This small Chinese company has launched a £200 smartphone you might actually want

OnePlusThe OnePlus X has elements of the iPhone 4 and 5 in its design.

OnePlus, the small Chinese company behind some of the best cheap Android phones, has unveiled the X, a £199 ($US249) smartphone that can compete with the likes of Samsung and HTC.

The company is making only 10,000 models — thanks, in part, to the 28-day-long manufacturing process — which will be sold via an invite system, just as previous OnePlus handsets have been.

While the phone is impressive for the price, the internals are also from 2014: there is a 5-inch HD display, a Snapdragon 801 processor (like that found in the 2014 Sony Xperia Z3), 3GB of RAM, and a 2,525mAh battery. OnePlus has opted for OxygenOS, a skin of Android 5.1.1 meaning the X misses out on Android 6 “Marshmallow.”

The pricing of the phone is likely its most compelling selling point. No other manufacturer offers a high-end handset for under £250 ($US380) off contract, and OnePlus is aiming to fill this niche.

The OnePlus X launches in Europe and India on November 5 and in the US two weeks later. There is a “Ceramic” model, which costs £269, that is UK-only and launches November 24.

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