I shouldn’t be surprised that people on the Internet will always find something to complain about, but this morning Android fanboys actually did shock me with their gripes about the just-announced OnePlus 2. And yes, I know I’m now complaining about complainers, which is probably even lamer, but hear me out.
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So while we don’t yet know how well the OnePlus 2 works as a whole, we do know that the baseline hardware it’s offering is absolutely crazy for what you’re paying for it. To recap: The cheapest model costs $329 off contract and features 16GB of storage and 3GB of RAM. Then there’s a $389 that offers you 64GB of storage and 4GB of RAM — to consider how amazing of a bargain this is, recall that a 64GB iPhone 6 costs you a ridiculous $749 off contract and it only has 1GB of RAM.
Both versions of the OnePlus 2 also feature 5.5-inch 1920 x 1080 displays, Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 processors, 13-megapixel cameras with OIS, USB Type-C ports and 3,300 mAh batteries. This is the kind of hardware you expect to see on high-end Samsung phones and OnePlus is selling it for hundreds less than the Galaxy S6.
Don’t get me wrong: Having great specs doesn’t make the OnePlus 2 a great smartphone per se. But at the very least, offering this kind of phone at a low price is an impressive achievement.
Unless you’re a whiny Android fanboy and you want to complain because the phone lacks… wait for it… NFC.
Here’s CNET writer and BGR alum Dan Graziano, who says lack of NFC support is a deal breaker:
https://twitter.com/DanGraziano/status/625879683784134656
Similarly, on the official OnePlus 2 thread on Android’s Reddit page, the comment with the most up votes is a complaint about lack of NFC. The OnePlus 2 thread at Droid Life is also packed with NFC whiners.
People, this is madness.
I’ve been an Android user for the last five years and never once have I felt the need to use NFC-based apps like Google Wallet. In fact even if I did want to use Google Wallet, I wouldn’t be able to because I don’t know of any nearby vendors who support it. Added to this, I’ve always found the entire concept of mobile wallets to be highly overrated — what’s so inconvenient about carrying around a credit card again?
If the single biggest complaint about a device is that it lacks NFC, then that device must be the most amazing device on the planet. So good job, OnePlus: You should be honored that Android fanboys are up in arms over something so ridiculous. It means you’ve really done something special.
