The highly coveted OnePlus One Android handset is yet to reach buyers in Europe, Android World reveals, as the company apparently acknowledged a critical design error that lead to its One stock being halted at customs – and it’s apparently a rather silly error. This new delay follows another recent issue, when OnePlus was forced to delay shipments in order to address a critical software issue.
OnePlus apparently decided to “never settle” on on the design of the regulatory icons on the back of the handset, thus changing the CE icon in the process. Unsurprisingly, EU customs decided not to allow the shipment to go through.
“The issue stems from our vision for the design of the OnePlus One,” the company wrote in an email to a buyer. “For the back cover, we wanted the regulatory icons and text to be in harmony with each other and appear be as minimalistic as possible. In order to achieve this, we modified the CE icon to match the other icons. This was deemed unacceptable and our shipment was returned.”
This incident will delay the shipment of the One for two weeks, but OnePlus will give buyers a complimentary cover and screen protector when they’ll become available later this month.
The full email explaining the embarrassing situation follows below.
Hi,
Thank you for ordering from oneplus.net. Unfortunately due to an issue with customs in Europe, one of our shipments has been delayed on its way to the warehouse. Your order was among the affected.The issue stems from our vision for the design of the OnePlus One. For the back cover, we wanted the regulatory icons and text to be in harmony with each other and appear be as minimalistic as possible. In order to achieve this, we modified the CE icon to match the other icons. This was deemed unacceptable and our shipment was returned.
You placed an order that was planned to be shipped last week. Due to unforeseen issues with our product design, we need two more weeks until we can ship. Please accept from us a complimentary cover and screen protector (when they become available later this month) as a token of good faith. You may also cancel your order and receive a full refund.
We sincerely apologize on behalf of the entire OnePlus Team for causing you such inconvenience, and hope you forgive us for making such mistakes in the course of our growth.
Best regards
