The OnePlus blog: No wireless charging, IP rating on OnePlus phones, here’s why

To give a perspective, ahead of the launch of OnePlus 6T in 2018, OnePlus CEO Pete Lau said in an interview to CNET that it is “unreasonable” to have everyone else pay more “for the sake of IP rating in order to accommodate the one user who goes off and swims with their phone”.

More recently, OnePlus explained in a teaser video in May last year its decision behind not opting for IP rating in OnePlus 7 series – it costs money. But even without IP rating, OnePlus 7 and OnePlus 7 Pro can be dropped in a bucket filled with water, the video highlighted.

Also, if you put a rating you could become liable for damage caused by the elements. Hence, a lot of manufacturers don’t say the phones are water or dust proof, even when they are.

OnePlus launched in India in 2014 with an aim to make Android flagships more affordable and the brand has steadily established itself in the premium smartphone segment in India (Rs 30,000 and above) as it captured one-third of the space in 2019.

Read our previous OnePlus blog: Will the OnePlus 8 series launch earlier this year?

But given the rumours of a more expensive OnePlus 8 Pro that will compete with the likes of Samsung Galaxy S20 and Apple iPhone 11 series, it does make sense for OnePlus to let go of the price factor finally and introduce IP rating, at least on the Pro variant. Whether other OnePlus 8 phones (OnePlus 8 and OnePlus 8 Lite) will also come with IP rating is unclear at this point.

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Wireless charging though hasn’t got anything to do with increased prices as OnePlus has said in the past that the technology cannot quickly charge a smartphone without heating up, which is why the company has refrained from this feature so far. OnePlus believes its DashCharge is one of the best, which I’m sure many agree.

But then, OnePlus has also said the company is working on a proprietary wireless charging technology which will stand to the company’s standards. So, it does seem like the OnePlus 8 Pro could finally have this. Read our previous OnePlus blog to know more about wireless charging on OnePlus 8 Pro.