--- description: The OnePlus 2 will be available for order in the U.S. on August 11. title: This Cheap Smartphone Has 1 Simple But Amazing Feature image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6ea7a176614cb263/69885e9b196cf41f7c0377b9/oneplus-two.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Business](/section/business/) ## Business Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Tech](/tag/time-section-tech/) ## Tech Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # This Cheap Smartphone Has 1 Simple But Amazing Feature  by [Alex Fitzpatrick](/author/alex-fitzpatrick/)  ## Alex Fitzpatrick Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Aug 10, 2015 7:31 PM CUT  OnePlus Two OnePlus TwoOnePlus  by [Alex Fitzpatrick](/author/alex-fitzpatrick/)  ## Alex Fitzpatrick Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Aug 10, 2015 7:31 PM CUT The OnePlus 2 is probably the most hotly-anticipated smartphone you’ve never heard of. An Android-powered phone from Chinese company OnePlus, it’s meant to take on high-end phones like the iPhone 6 and Samsung Galaxy S6 at a fraction of the price ($329 starting, unlocked). OnePlus has built a small but fervent fanbase thanks to clever marketing techniques, like only selling new phones to shoppers who get an invite from other fans or through online contests. The OnePlus 2 will be [available](https://forums.oneplus.net/threads/first-oneplus-2-shipment-for-north-america-delayed.336589/ "undefined") for order in the U.S. on August 11\. I received my review unit Monday, and while it’s too early for a full-blown hands-on, I wanted to quickly highlight one feature that blew me away immediately: The phone’s back cover. That’s right, the back cover. Almost every other modern smartphone has a back cover that might as well be made out of soap bar. It took me only weeks of going caseless with my iPhone 6 to see it slip from my clumsy hands and find its way to the New York City pavement, leaving me with a $100 repair bill and a ruined Tuesday evening. Accordingly, lots of smartphone cases on the market — especially the thinner ones — are less about offering protection from impacts and more about adding some actual grip so you don’t drop your $700 device in the first place. But the OnePlus 2’s back cover — I’m talking about the “Sandstone Black” option — feels something like a smooth sandpaper that’s grippy but also comfortable. I would have absolutely no qualms about going case-commando with this phone. It’s that good. So, other handset makers, China’s OnePlus just put you on notice. Enough with the super-sleek stuff. Make some grippy phones, please. ### PHOTOS: The Rise of Mobile Phones from 1916 to Today  1916 A German field telephone station in the Aisne department of northern France during World War I. Paul Thompson—FPG/Getty Images  1970 French singer and actor Johnny Hallyday in a scene from the film 'Point de Chute' (aka 'Falling Point'). Keystone/Holton/Getty Images  1980 An early mobile phone during the Iranian Embassy siege at Princes Gate in South Kensington, London. Kypros/Getty Images  1983 Bob Maxwell, general manager of Englewood-based Mobile Telephone of Colorado, places a call on an FCC-approved radio frequency while driving to work. Lyn Alweis—Denver Post/Getty Images  1986 THE A-TEAM "The Say U.N.C.L.E. Affair" Episode 5\. (l-r) Eddie Velez as Frankie Santana, Robert Vaughn as General Hunt Stockwell, George Peppard as John 'Hannibal' Smith. Bill Dow—NBC/Getty Images  1992 Democratic presidential nominee Bill Clinton talks on a cell phone while meeting with Boston Mayor Ray Flynn in a New York hotel on Sept. 25. Mark Lennihan—AP  1993 Whoopi Goldberg during ShoWest in Las Vegas. Jeff Kravitz—FilmMagic/Getty Images  1997 A farmer with his family sitting on a Bullock Cart and talking on a mobile Phone, in Delhi. India Today Group/Getty Images  2001 A woman watches smoke pour out of the World Trade Center Towers in New York on September 11. Nicholas Goldberg—Gamma-Rapho/Getty Images  2011 A rebel militiaman speaks on his mobile phone after capturing territory from government troops on March 25 in Ben Jawat, Libya. John Moore—Getty Images  2011 A youth films the aftermath of tear gas police fired at protestors in Muhammed Mahmoud Street near Tahrir Square on November 23 in Cairo. Peter Macdiarmid—Getty Images  2012 Audience members take pictures of President Barack Obama at Florida Atlantic University on April 10 in Boca Raton, Florida. Marc Serota—Getty Images  2014 A teenager takes a selfie in front of Queen Elizabeth II during a walk around St. Georges Market in Belfast. The Queen has apparently voiced her dismay that when she carries out engagements she is greeted by a sea of mobile phones. Peter Macdiarmid—PA Wire/Press Association Images/AP ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3991401/oneplus-two/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3991401/oneplus-two/"},"headline":"This Cheap Smartphone Has 1 Simple But Amazing Feature","datePublished":"2015-08-10T19:31:42.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T04:44:31.673Z","description":"It blew me away","url":"https://time.com/3991401/oneplus-two/","keywords":["Tech","Smartphones","pubdesk"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6ea7a176614cb263/69885e9b196cf41f7c0377b9/oneplus-two.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Alex Fitzpatrick","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/alex-fitzpatrick/"}],"articleSection":"Business","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6ea7a176614cb263/69885e9b196cf41f7c0377b9/oneplus-two.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"OnePlus Two","caption":"OnePlus Two","creditText":"OnePlus","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/business/","name":"Business"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-tech/","name":"Tech"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3991401/oneplus-two/","name":"This Cheap Smartphone Has 1 Simple But Amazing Feature"}}]}] ```