OnePlus revealed another secret about the One smartphone on Wednesday, and that’s the StyleSwap Covers that will apparently allow users to customize the look and feel of their One handsets. But these aren’t your average battery covers — they will initially be available in five textures including Silk, Sandstone, Denim, Kevlar and a Moto X-esque bamboo. From the looks of it, OnePlus does not want its customers to hide the One behind a bulky protective case, but instead protect the device by selecting a custom back cover that will snap on over the existing back.
“Engineers and designers spend a lot of time creating the specific look for a phone, but then people tend to cover it up with a case. Don’t you think that it’s a pity to cover up a beautiful device?” OnePlus CEO Pete Lau wrote. “We believe that the appeal and beauty of a device should speak for itself. Adding size and bulk to a phone for protection is a thing of the past.”
He further added that the designs “are durable and attractive, but still durable and strong.” Furthermore, some the StyleSwap covers will be made of their own respective materials, aside from the Silk and Sandstone versions. The company has also kicked off a contest on its Facebook page, with one lucky winner to be flown to Hong Kong to try out the back of the handset.
In the recent weeks, OnePlus revealed the phone will not have a user-replaceable battery, while a design sketch of the phone exclusively obtained by BGR revealed the One will have a unibody design.
It’s not clear how the whole StyleSwap customization process is done, and whether the phone will come in some default color versions, which could then be customized by special case purchases. Also, even though the StyleSwap Covers are replaceable, it’s not clear whether the phone will offer users access to a microSD slot for expandable memory.
However, from a sales point of view, the covers make sense, as they may bring additional revenue to the company, with profits on the OnePlus One expected to be minimal considering its teased affordable price.
