OnePlus wants users to stop talking about IP ratings

OnePlus really really really wants users to stop talking about IP ratings, and with good reason too.

OnePlus’ official twitter account for UK region posted a small video yesterday, with quite an interesting caption:

The video shows a OnePlus 6T getting engulfed in water which is obviously a reference to its in-built protection against water damage.

Wait, OnePlus phones are water resistant?

OnePlus phones have never had any IP ratings, but it doesn’t mean that they don’t have protection against accidental water damage. A teardown of OnePlus 6 by JerryRigEverything channel on YouTube earlier revealed that OnePlus 6 is almost as water resistant as other flagship phones, which comes as quite a surprise to some people because it doesn’t flaunt any IP ratings like other manufacturers quite regularly do in their promotional materials.

Another YouTube channel, Linus Tech Tips, when visited the OnePlus factory in China, revealed that the company actually makes their phones go through a rain test to ensure they can withstand normal water damage before the design is approved. The part showing rain and humidity test begins at around 12 minutes into the video.

So maybe just get an IP rating, huh OnePlus?

Yeah, no. They don’t wanna do this. Not because they don’t have the required engineering skills to make their phones water resistant (they obviously do, it is quite evident from the teardown video of OnePlus 6), it’s just that they don’t want to increase the cost of their phones by paying the licensing fee associated with getting an IP rating.

Yes. It costs manufacturers money to get their phones IP certified. An interesting read about the whole process can be found here. According to OnePlus, getting their devices IP certified would add more than 30 dollars to each device’s price — which seems like a lot for only bragging rights in front of your friends.

IP rating doesn’t do you any real benefit

An interesting thing that most users forget while looking for IP rating on their new phones is that the IP rating won’t really help them after buying a phone. No manufacturer actually provides warranted protection against water damage, no matter how high of an IP rating the phone has. If water gets inside your phone, it is not their responsibility to get it fixed. A OnePlus phone with all the necessary protection against water damage and an iPhone XS with IP68 water and dust resistance are exactly the same in this regard — the manufacturer is not responsible if you get water inside your device. Don’t believe me? See what Apple has to say about this:

So, ultimately, it seems like a good decision on OnePlus’ part. They have provided all the protection that they can against accidental water damage while shielding users from paying the additional cost associated with getting their devices IP certified.