Carl Pei: we've cut no corners on the OnePlus 3

Carl Pei is “sick and tired” of what he feels is unwarranted criticism.

The OnePlus executive took to Reddit to answer comments regarding the display of the OnePlus 3, which AnandTech’s Brandon Chester called “the worst display I’ve examined [for the publication]”.

When a redditor alleged that OnePlus bought “Samsung panels on discount,” Pei broke out in a “rant,” accusing a perceived unfair attitude against his company.

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.

According to Pei, the reason why the OnePlus 3 has a 1080p display instead of the current flagship standard of Quad HD has nothing to do with the price of the component. The 5.5-inch 1080p panel, a custom Super AMOLED panel supplied by Samsung, was chosen to ensure the best user experience, including good battery life. The OnePlus 3’s display is the best 5.5-inch Full HD AMOLED panel available on the market, claimed the OnePlus executive.

Pei said that the OnePlus 3 adheres to the phone maker’s famous motto, “Never Settle.”

“Product management is an art and not throwing together the highest specs. If that’s what you’re looking for, OnePlus is the wrong brand for you. This is also why I’m not the least worried about new device x or y that may have better specs, because I know it will not fare as well as the OnePlus 3 on the most important spec of them all: NPS.”

And:

“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).”

When redditors confronted him with examples of undeniable compromises that made their way to the OnePlus 3, Pei nuanced his position by using a car analogy.

“You are speaking to it in absolute terms, where I come from a product market fit perspective. To explain with a car anecdote, you would define an Audi A4 as having cut corners vs. an Audi A8, where in my book they would both be great products for their respective users. Sorry for the confusion.”

If AnandTech’s damning review of the OnePlus 3’s display had you worried, it looks like a software update may improve the situation. Pei said that OnePlus tried to bring sRGB mode to the display as soon as possible after hearing initial feedback. Even if it’s too late for avoiding all the negative PR, it looks like an improvement may still be coming in the near future.

Who do you side with? Is OnePlus unfairly criticized? Or should the company just own up its mistakes?