Sometimes a smartphone comes along that will see people queue for hours on the hottest day of the year just to get their hands on it first - and that’s what happened with the OnePlus 5.
With the launch of the new handset from OnePlus, a device that combines brilliant design with hugely impressive specs and a stunning camera, the brand decided to create pop-up events in Europe and the US, giving dedicated tech fans a chance to get their hands on the much-anticipated handset early.
But it wasn’t just the hardcore OnePlus contingent that queued - those that had never bothered getting in line for a new phone also took the chance to be among the very first to check out the device, such was its appeal.
And both sets of of fans lapped up the opportunity, travelling from hundreds of miles away and queuing for hours just to get their hands on the OnePlus 5.
With so many identikit smartphones on the market right now, the new OnePlus phone offers incredible attention to detail where it matters the most, and that’s what resonates with so many fans.
Many are entranced by the power on offer, with up to 8GB RAM combined with an industry-leading Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 chipset to offer specs beyond nearly anything else on the market, and certainly not in a package this attractive.
The camera brings DSLR-like qualities, with the dual sensor taking brilliant pictures in low light and offering a bokeh effect to really highlight the person in the shot while blurring out the background.
That’s the kind of thing that inspired some fans to travel over 1000 miles and set up camp outside the pop-up event from 4AM.
Those fans love the fact the phone is created in a way that works for them - with the design team at OnePlus so hell-bent on making the perfect phone that some prototypes were remade just to move a button a couple of millimeters.
That focus led to the OnePlus 5 being dubbed the best-looking phone the brand has ever produced - with the rounded metal body just 7.25mm thick sitting beautifully in the hand.
Unique features
That’s backed up with unique features that only OnePlus offers, like an Android-powered smartphone with a physical switch to silence the phone instantly, should you realise in a meeting or the cinema that you’ve forgotten to do so and don’t want to look rude pulling out your handset.
Or offering Dash Charge, which will top up your phone from dead to enough power for the day in just 30 mins, meaning you’ll never have to worry about running out of battery when you can just plug in the charger quickly and be ready for whatever life throws at you.
The idea was to make a phone that fitted into a user’s daily lifestyle, not just one that was designed to only look good.
That’s the kind of thing that inspired one OnePlus fan to reschedule his flight home from Kenya simply so he could attend the London pop-up event and get his hands on a OnePlus 5 before anyone else.
And the engagement with the fans doesn’t stop there - the OnePlus 5 Extreme Unboxing competition is live, following the hugely successful event which saw a fan sky-diving to check out the OnePlus 3T.
So if you’re looking for a phone that does everything you want but not sure which one to go for, just take a look at how many people couldn’t wait to get their hands on the OnePlus 5. After all, that many people can’t be wrong, right?
