For the folks looking for a mid-range phone with high-end specs, the OnePlus One and Asus Zenfone 2 would certainly be something leading the pack. Practically even on both fronts, the decision could ultimately boil down to price and of course features.
Both are relatively new if you talk about smartphones brand in the market.
OnePlue One got its break when it started offering high specs for a reasonable price. OnePlus One could somehow be tied up with other brands in the market thriving on the same niche. Among the brands that come into mind are Xiaomi, MicroMax and Huawei. These brands may not be in the game for the high-end segment but their internal features are something even the high-end users could seriously consider.
Just consider the specs of the OnePlus One. It comes with a 5.5-inch LTPS LCD display, runs on a quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 and backed by 3GB of RAM with 16/64GB of internal memory. It comes equipped with a 13MP front-facing camera and a 5MP front facing shooter. A Li-Po 3100 mAh battery provides the necessary juice and runs on Android 4.4.2 Kitkat with CyanogenMod on top.
For a high-end phone those specs should be sufficient or more than one has to bargain for. For pricing, a 64GB variant comes up to around $345, pretty much reasonable given the specs.
With regard to the Asus Zenfone 2, there will be initial preservations. Asus has not been known to be a player in the smartphone segment with the brand closely associated with laptops and monitors.
But like the OnePlus One, the new player does offer some pretty impressive specs. It actually offers similar ones to the OnePlus One, equipped with a 5.5-inch IPS capacitive touch screen display, running on an Intel Atom (Z3580/Z3560) chipset on a quad-core, an internal storage of 16/32/64 GB of RAM but with microSD expansion which OnePlus One does not have.
For power, it gets juice from a Li-Po 3,000 mAh battery and runs on Android 5.0 Lollipop. Price-wise, the Asus Zenfone 2 costs slightly higher at about $361.
A difference of about $16 could be meager but somehow important to most. Both phones seem to be practically even sans some design differences and of course storage options as well.
Both phones seem to cross each other out, so as far as which is better comes down to what people actually need it for. If for simple daily use, then starting off with the OnePlus One could be a better option.
If there is brand-awareness angle in play, well, Asus may have some advantages though that could be very well tied up with its rapport in the computer and monitor segment.
