China’s OnePlus leaks specs for upcoming smartphone, but can it stand out?

OnePlus founder Pete Lau

New Chinese smartphone maker OnePlus slipped us some new specs for its upcoming OnePlus One flagship device this week. The One is slated to come out sometime this quarter.

Here’s the latest specs:

• 16/64GB storage options
• 5.5″ 1080p display
• 3100 mAh battery
• 13mp Sony Exmor Camera
• Voice wakeup
• Global LTE
• Exchangeable StyleSwap back covers to change textures, patterns

Update: The CPU will be the 2.3Ghz quad-core Snapdragon 800.

Looking good so far, but some fans don’t seem satisfied. They worry One will just be a cheaper version of Oppo’s Find 7, which was just revealed this week. There’s some credibility to these concerns; OnePlus and Oppo will use the same factories and other resources. Both have partnered with Android ROM CyanogenMod, and about 15 percent of OnePlus’ staff are ex-Oppo employees.

(See: OnePlus One coming in Q2, aims to disrupt China’s smartphone market)

The only component we know for sure is identical so far is the camera, Sony’s 13-megapixel Exmor – an excellent, critically acclaimed piece of glass.

The Find 7’s screen is the same size but comes with a superior resolution. That makes sense, since it will likely be quite a bit more expensive than the One. The Find 7 also comes with the stock Android 4.3 installed rather than CyanogenMod and has a slightly smaller battery (note these are specs for the Find 7, not the cheaper Find 7a).

Below we’ve whipped up a table comparing what we know about the OnePlus with its competitors. The Xiaomi Mi3 and LG Nexus 5 are expected to be in the same price range and target demographic.

OnePlus also always makes a point of emphasizing its build quality, which it has said is only comparable to Apple. The company hopes this will help set it apart from the pack.