OnePlus CEO: The integrated fingerprint sensor on the 6T screen outweighs the missing headphone jack

Speaking in his native Mandarin, Pete Lau, co-founder and CEO of OnePlus, exudes a reserved personality, although he only has a few weeks to unveil the OnePlus 6T phone. Compared to his other co-founder, Carl Pei, Lau wants to be more formal. Although both seem modest in their own way, Pei is often seen wearing cotton t-shirts and clapping on Twitter about the free distribution of fake product rumors. Meanwhile, Lau, 14-year-old Senior Pei, tweets for the most part about the news of OnePlus.

It's this quiet behavior that betrays his nervousness inside – something you would not notice until Lau mentions it explicitly when asked about launching.

"My feelings are, to sum up, complex," Lau said through an interpreter. "It's a mixture of excitement and anxiety." Wearing a navy blue button blazer and black, he compares his feelings to that of the birth of his own child.

Although the OnePlus 6T is not out yet, we already know a lot about the upcoming phone. And unlike previous years of "T-devices" (which are seen as half-step updates from peer phones before it, like the OnePlus 3T above 3), the OnePlus 6T announces radically different from its OnePlus 6 predecessor.

For starters, the phone could finally be recognized in the United States. by launching with T-Mobile, which is the first agreement with the American company. This too will not have a headphone jack – a potentially controversial decision for Android users, who have fewer and fewer options for branded phones with headphone ports. Finally, the OnePlus 6T beats two established players, Apple and Samsung, by offering a fingerprint sensor in the screen to a large American audience.

Add to that the fact that OnePlus will be launched in October, a month earlier than usual, and it's easy to understand why Lau's desire is great.

Goodbye to the headphone jack

Lau plays an active role in the development of OnePlus products. Engineer in the soul, he worked for 15 years at the Chinese manufacturer of peripherals Oppo. (Oppo and OnePlus share the same parent company, BBK Electronics.)

But as CEO of OnePlus since its founding in 2013, he sees himself as the product manager of all of the company's product managers. He knows that he has to make the calls difficult. This includes following a trend popularized first by Apple and later by Google by removing the 6T headphone jack.

"This has been one of the most difficult decisions for us," Lau said. "The most difficult task every day is to … find a balance between what will ultimately be part of the end product and what needs to be said 'no'.

One of the reasons that OnePlus has cut the headphone jack has been to leave room for the built-in fingerprint sensor, which the company has dubbed Screen Unlock. By relocating the physical sensor located at the back of the phone under the screen, the fingerprint reader occupies an essential space inside, near the bottom of the phone.

He also relies on the use by his customers of the Bluetooth headset. After conducting a survey of users, it was found that 59% of respondents were already using a wireless headset to listen to music and make calls. And for the first time since June 2016, sales of Bluetooth headsets surpassed non-Bluetooth headsets in the US, according to analyst firm NPD.

"Consumers are missing the 3.5mm jack when they are gone," said GlobalData's research director, Avi Greengar, "but Apple has shown that having these supports was not a prime factor of purchase. "

By launching its own Bluetooth earphones earlier this year called Wireless Bullets, OnePlus has opened the door for users of 6T wireless headsets. Until now, things are looking good: in just a few minutes, Wireless Bullets has been sold in some areas.

Nevertheless, Lau knows that the move will be controversial, especially since many people still use wired headsets. The wired headsets give you more options to shop, they are cheaper, they do not require any fees and do not encounter connectivity issues. Last year, a Yahoo Finance poll found that 73% of Android users said that they would not switch to an iPhone due to the lack of headphone port. It did not help either that Carl Pei conducted occasional surveys on Twitter to show how much OnePlus had listened to user feedback. Most of his respondents preferred to keep the headphone jack.

For those who are unhappy that the OnePlus 6T will not take hold, Lau thinks the tradeoffs are worth it. "After experimenting with unlocking the screen, you will fall in love with it," he said. "[You’ll] realize that it is the experience you wanted. "

And hello to the fingerprint sensor on the screen

The fingerprint sensors on the screen (or FOD) on phones are a rare find in the United States. For the moment, they are available on Vivo phones (the Vivo V11, X20 Plus UD, X21 and Nex) two Oppo phones (Oppo R17 and R17 Pro), the Xiaomi Mi 8 Explorer Edition and the Porsche Design Huawei Mate RS.

But soon, users in the US and elsewhere will have the functionality on the OnePlus 6T – both Apple and Samsung which, according to rumors, would include this technology in their future phones.

In addition to streamlining the design of the OnePlus 6T, the FOD eliminates the need to take the phone to unlock the screen.

"We unlock our phones several times a day, and Screen Unlock reduces the number of steps to carry out the action," said one OnePlus engineer in a preliminary interview with CNET. "By adding this feature to other screen unlocking options, such as unlocking faces, users will have the option to unlock the screen in the most efficient way for them."

Although it is known as the "on-screen fingerprint reader", the technology is actually integrated under screens. When you touch the designated area of ​​the screen with your finger, a network of sensors turns on the screen to brighten your finger. Your fingerprint is then read by an optical image sensor and an AI processor. If the print matches, the screen unlocks.

Originally, the OnePlus 5T from last year was supposed to have a FOD. But it did not work as quickly and efficiently as the company wanted, and the functionality was delayed until 6T. Along with the implementation of OnePlus, Lau believes that the phone industry will continue in this direction, as well as taking care of the notches on the screen in a few years.

There are however some disadvantages to this mode. OnePlus not only eliminated the 6T headphone jack thanks to the FOD, it also made the phone more than 0.45 mm thick. The feature has also increased the overall cost of the phone. There is no official price yet, but previous reports have tentatively estimated it at $ 550 – or $ 21 more than the OnePlus 6.

"The Screen Unlock technology is something very new and a certain cost is required for this new technology," Lau said. "It's not cheap."

The future of OnePlus: wireless charging and water resistance

Since the launch of the first OnePlus One in 2014, OnePlus has been renowned for offering phones with premium features at an affordable price. But the company faces the dilemma of offering features similar to those offered by the iPhone and Galaxy S devices, while maintaining low prices. And compared to other brands, OnePlus has one of the biggest cost increases from model to model (the $ 21 increase expected from the 6T is an additional addition to the constant price increase).

Meanwhile, rival companies are incorporating advanced technology into their phones at a breakneck pace. Apple, Samsung and LG, for example, have phones with wireless charging.

However, OnePlus' unique quick charging technology, called Dash Charging, is a favorite feature of fans. In order for OnePlus to release a wirelessly charged phone, the device must charge as fast as users are accustomed to with Dash Charging. This means that the phone should be thicker and that it would drive a lot of heat.

"We are working hard," Lau said. "When we come to the day when wireless charging can be implemented without the expected heat, we can integrate the technology."

Many competitors, including Google, also certify their phones with an IP rating of water resistance.

But for Lau – who says the OnePlus 6T is more water resistant than any of its predecessors and can survive an accidental drop in the sink or a splash during a storm. rain – the cost of an official IP certification is simply not worth it.

"The number of users who take their phones to go swimming is rare," Lau said. Asking everyone else to pay, say, $ 30 more, "for the sake of an IP rating" in order to satisfy the only user who is swimming with his phone is "unreasonable", according to Lau.

OnePlus 6T rates

The integration of these new features, which Lau is not necessarily excluded, amounts to raising prices. While he insists that prices do not dictate the end product, and that prioritizing the latest and most advanced technologies is the company's top priority, it is clear that OnePlus would lose its chandelier as a darling of the world of Android phones if its prices were low. tied with rivals.

"The flagship phones of Apple, Samsung and Huawei exceeding every $ 1,000," said Mr. Greengart, "OnePlus has a real opportunity to offer advanced technology at a lower price."

At the moment, OnePlus remains primarily an online retailer focused on the internet and aimed directly at consumers, which helps to keep costs down. In addition, a possible price tag of $ 550 would still place it between $ 100 and $ 450 less than the lowest price. iPhone XS, the Galaxy Note 9 and the Pixel 2.

Lau does not seem worried about the price of the OnePlus 6T. He is more jazzy about users' reactions to the fingerprint scanner. And even though it's no stranger to public events, the launch of its products is still arousing anxiety.

"The most difficult thing right now," said Lau, "is that the teams are waiting to [me] memorize English. "

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