This article may contain personal views and opinion from the author.
Sometimes a good idea could turn into a disaster. Enter the OnePlus 15. A great device that currently sits comfortably in the top 10 of all smartphones we've ever reviewed here at PhoneArena. And yet, it has a tiny little flaw that's very, very annoying and is ruining my experience with the phone.
I'm building a bit of suspense here, but I'll cut to the chase. The black version of the phone is a terrible design choice, mainly due to the material, or should I say finish process, that OnePlus has used for the back. According to the company, there's a new super-tough layer on the back of the phone, done through a process called MAO, or micro-arc oxidation.
This process creates a nano layer of ceramic-like material that's tough and papery to the touch, but there's a huge problem.
The back of the OnePlus 15 is a chalkboard!
Scratch in a message if you need to | Image by PhoneArena
The surface of the OnePlus 15's back is so tough and so abrasive that it acts like a blackboard. You can literally write on it with your fingernail (or pretty much anything, for that matter). As you can see in the pictures, if you need to write something quickly and don't have a pen and paper at hand, you can just use the back of the OnePlus 15.
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Jokes aside (I know you can write in Notes on the phone, come on), it's very annoying because on one hand, the back feels very nice. And on the other hand, I thought that for once I might be able to use a phone without a case.
This looked hopeless but I was able to wipe it off (sorry about all the dust) | Image by PhoneArena
If you put your OnePlus 15 in your pocket and somehow forget that your keys are there, it turns into a disaster. The good thing is that all the scratches are removable with a wet wipe or just licking your finger and brushing them off (ew, gross).
But even with no keys, even if your pocket is empty, dust and other microparticles will leave marks on the back, and you end up constantly wiping the phone. It's very annoying.
There's a bigger issue, and it has something to do with durability
After a week of carelessness, some scratches were permanently etched in the surface | Image by PhoneArena
Even though this nano-ceramic coating is very hard and doesn't scratch easily, it still can be damaged. And here's the problem. Looking at the chalkboard nature of the OnePlus 15 and having gotten used to wiping scratches all the time, you kind of assume that it's unscratchable and you can remove all marks. You get careless. At least I did.
And as I found out later, not all scratches are temporary. There are some faint ones that turned out to be permanent. So, OnePlus has in reality made a phone with a seemingly unscratchable back that gathers annoying marks, some of which are actually permanent.
It's a real problem that I feel needs to be addressed. People should know about it before they make a decision whether to buy this phone or not. Because the OnePlus 15 is otherwise an amazing flagship. It has super-solid battery life (stay tuned for a separate article on this subject), a great camera system, one of the fastest processors on the market, and also a gorgeous screen.
What do you need to know (and do)?
Maybe get a case after all... | Image by PhoneArena
I'm not saying don't buy the OnePlus 15. All I'm saying is you need to be aware of this specific issue. Yes, the phone looks cool with this matte finish, it feels great to the touch, and you can wipe off most of the scratches.
But it will gather marks like no other phone would, and some of them will be permanent. So, in order to keep it clean and pristine, you should either take good care of it or use a case, just like with all other flagships that aren't MAO-coated.
A disclaimer by OnePlus regarding the specific coating would've been nice, as many people might be unpleasantly surprised.
Conclusion
Be sure to always carry a wet wipe with you | Image by PhoneArena
I enjoyed my time with the OnePlus 15 a lot. At first, my heart was skipping a beat every time I took it out of my pocket. Then I got used to wiping down the marks. And at the very end I found some of them permanent.
The moral of the story is that you should take care of your phone no matter what, but in my defense, OnePlus should've added some additional info about this coating. What do you guys think about this? Has anyone experienced this with their OnePlus 15? And what back material would you prefer on a smartphone?
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Mariyan, a tech enthusiast with a background in Nuclear Physics and Journalism, brings a unique perspective to PhoneArena. His childhood curiosity for gadgets evolved into a professional passion for technology, leading him to the role of Editor-in-Chief at PCWorld Bulgaria before joining PhoneArena. Mariyan's interests range from mainstream Android and iPhone debates to fringe technologies like graphene batteries and nanotechnology. Off-duty, he enjoys playing his electric guitar, practicing Japanese, and revisiting his love for video games and Haruki Murakami's works.
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