OnePlus CEO, Pete Lau, has said that foldable devices have “shortcomings” that would lead to a shoddy product that he doesn’t want as part of the brand.
Talking on his first podcast appearance, Lau was asked about his take on foldable phones and – via his interpreter – said that while the company had looked into it, it wasn’t something that was ultimately acted upon because the tech for the display just isn’t up to snuff.
“Foldable is actually an example of something that we have looked into but not pursued. That’s because, in looking into the application of what’s currently available for foldable screen technology, we haven’t found that the significant advantage or value that’s brought that isn’t outweighed by the shortcomings or the disadvantages of the current state of the technology,” Lau explained.
“If you look at the fold and the current foldable technology devices, it’s very large and not very clean or a very crisp fold. That also currently results in a lot of screen creasing or issues with where the fold is in the screen. This isn’t something that I can accept in products that are built. Only when the technology is able to get to the level where that folds can be really crisp and not impact the screen at where the fold happens is when it could be potentially usable or potentially applicable,” he added.
Lau also cited the plastic materials used to make the screens aren’t scratch resistant, so until a foldable scratch resistant glass appears, he’s not on board. Samsung’s next foldable (possibly called the Galaxy Bloom or the Galaxy Z Flip) is reported to be using a new material dubbed Ultra Thin Glass (UTG), so we’ll have to see if that sways Lau’s mind on the subject. But it’s clear that he’d rather wait for the technology to develop rather than make the same mistake that Samsung did with the Galaxy Fold. [The Verge]
This post originally appeared on Gizmodo UK, which is gobbling up the news in a different timezone.