How can you stand out from the crowd with a new smartphone in 2022? New generations usually appear annually and offer better cameras and a little more performance. Big leaps such as foldable displays, on the other hand, are not really suitable for the masses. Many manufacturers therefore rely on certificates – and in my opinion that has gotten completely out of hand in recent years!
I can finally write about something that has bothered me for a while! Don’t get me wrong: testing organizations like the German TÜV are important to guarantee the quality, interoperability and safety of products. But some of the new certifications seem to confirm things that should be taken for granted. Or which, with common sense, should somehow be completely normal.
Worse still, as manufacturers highlight more certifications, there is a risk that the importance of traditional certifications will be watered down. Especially when some of them can be considered a passing fad.
It was the blue light threat about three years ago – perhaps in response to the night shift feature that Apple introduced in its mobile and desktop operating systems from 2016. In 2019 there was an avalanche of Android devices that should lure you to the till with TÜV Rheinland certifications for “low blue light”.
Again, I do not dispute the validity of the certification, which incidentally existed before Apple’s Night Shift. Or the harmful effects of wavelengths of light in the blue range. But was that really necessary? And if they are really that important – why aren’t the blue light filters highlighted as they were three generations ago?
OnePlus 10 Pro with “Lifetime Certificate”
While some certificates make perfect sense, others only prove things that should be standard anyway. For example the certificate for the “smartphone reliability”, which the Realme 7 and 7 Pro in 2020 was awarded. And only in the following year from the first smartphones with the certification “Smartphone High reliability “, the Realme C21 and C25to be outdone. What will the year 2022 bring us?
The OnePlus 10 Pro is not immune to the badges. / © OnePlus / Weibo
OnePlus offers a first foretaste with the OnePlus 10 Pro. It is marketed as the first smartphone with the “36 个 月 流畅 度 认证”. Google translates this as “36 Month Fluid Certification,” and GSM arena reports that this will ensure that the phone will run smoothly and satisfactorily for at least three years.
This is something you should expect from a flagship. My old Galaxy S9 still works fine to this day, and I bet a corresponding OnePlus 6 would do the same. Unless a software update breaks things up terribly. And that is something that is to some extent beyond the control of the manufacturers. Not only because of new Android versions, but also because of the features (and bugs) implemented with Google Play Services.
Regardless of this, it is made clear in the footnote on the official device page that “smoothly” does not mean “without delay”. Because the actual user experience depends on the speed of the network, personal usage habits and other factors. How else could you take into account Google’s updates or growing app sizes?
Be that as it may, some of our readers are unlikely to notice the push towards increasingly creative certifications, as they are more likely to be marketed in developing countries like my home country Brazil. There was a strong ISO900x trend there years ago.
Have you ever thought about what the individual certifications actually mean? And would you like a guide to help you get through the jungle of certificates? Let me know in the comments and be sure to take our survey above!