OnePlus is among the youngest smartphone manufacturers from China to successfully break into the Western market, and the company’s first flagship phone – the OnePlus One – has been considered by many to be the best smartphone released in 2014. What separated the OnePlus One from the rest of the pack was its ability to offer outstanding value for money. It was a high-end flagship accompanied by a price tag worthy of the mid-range segment, and somewhat of a uniquely designed headset at that, featuring a metal frame and a back panel with a sandstone finish, designed to improve grip. The OnePlus 2 released one year later in 2015, also featured a sandstone-coated back panel, and apparently the company is so keen on this particular design cue that it has decided to use it on more than just its flagship phones. As the company puts it, “we’re sandstoning everything”, including sneakers, bars of soaps, cups, and the iPhone 6S.
To be clear, the company’s #GetSandstoned “line of lifestyle products” is, in fact, OnePlus’s April Fools’ joke and needless to say, none of the products showcased today actually exist or will be pushed into production. With this short disclaimer out of the way, let’s explore #GetSandstoned and pretend for a minute that OnePlus is very serious about sandstoning everything. As the company puts it, OnePlus’ “Never Settle” slogan can have various meanings to different people, but for the Chinese smartphone maker it’s “all about making good things even better”. “We don’t settle for slippery cups that get chocolate milk all over your keyboards and dignity, and we don’t settle for soap that’s about as easy to wrangle as a penguin in a bathtub”. This led to the “creation” of the #GetSandstoned lineup, and above all else, it inspired the company to “raise the bar of the Sandstone game”. Of course, the fact that, in reality, OnePlus is the only player in the so-called “Sandstone” game makes the joke that much more amusing. But perhaps what’s even funnier (aside from the sandstone soap, of course) is the fact that OnePlus has included one of its biggest rivals – Apple and the iPhone 6S – into their April Fools’ joke. Among the other mentioned items with a slippery nature, the iPhone 6s is by far the most expensive, and dropping the smartphone on a hard surface can lead to its demise (no joke!). To “help” iPhone 6S owners prevent these unfortunate events, OnePlus has previously created a very real iPhone 6S case which, as expected, features a sandstone finish.
Once again, the #GetSandstoned product lineup is part of OnePlus’ April Fools’ joke and needless to say, it should be treated as such. You can check out the full video below for a chuckle, and can also head down to the company’s #GetSandstoned April Fools’ page (source link below) for a closer look at the “products” and even short testimonials such as “My skin has never been smoother”.