Carl Pei responds to OnePlus 3 display criticism in rant, says ‘we’ve cut no corners’

We’ve heard a lot surrounding the OnePlus 3 in the past week and while most of it is good, there are some negative points. This of course is the case with any smartphone, but with the OnePlus 3 and the company’s previous efforts, these downsides — compromises, if you will — are seen by many as less like flaws and more just ways for OnePlus to cut corners and achieve its super affordable price points.

Now, it looks like OnePlus’ CEO Carl Pei is tired of hearing about it and has taken to Reddit to express his feelings on the matter…

A user on the OnePlus sub-reddit posted the recent OnePlus 3 review from AndAndTech where Brandon Chester noted that the 5.5-inch AMOLED display found on the device was “the worst display I’ve ever examined”.

Within the comments section on that post, a Redditor made the remark that the panel was not up to par because the company was purchasing Samsung panels “on a discount”. Carl Pei responded, claiming this was untrue and also went on to mention how he was “sick and tired” of criticisms such as this one.

I’m sick and tired of sentiment like this. It may not seem so, but for a product company — it’s insulting.

It started with the OnePlus One, people trying to find explanations and faults that could have led to its reasonable price. People were complaining about screen variance (visible and common for LCDs, search for “iPhone yellow blue screen” images), vibration motor, and cheaper NAND, etc. Looking for any explanation, and quick to jump on bandwagons and to conclusions.

With our relationships in the supply chain, we know the BOM (bill of materials) of all other flagships. Out of all the devices that the OnePlus 3 gets compared to, it is one of, if not the most expensive to make. Do you think the price delta between a 2K AMOLED and a 1080p AMOLED is huge? It’s a product decision, and spec by spec is not how to judge a product. The OnePlus 3 uses latest generation AMOLED made to our specifications by Samsung. The vast majority of our users, and reviewers love Optic AMOLED. It is NOT tuned to sRGB, and was never meant to be. sRGB tuning is a niche requirement and is not the right choice for the vast majority of smartphone users. Why do you think it’s hidden under developer settings on the 6P? For those who need it, we’ve taken note, and have added it to the next OTA.

One of the biggest takeaways from Pei’s rant is that no (at least according to him), the company didn’t use the display it did for financial reasons. Rather, they made a conscious decision to use the panel they did to provide what they felt was the best user experience. Another thing worth noting is that the company has already added sRGB tuning to the next OTA update for the device.

Pei also mentioned that OnePlus “never” cuts corners on the actual device, but rather on the way they sell it and how the business works.

I want to make things really clear. There are no corners cut on the product, and there will never be. OnePlus cuts corners on business model (direct to consumer), org structure (nimble and fast team), and marketing (organic word of mouth focused).

Whether you agree with Pei or not, it’s at least nice to see the company giving us a little insight into the decisions they’ve made on their latest phone and how they plan on improving it based on customer and reviewer feedback.