OnePlus is the Public Mobile of phone hardware

[srlawren]

Hey folks,

Okay, so in my humble opinion, I think that OnePlus is to phone hardware what Public Mobile is to Canadian service providers.  Let me explain why I think this with a comparison table:

Category	Public Mobile	OnePlus
Pre-paid	PM only offers pre-paid service, no monthly plans available, no tabs available.  Everything must be paid for up-front to use.	OnePlus isn’t available from service providers in Canada on a tab, you have to purchase it outright up-front to use it.  NOTE: As Kav2001c pointed out, some other countries do offer OnePlus via carrier and with subsidies.  Since this doesn't apply where we are, not vital to my analogy, but an interesting note regardless.  🙂
Online Only	Okay, so PM now offers SIM cards and basic activation at Walmart, WoW, and K-something, BUT, they have no retail locations like the others, and all service is online	OnePlus phones are not sold in physical stores or through carriers, and they don’t have any retail locations like some do (Apple & Samsung for example); you can only buy it online direct from OnePlus (or on Amazon in some regions)
Great performance; does the core features very well	First-rate LTE network offers excellent speeds, equivalent to Telus and Koodo and comparable to the other Big 3 families of brands.  Calls, texts, and Data all done very well	Every new model only offers top-of-the-line Snapdragon chips, lots of RAM and good amounts of storage, and a lightweight and well-optimized version of Android
No- or low-frills	PM doesn’t offer some features that some people need or want but not everyone, and that don’t take away from the core performance; examples: VoLTE, Visual Voicemail, roaming outside of USA	OnePlus phones leave out some features that some people need or want but not everyone, and that don’t take away from the core experience.  Examples: wireless charging (but have the best wired charging tech), SD card (but offer up to 256GB on-board storage), official IP rating (but are safe for splashes, spills, and rain)
Excellent value	Same great network as you’d find on the with competitors, but for generally less money	Same great performance as you’d find on competing flagships, but for generally less money (at least comparing outright prices; you can get some carrier deals and tabs which may nullify this to some extent)
Minimal marketing	PM doesn’t do much marketing, mostly some online ads, and a little bit of physical marketing	OnePlus doesn’t do much marketing, mostly some online ads really
Not well known	PM isn’t a household name for Canadian service providers	OnePlus isn’t a household name for phone hardware makers
Family structure	PM has sibling brands Koodo and Telus Mobility, owned by the larger Telus corp	OnePlus has sibling brands Oppo and Vivo, owned by the larger BBK Electronics

 What do you guys think?  Interesting?  Crazy?  I'm sure there are flaws or holes in my analogy, but I'm curious for your opinions.  Is there another brand that aligns more closely with PM than OnePlus?  Why do you think so?

[Anonymous]

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@amarwah wrote:

Hi All,

Wanted to confirm, has anyone tried using OnePlus 6T on Public Mobile's network, Is it compatible/supports the PM's network frequencies?

Has anyone used OP hardware on PM network and found not being able to use any service (like data, text or voice call)?

Looking forward for an early response.

TIA

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The first reply in this thread seems to confirm it all works fine.

[amarwah]

Hi All,

Wanted to confirm, has anyone tried using OnePlus 6T on Public Mobile's network, Is it compatible/supports the PM's network frequencies?

Has anyone used OP hardware on PM network and found not being able to use any service (like data, text or voice call)?

Looking forward for an early response.

TIA

[shawn_h29]

Yes I do agree with this. This is a very good and accurate comparison. Although OnePlus has started to go more mainstream and a little bit more advertising, it is still similar to Public Mobile, not that that is a bad thing. I have stuck with OnePlus phones for the past 3 years and stuck with Public Mobile for a little over a year and haven't had any issues. Very fast data speeds and excellent coverage. I also love the rewards system that allows you to cut down on your already low phone bill (compared to the others). 

[srlawren]

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@Effort wrote:

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@Mr-Bump wrote:

Love the comparison! OnePlus would be top of my list if I ever decide to go back to a $600+ phone.

For now I'm sticking with my mi a1. Pretty quick, okay camera and battery, and Android 1 for $250.

Also just announced is Xiaomi's sibling brand POCO, which targets the OnePlus market. 

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The only thing that annoys me about Xiaomi is the amount of bloatware they have with their rom. With OnePlus, is almost purely stock except for a few apps that come with the phone. Majority of which aren't installed as system apps. You can literally uninstall them and they will be gone. You don't need to root, download a 3rd party app to disable and freeze all the services.

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@Effort this is true.  Some consider OnePlus better than stock Android, since the few things that are added are either quite helpful or easily removable (or both).  The stock launcher is quite nice, though I always go with Nova Prime.  Other than phone and camera apps (which every manufacturer has to provider their own), I remember OxygenOS coming with a weather app (easily removable), a OnePlus community app (also easily removable), and a Contacts app (you can download Google's Contacts app from the Play store).  So... yeah pretty darn good.

[Mr-Bump]

Totally agree, that's why I went for the Android One Xiaomi. Pure Android with quick updates.

[Effort]

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@Mr-Bump wrote:

Love the comparison! OnePlus would be top of my list if I ever decide to go back to a $600+ phone.

For now I'm sticking with my mi a1. Pretty quick, okay camera and battery, and Android 1 for $250.

Also just announced is Xiaomi's sibling brand POCO, which targets the OnePlus market. 

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The only thing that annoys me about Xiaomi is the amount of bloatware they have with their rom. With OnePlus, is almost purely stock except for a few apps that come with the phone. Majority of which aren't installed as system apps. You can literally uninstall them and they will be gone. You don't need to root, download a 3rd party app to disable and freeze all the services.

[Mr-Bump]

Love the comparison! OnePlus would be top of my list if I ever decide to go back to a $600+ phone.

For now I'm sticking with my mi a1. Pretty quick, okay camera and battery, and Android 1 for $250.

Also just announced is Xiaomi's sibling brand POCO, which targets the OnePlus market. 

[pakmode]

Just saw this now. Good thread lol

[dna2016]

@srlawren, very interesting and legitimate comparison, really like your thought process on this.  Don't really have an argument for what you're saying.  I know some people will say how their OnePlus broke down and because of that will disagree, but those are personal experiences.  Every product on the planet that is built in mass will have a few that just don't work out, and it also depends how you take care of the product as well.  I hate when people say stuff like, "my device sucked because it kept freezing", meanwhile they were in the pool with it, they play catch with their dog with it, etc., lol.  But when looking at the bare essentials and taking away the human element/abuse, I would agree very much with your thoughts on this.

[GingerZing]

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@drmartin wrote:

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@sahands wrote:

I know that some people don't care about being spied on, but I'm not one of those people. OnePlus may have great specs, but to me it's just not worth it, knowing that my exposed identity and all my info could be sent to some unknown server (likely in China). 

Here's just one example of many that a simple online search will bring up:

https://bgr.com/2017/10/11/oneplus-user-data-collection-fix/

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Now I'm starting to sound like a real OnePlus fanboy. 😉

These were embarrassing mistakes for OnePlus, but ones which they rectified.  The same people who found the issues, haven't found any new ones since they've been patched, and the company has many public apologies, owned up to their actions, and promised to correct it.  At the end of the day, LineageOS and other ROMs run great if OxygenOS isn't your thing. 😉

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Yeah I think they handled this quite well.

[drmartin · Accepted solution]

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@sahands wrote:

I know that some people don't care about being spied on, but I'm not one of those people. OnePlus may have great specs, but to me it's just not worth it, knowing that my exposed identity and all my info could be sent to some unknown server (likely in China). 

Here's just one example of many that a simple online search will bring up:

https://bgr.com/2017/10/11/oneplus-user-data-collection-fix/

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Now I'm starting to sound like a real OnePlus fanboy. 😉

These were embarrassing mistakes for OnePlus, but ones which they rectified.  The same people who found the issues, haven't found any new ones since they've been patched, and the company has many public apologies, owned up to their actions, and promised to correct it.  At the end of the day, LineageOS and other ROMs run great if OxygenOS isn't your thing. 😉

[drmartin]

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@ckl wrote:

Interesting comparision and well done.

If I were to nitpick though, I would say PM is targeted to price conscious customers whereas the last time I wanted to buy a OnePlus (latest phone available at the time), I could not justify spending that much (even though the phone is probably worth every penny).

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Yeah it would be nice if OnePlus would carry a mid-range phone to compete at that price point.  They've gone with a strategy of offering "flagship" specs at a very reasonable price, and it's been working so far.  When you see the direct competition to the OnePlus 6, you're looking at the iPhone X, Google Pixel 2, Galaxy S9, Huawei P20 and the LG G7... all of which cost about double the price of a OnePlus 6.

To be fair though, the OnePlus 6 speaker is so-so and the screen is still only 1080p.  But I think they've made the right trade-offs to get the price so low.

[sahands]

I know that some people don't care about being spied on, but I'm not one of those people. OnePlus may have great specs, but to me it's just not worth it, knowing that my exposed identity and all my info could be sent to some unknown server (likely in China). 

Here's just one example of many that a simple online search will bring up:

https://bgr.com/2017/10/11/oneplus-user-data-collection-fix/

[srlawren]

@ckl good point

[ckl]

Interesting comparision and well done.

If I were to nitpick though, I would say PM is targeted to price conscious customers whereas the last time I wanted to buy a OnePlus (latest phone available at the time), I could not justify spending that much (even though the phone is probably worth every penny).

[Someone_here]

I would personally think of the Moto G line before the Oneplus, but I guess the One Plus also works 😉

[PJC]

*Slow claps*

[youbme]

Very interesting comparison @srlawren.

Unfortunately I only had the OnePlus2, lived with it for about a year and a half, then it got stuck in a permanent bootloop. Now, I have a PixelXL (32GB) and it just works, no fuss. I wish I skipped the OP2 and got the 3 or a more recent model (5T or 6), as it seems that OnePlus has ironed out a lot of the issues with the earlier production. When I'm ready to move on from my Pixel, I'm definitely looking into OnePlus again...

On the other hand, I've never had an issue with PM service, billing or otherwise (I know that's not the case for everyone!).

Much like Public Mobile, YMMV and patience is key...

[srlawren]

Thanks for the feedback folks!  @kav2001c thanks I'll note the subsidies elsewhere.  @ShawnC13 thanks for Skyping me about the typo in my chart, which I've edited.

[kav2001c]

@srlawren one dispute; no CANADIAN carriers subsidize OnePlus but other countries do (UK as example)

[ShawnC13]

Can't argue with that.  It was my second choice when moving to Android.  I am happy with my Essential PH-1

[stonechucker]

Although I *could have* got my Nexus 5 from a carrier, I got it straight from the Google online store.  It too, at the time, was very much like the OnePlus is now.  Top of the line, missing a few specs, but stock Android, a reasonable sized 2 GB Ram, 32 GB Storage, etc....  And it was considered a 'world phone', able to be used in almost any country at the time.

And was priced somewhat lower than everything else.  I know I was looking to replace it when the OnePlus 5T came out... since got the issue fixed for $70.  But still looking to replace it...   one of these days... 

[Acekiller]

it is a pretty good comparison!

[will13am]

I like supporting the underdog.  I bought the first offering from one plus before they started selling to Canada officially.  I bought the last offering from Oppo before they left North America.  I am a Public Mobile customer.   So yes, I can work with the analogy.  Long live non carrier phones.