OnePlus made an usual move earlier today, resolving to invest time and money into an advertisement wherein it essentially boasts about being too cheap for its next Android smartphone to have an Ingress Protection rating, while simultaneously suggesting it could easily obtain one if it wanted to.
The video that can be seen below shows a silhouette of the upcoming OnePlus 7 being dropped into a bucket filled with water, whereas a company official subsequently clarified the device will indeed be capable of surviving such a scenario. Naturally, don’t you dare think about testing that theory because the warranty attached to the OnePlus 7 won’t cover any degree of water damage. All variants of the handset will presumably be equipped with water damage indicators, a common sight in modern smartphones.
“We know that an IP rating would be the simplest way to prove our phone’s capability, but the certification doesn’t help us communicate our focus on your real experience,” OnePlus co-founder Carl Pei wrote on the firm’s official forum boards earlier today. Apparently, a seasoned manufacturer of consumer electronics assigns more value to a bucket than a scientific process involving numerous tests devised precisely to put an end to empty claims of water resistance like the one it made today by standardizing such promises, thus making it easier for consumers to understand what level of protection they can expect from the products they purchase.
What do you find more effective at communicating the “real experience” of a water-resistant smartphone: “the ingress of harmful water quantities is prevented at depths of up to 1m of water for 30 minutes,” or “we dropped this bad boy in a bucket of water and it survived but don’t try this at home, kids?” The first example is an abridged version of the official explanation assigned to the IPX7 standard, with the other one being a summary of OnePlus’s latest promo.
“Waterproof ratings for phones cost you money,” OnePlus wrote, clearly signaling an IP certification would be paid outside of its custoemers’ pockets. In other words, expect to see the brand embrace it in the near future, as soon as it runs out of other reasons to keep increasing the base price of its Android handsets every year.
No electronics brand in the world is completely free of hypocrisy but leave it to OnePlus to pat itself on its figurative back for being like everyone else. IP ratings are expensive but a self-indulgent video saying you’re cheaper than your rivals is a great investment, according to OnePlus.
None of that is to say that the OnePlus 7 line won’t be a compelling offering once it launches on May 14, just that the Chinese firm appears to be adamant to continue sticking to its marketing shenanigans and making borderline-ludicrous statements alongside everyone else while still claiming it’s oh-so-different than everyone else.
The OnePlus 7 range will also mark a new turning point for its flagship product family given how it will include a number of highly different models, the best of one is set to be called the OnePlus 7 Pro.
Waterproof ratings for phones cost you money. We just bought a bucket. #OnePlus7Serieshttps://t.co/Q0eAKsfMEwpic.twitter.com/4f0RmNpI2t
— OnePlus (@oneplus) May 3, 2019