OPPO’s next smartphone, the F21 Pro, will feature a bright orange leather-like material the company calls “fiberglass.” Here’s what we know.
Manufacturers are always trying to make their smartphones look and feel more luxurious without increasing the price too much. Some companies are content with merely offering atypical color options like gold or even rare hues like red. Others have played around with different kinds of materials, including the difficult but premium ceramic. Using faux leather hasn’t been a new thing since Samsung offered the material on the Galaxy Note 3 model’s removable back, but it hasn’t caught on in a big way due to some of the tradeoffs that come with it. That hasn’t stopped some manufacturers from offering leather on variants of their phones, but the results have been very mixed. Riding on the success of its handsome Find X5 Pro, OPPO is once again trying its hand at putting a new spin on old material, one that’ll hopefully address the flaws of fake leather. Genuine leather is almost always associated with luxury and fashion, but in addition to its sometimes controversial sources, getting the material right is easier said than done.
