Euro / 269 GBP for the 64 GB version. Its impeccably low price for great quality is one of the OnePlus One’s top selling points, next to its awesome design, and one-of-a-kind user experience.

We can only hope they will continue this with the OnePlus Two, though rumor has it that it may be slightly more expensive, Business Insider even guessing up to 500 USD, though this is not confirmed. Furthermore, seeing as the Nexus line doesn’t seem to offer the best phone for your buck anymore, with the Nexus 6 costing just as much as some high end Samsung and LG phones, OnePlus could be the new king great cheap phones.

The OnePlus One is a great phone with only a few disadvantages, like its mediocre camera / © ANDROIDPIT

OnePlus Two specs

The news come via Android Community, citing Chinese website gizchina.com, which has received some exclusive info regarding the new OnePlus. The OnePlus Two is said to come with a Snapdragon 810 processor, 4 GB of RAM, 3,300 mAh battery, and, unsurprisingly, will be running a OnePlus One ROM based on Android 5.0 Lollipop. 

A Snapdragon 810 coupled with 4 GB of RAM will make it a performance powerhouse, but what about the display? Gizchina reports that the screen will be exactly the same size as the last model at 5.5-inches, but it will have 2K resolution. (Sadly, we still don't know anything about its camera technology, but our fingers are crossed for a big upgrade over the OnePlus One in this area.)

OnePlus CEO Carl Pei recently stated that the OnePlus Two size would "surprise" consumers. With the display dimensions being identical, we wonder if OnePlus is going to really try to maximize the screen-to-body ratio to have a near bezel-less design on the OnePlus Two. Ever since the Sharp Aquos Crystal we dream of this stuff.

Finally, Gizchina also mentions the possibility of a OnePlus Two compact model in the works, but this is the first we've heard of this.