OnePlus phones skipped water-resistance ratings for a long time, here's why
As if to justify the fact that the OnePlus phones didn't have an official water-, dust- and drop-resistance rating before the 8 Pro rolled in last year, CEO Pete Lau took to the Chinese equivalent of Twitter to say that all of it doesn't really matter.
How come? Well, his post says that IP certification ratings need rigorous testing indeed but are done in a controlled environment that can't credibly reflect what your phone can undergo in the real world, so there's no point of boasting about this in marketing materials.
While there is some merit to that claim, of course, the fact of the matter is that phones with a high certification rating against the elements can spend even longer in water than what says on the tin, while "splash-proof" ones give up the ghost in similar scenarios, so the IP gang is keeping it real.
Apple has the current highest IP rating (save for certain rugged work phones) with its self-described "up to 20 feet of water for up to 30 minutes" iPhone 12 series endurance, and it is perfectly comfortable advertising it.
OnePlus, on the other hand, only has recent phones from the 8/9 series with IP rating included in the specs sheet, and prefers not to make a big fuss about it as it does with most any other standout feature of its handsets like the best ever display on a phone or its ultrafast charging. Go figure, but we hope that the IP certification trend holds in the OnePlus phones going forward.
Things that are NOT allowed: