OnePlus 6 News: CEO Confirms Glass Back, But Not Wireless Charging

OnePlus CEO Pete Lau has confirmed that the company’s first flagship Android phone for 2018, the OnePlus 6, will indeed arrive with a glass back. Lau published a lengthy blog post explaining the decision behind the change in design.

“In addition to retaining the horizon design, we’ve also tried to incorporate glass materials on OnePlus 6. Although OnePlus is not the first manufacturer to use glass, we are confident that we are providing users with our interpretation of a familiar material,” Lau wrote in his blog post.

“OnePlus 6's glass design is centered around creating a ‘sense of value’ and ‘premium hand-feel.’ As I mentioned at the beginning, people relate deeply to the products they use. We gave a lot of thought to how users should feel when they use the OnePlus 6. The advantages of glass over metal are manifold: glass communicates a transparent, bright, and pure feeling. The way glass transforms under different lighting is a particularly important challenge—the OnePlus design team tested over 70 glass prototypes before selecting the best one.”

Lau also said that the OnePlus 6’s glass back has five printed layers of Nanotech Coating, which is a first in the smartphone industry. The CEO said that this gives the back of the device a “stronger impression of depth” when users look at it. Lau didn't mention if the handset will have a water-resistant body, but the company did hint at that feature last week.

The last time the company used glass materials for its phones was back in 2015 for the mid-range OnePlus X. Premium smartphones at the time featured metal bodies — something that was preferred by many as they were said to be more durable. Fast forward to now and that notion has completely changed.

Manufacturers, including Apple and Samsung, have returned to using glass as part of their smartphone design. However, companies are doing this to also include support for Qi wireless charging. Unfortunately, Lau didn’t even mention wireless charging and just focused on talking about the overall look of the OnePlus 6 and how the company believes in having an "honest design."

“Keeping industrial design honest means respecting what a product should be, rather than tacking on additional elements just for the sake of hype,” Lau said. “An honest design will perfectly serve the function of the product and even embody the product itself, so that from the moment you hold it, the device ‘will speak for itself.’ And I believe users will naturally gravitate towards more ‘honest’ designs.”

The OnePlus 6 will be powered by the Snapdragon 845 processor with 8GB of RAM and up to 256GB of storage. The upcoming device will arrive with a bezel-less display and an iPhone X-style notch on top. The most recent rumors suggest that the OnePlus 6 might officially be revealed on May 18, according to Phone Arena.