OnePlus X review

OnePlus is going even cheaper with its new phone

OnePlus X review

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Usually when a company releases a cheaper handset, the first thing to take a knock is the camera sensor. The OnePlus X, however, comes with a 13MP shooter – that's just as many pixels as we've seen on several high-end phones, and the camera has a resolution of 4128 x 3096.

That OnePlus can afford to include such a strong sensor in the OnePlus X is hugely impressive.

OnePlus X

The OnePlus X's camera is great for daytime shots – the high resolution is evident, and my test images had fantastic clarity. You really wouldn't think you were using what's essentially a budget handset.

Close-up shots were incredibly detailed, and landscapes also came out well. Take the shot below, of a bridge near our offices in Paddington – you can really make out a lot of the detail, something you wouldn't usually get from a phone at this price point.

OnePlus X

Click here for the high-res image

The OnePlus X camera really falls down at night though. As soon as the natural light starts to fade the camera struggles, and even the pixel definition drops right down. There's a flash, but that's not going to help with landscape shots.

I was quite unimpressed with the low light performance of the main camera on the OnePlus X – but then you can't expect everything at this price point.

Just as impressive as that daytime performance of the primary camera is the quality of the front-facing selfie shooter.

OnePlus X

OnePlus has come up trumps here with an 8MP unit, which is quite surprising considering that the OnePlus 2 only has a 5MP front camera.

OnePlus clearly wants to up its selfie game, and it's going the right way about it – I personally haven't used a phone with this quality of camera on the front before.

OnePlus X

Here's a stupid face with the selfie camera in default mode

There's also the requisite 'beauty' mode, which zaps your blemishes and makes you look like a Photoshopped alien.

OnePlus X

But then there's the beauty mode version that gives you a shiny glow

All in all, the OnePlus X has an impressive camera considering the price point of the phone.

It's not going to give you the image quality you'd get from the Samsung Galaxy S6 or the iPhone 6S – but considering that it's at least a third of the price, that's hardly a deal-breaker.

James Peckham

James is Managing Editor for Android Police. Previously, he was Senior Phones Editor for TechRadar, and he has covered smartphones and the mobile space for the best part of a decade bringing you news on all the big announcements from top manufacturers making mobile phones and other portable gadgets. James is often testing out and reviewing the latest and greatest mobile phones, smartwatches, tablets, virtual reality headsets, fitness trackers and more. He once fell over.