OnePlus Concept One Preview – A vision of the future of smartphones
OnePlus has been building a new image in recent years. The company once started as an underdog that makes no-nonsense phones for a tight price, but is trying to develop into a more luxurious, high-end brand that is busy with innovation. In recent years, we have not only seen this in the prices, but also in features such as a 90Hz screen, a pop-up camera and, for example, the collaboration with car manufacturer McLaren. At CES, the manufacturer took the next step in this line with the unveiling of the OnePlus Concept One. This phone contains a number of technical innovations with which OnePlus wants to show how high innovation is at the company.
Anyone who thinks of a futuristic phone with a bendable screen with such an introduction, for example, will be disappointed. The Concept One looks pretty traditional and is based under the hood on the 5g variant of the OnePlus 7T Pro McLaren Edition; a 6.7″ phone with Snapdragon 855+, 12GB of ram and 256GB of ufs3 storage. The innovation can be found in three different areas: the camera, the frame and the back.
The invisible camera
Like OnePlus’ current top models, the Concept One has three cameras. In fact, it’s the same three cameras. So we don’t have to look for innovation in the field of camera quality. That’s a shame, as OnePlus phones can still gain enough ground here. There is innovation in the way the cameras are concealed. Thanks to a layer of electrochromic glass on top of the three lenses, it is possible to make them ‘disappear’ by darkening the glass. Switching between transparent and dark is done by supplying voltage to the electrochromic glass. Not constantly, but momentarily. That means that the influence on the battery life is zero according to OnePlus. This type of glass is also used, for example, on the windows of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner and the panoramic roof of partner McLaren’s 720S sports car.
Anyone who has ever flown in a Boeing 787 knows that it takes a few seconds for a window to go from completely clear to completely darkened. That’s unacceptable on a phone. OnePlus therefore says it has spent many months optimizing the technology to make the switch as quick as possible. With the Concept One, it ultimately takes 0.7 seconds to switch the glass, and this happens automatically while you start the camera app. In our opinion, that is just not so long that it is annoying, but we can imagine that phones will become even faster when starting the camera app in the future. Then this trick could become a block to the leg.
A phone that uses this technique does not have to be much thicker than normal; the four layers that make up the special glass are 0.35mm thick in total.
The big two questions we had before the presentation were ‘Is it working well?’ and “What’s in it for you?” We can best answer the first question with ‘reasonably good’. The effect of the eclipse depends very much on how the light falls on the back of the phone. Indeed, at some angles, the lenses seem to disappear completely. However, if the light falls on it in a certain way, three circles can clearly be distinguished in front of the camera with the flash underneath. That is of course with the nose on top and we were also consciously looking for the lenses. Indeed, if you take a quick look at it in everyday use, it looks like there are no cameras on the back.
And that’s exactly what OnePlus is about. Smartphone manufacturers are in a race to put as many sensors and lenses as possible on the back of their devices, and designers just need to fit it all into a somewhat fun package. As a result, we have been able to add the word ‘camera island’ to our vocabulary since last year, something that we know from the Huawei Mate 20, iPhone 11 and Pixel 4, for example, and that we will probably see on many more phones next year. OnePlus is therefore not a fan of this and sees this technique as a solution to keep the design of phones tight.
It sounds to us like a lot of effort and research for a problem that will not be a problem for many users. Never have we heard, or read in the comments or the forum, that someone really wanted the lenses on the back of their smartphone to be invisible. It mainly comes across as an attempt by OnePlus to show that it can bring about innovation on its own and does not have to rely on sister brands such as Oppo for everything, from which OnePlus can borrow a large part of the developments.
That does not mean that the invisible camera has no practical use at all. Because the degree of light blocking is variable, OnePlus can use the technique as a neutral density filter. These filters are often used in the world of photo and video, and are intended to allow less light to reach the sensor. This makes it possible to work with a large aperture opening, in combination with slow shutter speeds. For example, as a photographer you can ‘smudge out’ a flowing river or passing clouds. In the camera app, this functionality has been processed in pro mode and it concerns an nd8-nd filter, which therefore blocks three stops of light.
Papaya leather and golden fumes
OnePlus is not only inspired by McLaren’s cars in terms of camera technology, it also applies to the rest of the appearance. Against all current trends, the back consists for the most part of leather. That is exactly the same papaya-orange colored leather that the seats in the aforementioned McLaren 720s are made of. Apart from the fact that we think it looks distinctive and it has a fine texture, it is of course a lot less fragile than a glass back. The appearance is also very reminiscent of the leather variant of the LG G4 , right down to the stitching. The price of the exclusive leather will probably be many times that of the leather used by LG, as it is also used in an expensive sports car.
To complete the exclusive image, the Concept One also contains gold. At least, a tiny bit. If you wouldn’t know it, you wouldn’t notice it either. It is a thin layer that is applied to the aluminum frame. OnePlus uses a technique called physical vapor deposition for this , in which the gold particles are applied to the aluminum in vapor form. A dye would have had exactly the same visual effect, but OnePlus took a long time to reflect on the fact that it is the first manufacturer to apply this technique to a smartphone. So again the aforementioned emphasis on innovation.
Conclusion
When a manufacturer invites you to a new look at the future of smartphones, expectations are logically high. Seen in that context, OnePlus’ reveal was a bit disappointing. Where other manufacturers are already working on foldable phones or phones that no longer have buttons or ports, the Concept One is simply a variant of the current smartphone as we know it. Nevertheless, it is a phone with an original appearance. Compared to the glass uniform sausage of today, the Concept One knows how to distinguish itself.
The fact that we are somewhat disappointed with the revelation does not alter the fact that the invisible camera is a fine piece of technology. If it were possible in the future to build this into telephones as standard, it would be a nice detail in the finish. It will take a while before that happens, OnePlus admits. The technology is not yet ready for mass production and a lot of long-term testing still needs to be done. For example, OnePlus does not yet know whether the glass may eventually discolor or be damaged after frequent switching on and off.
The application of physical vapor deposition is less interesting for the user. Ultimately, what matters is the end result, not so much the production technique used. Viewed from OnePlus, it is of course important, because it wants to show that it can stand on its own two feet in terms of R&D.
In that respect, the Concept One does what it’s meant to do. It’s often jokingly said that if you want to know what the next OnePlus phone looks like and what it can do, simply look at sister brand Oppo’s latest phone. With this concept phone, OnePlus shows that it can do more than that, but how much more, that will have to show in practice. In addition, as far as we are concerned, OnePlus may still use that innovation potential on more practical matters than it does now.