Category: OnePlus One

When the OnePlus One, the first phone from OnePlus, was released back in 2014, it was an almost instant hit.  The price for what you got in the phone was hard to beat and it had almost a cult-like following from fans.  But, like all manufactures, OnePlus eventually dropped support for the phone as new models were released.  In other words, there was no chance it would ever see Android Oreo 8.1.

Fast forward to 2018 and the OnePlus One lives on.  LineageOS, the company that rose from the ashes of CyanogenMod (which is what was originally running on the OnePlus One ironically), has just added support of Android Oreo 8.1 for the OPO along with a handful of other devices.  The support comes to LineageOS 15.1, the build which is based on Oreo 8.1.

It has been a long wait and one that more than a few (Clinton raises his hand) thought would happen.  Android Marshmallow has finally comes to the OnePlus One thanks to the release of Cyanogen 13 for the device.  While Cyanogen has been working on Marshmallow for a variety of devices, it wasn’t clear if the OnePlus One, OnePlus’ original phone from 2014, would see it as the companies have parted ways from a business perspective.  For now, at least, those concerns are settled.

OnePlus has committed in their user forums that they will have an Android Marshmallow build for their last two flagship devices in the first quarter of 2016. The news is certainly good for owners of the OnePlus One and OnePlus 2 as to this point it has remained somewhat of a mystery if these devices would ever get beyond Lollipop.

The biggest question for most was if the OnePlus One, the company’s original phone, would be receiving the update. That was cleared up in the post by Carl Pei

For the OnePlus One, Cyanogen OS will be updating to Marshmallow in the first quarter of 2016. We created a community build of OxygenOS for the OnePlus One, but this isn’t what the product officially ships with. We will be updating the community build of OxygenOS for the OnePlus One when time allows.

So in the case of the One, Android Marshmallow is essentially coming from Cyanogen and not OnePlus themselves.

Earlier today the Cyanogen 12.1 build was released for OnePlus One owners. The update brings Lollipop 5.1.1 to the device along with several other changes unique to Cyanogen. One of those changes is the inclusion of the new Boxer Calendar app as the default calendar app.

For those who aren’t familiar with Boxer, they have for a long time produced arguably one of the better email apps for Android and recently released the Boxer Calendar app to complement it. The two apps interact well with each other and should provide a solid email and calendar solution for many users.  For those who don’t have Boxer Calendar and are looking for a good calendar solution for your Android phone or tablet, you can get it in the Google Play Store.

Boxer Calendar for Android – Free – Download Now

We may only be a week and a bit away from seeing the all singing-and-dancing OnePlus 2 but there is still a great deal on the superbly spec’d OnePlus One.  Right now you can get yourself a OnePlus One with 64GB of storage for only $299.  Let’s put that in perspective peeps:  That was the price of the 16GB unit when they released.  It’s a deal.  Flat out and no further explanation needed.

The OnePlus One has been my daily phone for months now and I’ve commented many times, including in my review of it, that it may be the best smartphone I’ve ever used out of the hundreds I’ve reviewed over the years.  I rated it at a 4.9 out of 5 stars.  Performance meets outstanding specs meets an outstanding 5.5″ display running Android Lollipop.  There’s not much to hate on this phone.

I’ll start this post with both a confession and admission for the sake of full disclosure.  I’m a big fan of OnePlus.  I have been carrying the OnePlus One now as my primary phone for over a month and it is without question one of the best smartphones I have ever used or reviewed in my 15 years of writing such pieces.  The design works. The OS works.  The camera is awesome.  It is overall just a great device.  So I write this from a slight fanboy perspective but I also write it from a business professional.  My day job has me continually reviewing business plans, product roadmaps and talking to companies who what to have an alliance with mine.  It’s a full time job, trust me.

So it is with this dual vision that I write this post about the critical need by OnePlus of having their follow up device, the OnePlus 2, be a success.  The Chinese company can’t simply have a “similar success” nor can they have some of the distractions they had with the release of the OnePlus One – namely the much maligned invitation system. No, to be considered a top player in the Android phone space, the OnePlus 2 has to be a critical and public success with a capital BIG. It’s easier said that done and clearly the OnePlus team is very much focused on making sure their second release is does not suffer from a Sophomore Jinx.

There are three reasons in my view why the OnePlus 2 has to be a big winner for the company: Proving the success of the OnePlus One was not a “one-hit wonder”, long term financial viability of the company and third, to be considered a major and serious player in an already crowded Android market.  Can they pull it off?  If the OnePlus One is any indicator then the answer is a resounding yes.  But history does not always repeat – in fact, rarely does it.