To tease the introduction of its new smartphone, OnePlus is running this new commercial touting how waterproof they are:
Rather than go through an expensive internationally recognized test to determine the degree to which its phones resist water and dust penetration (an “IP rating”), the company just drops its phones in a bucket of water.
There’s just one problem with their cheap method to convey that their phones are waterproof or water-resistant. It’s in the fine print that you probably can’t read in the commercial.
*MOUSE PRINT:
With a disclaimer that small, and only on the screen for three seconds, no wonder you can’t read it. It says:
Products not IP certified. Water resistant under optimal test conditions. OnePlus makes no guarantees regarding water/liquid resistance. Water/liquid damage not covered under product warranty.
Then why the heck, OnePlus, are you representing visually that your phones can be safely dunked in water? (The company never replied to our inquiry.)
OnePlus is a company that had great promise as a startup and early developed company, back then they were innovating and bringing things to the market at a price no one else was. Now they are trying to break into the high end $700+ phone market, and with the reemergence of Google into that already saturated market a few years ago with the new Pixels, that’s a very tough market to break into.
This commercial just comes off as a way for them to justify cutting costs on IP resistance rating.
In all fairness, Apple does not cover liquid contact under their warranty either (https://www.apple.com/legal/warranty/products/ios-warranty-document-us.html) and they ran commercial of an iPhone getting wet (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mDQlhW-fgDs).
Edgar replies: Todd… we covered the Apple splash commercial in 2017! See: https://www.mouseprint.org/2017/01/02/can-you-drench-your-iphone-in-water/
The commercial does not actually show the phone entering the water, nor do they show it submerged in the water, nor do they show the phone being taken out of the water and still working. As far as I am concerned, they have not demonstrated any type of water resistance for anything, even the bucket. That splash could have been edited in.
The warranty of all phones doesn’t cover water damage, even those with an IP rating. Their position is that if there is water damage, the phone must have been used beyond what it is rated for. That ignores the situation when the water protection itself is faulty. So, treat your phone like it has no water protection.
The OnePlus spot is terrible, and has been universally panned. A third party did conduct testing and the phone held up quite well.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pdJ7t2eLRV4
Edgar, is this disclaimer in line with FTC rules advertising ..
Maybe i am mistaken but i thought there were ruls on font size and screen time .
I pause my tivo on the fine print on many commercials. It is amazing how the companies will find ways to cheat you.