Pete Lau talks OnePlus design, says the OnePlus 6 will have a glass rear

Chinese smartphone brand OnePlus has come a long way in a short amount of time, rising to be one of the most talked about brands in the lead up to their launches. That’s mostly due to their slow-drip ‘leaks’ and today OnePlus CEO Pete Lau has spoken about the upcoming OnePlus 6, and their overall design language.

The discussion on the OnePlus forums starts with Mr Lau talking about their design philosophy across their entire range of phones throughout the companies short history. According to the post OnePlus is ‘honest’ when it comes to designing a new smartphone, it’s the little things that count:

From the original OnePlus One to the OnePlus 6, we’ve always insisted on honing the fine details, even if the differences only amount to 0.01 millimeters. These seemingly insignificant details accumulate, and will ultimately contribute to an overall design that is greatly changed. Every decision we make is based on countless rejections, resulting in a quick, continually iterative process.

Further to the discussion on design, the post turns to the OnePlus 6, which Mr Lau says will utilise a glass rear panel. OnePlus chose to use glass for a number of reasons including that ‘glass communicates a transparent, bright, and pure feeling’. Mr Lau says it also creates a “sense of value” and “premium hand-feel.”

According to Mr Lau, over 70 glass prototypes were tested before they settled on the final one, adding to their ‘honest’ approach to design where millimetres matter.

The discussion on the launch date of the OnePlus 6 is still going strong, with May 18th being bandied about by Indian press as the date it will finally be unveiled. We of course just want to know if Australia will finally be elevated to the status of being able to buy the phone officially. We’ll find out soon enough.