OnePlus X review: the best value smartphone of 2015?

The young Chinese tech firm OnePlus, founded less than two years ago, has released its third handset. And some reviewers say the OnePlus X could be the best-value smartphone of 2015.

Out now in the UK and priced from just £199 – significantly less than its predecessor the OnePlus 2 – the smartphone has been generally well-received, with a bright display and attractive design.

Just don't expect whistles and bells: the OnePlus X is a repurposing of the company's original OnePlus One phone, made smaller and cheaper, rather than an innovative new product. That means it's more basic than the OnePlus 2. And there is another catch: OnePlus's unusual business model means you can't just walk into a shop and buy the phone.

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Instead, you must be invited to buy one – either by signing up to a waiting list, receiving an invitation from a friend, or winning a competition. Here's what the reviewers had to say about the OnePlus X:

OnePlus X design: the glass back looks 'great'

The phone is OnePlus's "nicest-looking" handset so far, says TechRadar. It is also a design departure from the young firm's preceding two smartphones. The glass back "looks great", says the site - but will quickly get covered in fingerprints, while the rounded, iPhone 6-like corners are sure to scratch if dropped.

Engadget is less impressed by the look of the phone. The X is "pedestrian", a "glossy glass slab with the metallurgic equivalent of pinstripe etched into its metal sides". Both Engadget and TechRadar agree that the build quality is very good.

There is another version of the X which is ceramic rather than glass, says Expert Reviews. But don't get too excited - only 10,000 'invitations' are being released for it - and the black version is almost indistinguishable from the glass-backed phone. The white ceramic version, meanwhile, is officially available only in China, says PC Advisor – though the site hints at ways to get round that obstacle. Both ceramic versions weigh an extra 160g.

OnePlus X display: smaller but denser

The Amoled screen is smaller than the OnePlus 2, says PC Advisor, but with resolution still full HD, at 1080 x 1920 it has a higher pixel density than the older phone. It has "great viewing angles" and impressive "deep blacks", says the site.

TechRadar agrees that the viewing angles are "particularly impressive" but quibbles that it was necessary to keep the phone on full brightness to see the image clearly. For its price range, says TechRadar, the X's display "always looks gorgeous".

OnePlus X camera: good at the price

The OnePlus X has a 13-megapixel camera at the rear and an eight megapixel version at the front. There is no optical image stabilisation but there is phase detection auto focus, says PC Advisor. But the results are "not great and we've seen much better 13-megapixel cameras", it says.

TechRadar is more forgiving, saying that including such a high-resolution camera on a sub-£200 phone is "hugely impressive". In daylight, the site found that "test images had fantastic clarity" and adds: "You really wouldn't think you were using what's essentially a budget handset."

OnePlus X performance: not so great?

In order to make a cheaper phone, OnePlus has reverted to an older chipset than its previous handset, which is a move against its own "mantra", says Engadget. However, the site finds the phone "fast and fluid", even for gaming.

Not so for a "disappointed" TechRadar. Although that older chipset, the Qualcomm Snapdragon 801, should still be impressive, TechRadar found that video lagged "quite a bit" and the phone "buckled under the pressure" when used for graphically-intensive games.

PC Advisor, meanwhile, warns that the "fairly out-of-date" Snapdragon chip "isn't 64-bit". However, the site found that performance was "fairly smooth".

OnePlus X battery life: charge it every night

"In real life," says PC Advisor, "you're likely to need to plug it in every night." TechRadar says the X's battery life is "nothing to write home about", though Expert Reviews found it outlasted the Sony Xperia M4 Aqua by "almost three hours" in the site's own continuous video playback test.

OnePlus X verdict: cheap and cheerful

The overall verdicts vary. PC Advisor says this is "possibly the best value phone of 2015" while TechRadar says this is "one of the best choices out there" if you're looking for a "high-end phone on a budget".

Engadget, meanwhile, is not impressed. The site finds the phone "difficult to recommend" and believes there are "better all-round phones available in the same price range".