New design houses the phone front and back in Gorilla Glass 5
OnePlus has released a behind the scenes look at the design process for the Mirror Black version of its latest smartphone. The company revealed how it approached the glass back, the testing process and more.
The first problem the OnePlus had to overcome was consistency. Glass looks different under various light conditions, and OnePlus wanted a consistent look from its glass. The company also wanted the glass to be strong and durable, so it took inspiration from automotive windshields. The glass used in windshields feature a layer of plastic fitted between two sheets of glass. This helps the glass stay in one piece instead of shattering.
Additionally, the company studied polarized glasses. Polarized glasses use a special chemical coating that protects from excess glare.
Starting with over 70 glass prototypes, OnePlus chose to use Corning Gorilla Glass 5 on the front and back of the device, creating a housing that reliably reacted to light without sacrificing strength or impact resistance.
The company achieved the stylish dark mirror coating with a subdued polarization effect using a five-layer nanotech coating. Each layer darkened the rear surface of the OnePlus 6 by fractional degrees, and the combined layers help prevent unwanted colour shifts, contributing to a smooth and uninterrupted finish.