(Android) OnePlus 2: The best deal you'll get on a smartphone

http://money.cnn.com/2015/08/20/technology/oneplus-2-smartphone/

John.

 

I mean the OnePlus was never unsurprising for a high end device sold at low prices, look at the old Nexus 4/5. There was a report that SoCs don't really cost that much money as people think they do, most of the money is in the battery, screen and R&D.

That being said the OP2 is still amazing for how much content and technology they put in, and it is half the price of other flagships with some flaws/gripes depending on the user.

 

The prices will vary a bit depending on the quantity companies are purchasing as well as what sort of priority they want in terms of fulfillment. Companies like OnePlus will be able to save money by basically being lower down the pecking order/having slower turnaround times.
On top of which, you have to bear in mind that Qualcomm are not having the best of years having lost Samsung as a major customer, so that will potentially allow other manufacturers to negotiate better deals. Plus it's a number of months since the 810 came out - if OnePlus had wanted to release this handset ~4 months ago, they would almost certainly have had to pay more for the parts.

Advertising, after-sales support and distribution & warehousing cost a lot too, some of which they're certainly saving on.
OnePlus have always eschewed traditional advertising methods, relying on online buzz etc. That alone will save them a lot.
They don't have the cost of distributing stock to retailers or even to subsidiaries in other countries plus, unless I'm mistaken, they tend not to keep much in the way of excess stock kicking around, releasing handsets in batches which then sell through quickly due to pent-up demand, that's going to save them on the cost of storing handsets for any sort of extended period of time.
Lastly, they won't have the same sort of support infrastructure in place that larger manufacturers have - that isn't a dig at the quality of their support, merely that if you're outside China, you have to post your handset back there if it develops a fault (AFAIK), instead of being able to send it to a more local repair facility or even visit a customer-facing service location.

You're spot on about the R&D though, they're buying off-the-shelf components instead of developing SoCs, displays etc in-house.

 

The $399 Moto X 2015 gives the OP2 a run for its money on the value front without making you go through this invite nonsense. I personally would go Moto over OnePlus in a heartbeat. Still, more competition is good for all consumers, so I'm glad this is out there.