OnePlus sinks as low as it’ll go, unveils X for $249

Chinese phone maker OnePlus this afternoon unveiled a new budget smartphone that starts at US$249.

Cheaper, a tad smaller, and a bit less strongly specced than the OnePlus 2, the new OnePlus X has a 5-inch 1080p HD screen. A Snapdragon 801 chip mated with 3GB of RAM should ensure that it won’t be a slouch.

The OnePlus X lacks a few things that its pricier sibling has, like a fingerprint sensor, in order to keep the price down. As this is aimed at emerging markets or price-conscious shoppers, the X has expandable storage using a MicroSD card, making it cheap to add some extra space.

OnePlus is looking to India for a lot of growth, so the lower-cost model will be important to make the brand more accessible. Co-founder Pete Lau was in India earlier this month where he said OnePlus won’t join the battle with other Chinese phone brands to produce entry-level devices as the startup will focus on the middle and premium segments. It appears that OnePlus wants the X to be the apotheosis of a mid-range phone.

Xiaomi’s mid-priced Mi4i is US$200 in India, though the plastic chassis doesn’t look as good as the premium-feel OnePlus X. Presumably OnePlus won’t go down to the US$100 level to tackle Xiaomi’s best-selling Redmi range.

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