OnePlus is a young company that seems to create a lot of headaches for itself. They are quarreling with Cyanogen, Inc., the company that makes the custom version of Android that ships on their flagship smartphone. There have been questions about the One from almost the first day it shipped. Questions surrounding the device’s stereo speakers, yellow display, touchscreen sensitivity, swap covers, and shipping refurbished units as new devices have plagued the company and sullied their reputation. OnePlus claims that it wants to be open and transparent with customers, but it feels like lip service. Now OnePlus One owners are questioning whether the device actually uses Gorilla Glass 3 to protect its display.
OnePlus states clearly that the One ships with Gorilla Glass 3, but some users in the OnePlus forums are claiming that this may not be the case. Tales of cracked and scratched displays pop up frequently, but the company itself hasn’t responded to this new question. Gorilla Glass is not indestructible glass, merely hardened. Some forum users think that maybe OnePlus is misleading customers and using the Gorilla Glass name, but actually installing lesser quality hardened glass panels on the devices they ship.
With no response coming from OnePlus, forum members reached out to Corning to get clarification on the issue. Corning keeps a list of current devices that ship with Gorilla Glass 3. The OnePlus One is not on that list. Corning’s website even states, “The manufacturers and devices detailed on these webpages are the only manufacturers authorized to use the Corning® Gorilla® Glass trademark in their device promotions.” If OnePlus is missing from that list, does that mean they are not authorized to use the Gorilla Glass trademark? Corning responded in a vague fashion that doesn’t clear anything up. “Because of non-disclosure clauses in some our customer contracts, we cannot identify all the devices that feature Corning® Gorilla® Glass, so we encourage you to contact the manufacturer of your device,” they said.
At this point there’s no proof that OnePlus is lying about using Gorilla Glass 3 in the One. We only have forums users claiming that their devices are not holding up to abuse the way they think GG3 should. OnePlus has remained quiet on the subject. Corning responded with a non-answer that directs questions back to OnePlus. If OnePlus were using the Corning-trademarked name without permission, you would think that Corning’s lawyers would have shut them down already. That doesn’t mean we have a clear answer, however. OnePlus claims openness, honesty, and integrity in their dealings, yet they have misled us in the past. What’s actually going on this time?