How important is India for OnePlus? Important enough for the company to take note of the concerns its users have raised in the last one year and announce a special programme to address these concerns. OnePlus on Thursday announced Project Starlight, a strategic initiative aimed at solving concerns raised by OnePlus phone users. As part of the initiative the company said that it would be focussing on solving India-specific issues and developing India-specific features for its phones. And as part of that the company would invest Rs 2000 crore annually in India for 3 years, totalling over Rs 6000 crore investment in India in near future.
"Project Starlight aims to deepen our understanding of the challenges faced by our flagship consumers and provide them with tailored solutions. This 2,000 crores investment annually builds on our previous 1,000 crores investment in Hyderabad Center in 2019," OnePlus India CEO Robin Liu told a select group of media persons and tech influencers in Shenzhen, China. "We are launching Project Starlight specifically in India because India is one of our largest strategy priorities."
While OnePlus continues to be a top phone brand in India, in the last few years it has lost some sheen — much of it because of issues beyond its control. The latest trends by research agencies such as IDC and Counterpoint show the challenges faced by the company. But it is not shying away from these challenges. OnePlus says that it is committed to address the concerns raised by Indian users, including concerns around the green-line issue with OLED screens.
India is unique and the conditions in which OnePlus phones are used in India are also unique. "From the intense heat and humidity to heavy usage, high screen on-time, and longer replacement cycles of OnePlus users, we recognise the need for our devices and services to serve our users reliably for years to come," said Liu. This is one reason why Project Starlight is going to focus particularly on the durability of flagship OnePlus phones.
The Double 85 Torture Test
To highlight that Project Starlight is not just made of mere words but also something tangible and substantial, OnePlus is showcasing the upcoming flagship — the OnePlus 13. The phone, which will be launched in India in January, is coming with a number of key enhancements. One of the most significant of these enhancements is a more robust and new display bonding technology that will help the phone deal with moisture and humidity better. In addition OnePlus has improved the overall display quality of the screen used in the OnePlus 13. It is a significant improvement that has resulted in the phone receiving A++ rating — a first for any display — from DisplayMate.
"The A++ certificate means that our screen has undergone extensive testing and has proven to provide an unparalleled visual experience," said Ramagopala Reddy, vice president at OnePlus India. "In total our labs perform over 180 rigorous tests to uphold high standards of durability and reliability."
One of the key tests in the list is the Double 85 Torture Test. "This test sets the temperature of 85 degree Celsius and humidity at 85%. It's used to assess the reliability of the material and it is a key part of our core aging tests. We have done this test in the past as well but now we test for several times longer than before," said Reddy. The company said that earlier its flagship phones would undergo the Double 85 test for 21 days. Now, the duration is several times longer.
The reason why the company feels particularly confident about the OnePlus 13 is also because it is now using a better material to bond the display layers, something that is unique to its phones. While aging of OLED displays is a problem faced by the entire industry, often bringing green-line issues to phones of almost all brands, OnePlus says that it is unique in coming up with a new bonding solution and protective layer that will keep moisture and humidity out of the display layers and slow their aging.
Reddy says that the company can claim "with a pride but not arrogance" that it has "achieved a significant milestone in reducing the risk of green-line issues to an industry-low level." And to put its money where its mouth is, OnePlus is offering life-time display warranty on its phones, including on the upcoming OnePlus 3. It says that in case of a green-line issue or other glitch in the display, it will replace the display for free, something that no other phone company offers.
Project Starlight leads to new features
According to OnePlus, there are three key components to Project Starlight: reliability and durability, after-sales service, and innovation for India.
The company says that as part of making its after-sales service more extensive it is increasing its network and reach. The company has increased its service centres by 22 per cent in the last one year, including an 11 per cent increase in exclusive centres directly owned by the brand. In the next few years, and by also focussing on Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities, the company aims to expand its service centres by 50 per cent by 2026.
Meanwhile, the upcoming OnePlus 13 is also going to benefit from Project Starlight. In particular, OnePlus highlights a few features that the OnePlus 13 will bring to Indian users. One of these is the support for the 5.5G network, an enhanced variant of the standard 5G. For the OnePlus 13, the company has already tested the 5.5G network support in partnership with Jio in Bengaluru and has achieved speeds of up to 1gbps. This, the company says, will be possible because the OnePlus 13 will be able to use and combine cellular connectivity from 3 towers simultaneously.
Another key feature that the company has worked on is the connectivity in underground rail networks like Delhi Metro. OnePlus has tested a new networking algorithm in Yellow Line of Delhi Metro. This algorithm reduces signal interference and enables a boost in networking performance. Initially, it is expected to be available on the OnePlus 13 and will benefit the Delhi Metro commuters.
Finally, there is a new feature called Steady Connect, which too has been developed keeping India users in mind. To demonstrate the utility of this feature, OnePlus cited examples of people who go to the gym. While they want to wear their earphones, they also want to keep their phone away in a locker for convenience. But if they do so, they cannot listen to music while exercising because Bluetooth loses the connection. OnePlus says that the Steady Connect will let the OnePlus 13 stay connected to the OnePlus Buds over a flat-and-uninterrupted distance of over 300 meters. Although in a built-up place, like a gym with walls and equipment, this distance would be less it will still be enough to keep the Buds and the phone stay connected.
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