OnePlus’ Warp Car to offer a day’s charge in 20 minutes, or will it?
- OnePlus claims the Warp Car will be fitted with fully customisable 3D printed parts
- OnePlus recommends minimum height of 5'6" and maximum of 5'8"
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The last time OnePlus talked about venturing out of making smartphones was when CEO Pete Lau announced the OnePlus smart TV in 2018. Stating that the decision to make a smart TV is "a natural extension in the application of OnePlus’s mission to use technology and innovation" to enhance its living experience, the CEO reserved all the major details of the smart TV.
However, OnePlus raised a few eyebrows on 29 March, when it teased the silhouette of a new car. Today, on 1 April 2019, it announced the Warp Car—an electric supercar that will offer a day's joyride after being charged within half an hour.
It even gave its fans a chance to win one via its Twitter and Facebook handles.
Printed using SLS 3D and ABS 3D printing, OnePlus says the Warp Car is designed around the idea people can build on the design at home, adding new features and replacing worn out parts.
SLS or Selective laser sintering is manufacturing technique that uses a laser as the power source to sinter (or fuse) powdered material aiming the laser automatically at points in space defined by a 3D model, often designed in a software like CAD. It can be used with materials including nylon and even metals including steel and titanium. So we can assume this will be used in manufacturing the exteriors of the Warp Car.
ABS 3D printing is basically plastic 3D printing, which might be used in creating the interiors and plastics of the car.
OnePlus says users can replace the steering wheel of the car with a smartphone, which means in-car controls would be done with swipe gestures. It was even generous enough to tell us about its first over-the-air (OTA) update that will introduce an airplane mode for driving mode so you won’t ever again suffer from dismissing a notification and accidentally turning the car.
Here's where it starts becoming even sketchier.
OnePlus, in its press release stated: "Light comes from a clever system of light tunnels and mirrors, simply turn your smartphone’s torch on and slide it into the phone holder, to provide both internal and external lights."
Seems awfully difficult while trying to manoeuvre the car.
Further, it said the front and rear-facing cameras are also put to use with in-car selfies that can be automatically captured from the steering wheel.
OnePlus says getting in and out of the car is easy, so as long as "you’re not taller than 5'8"and has recommended minimum height of 5'6", due to "the positioning of the pedals".
People believe this is an April Fool's prank since it seems obvious from the obscure details OnePlus released. OnePlus was also never spotted conceptualising a supercar.
While the entire package doesn't really look like a logical proposition, OnePlus has promised giveaways. My second best bet, other than a terrible April Fool's prank, is that it might well be a toy supercar. It fits the description and if you're wondering about the height recommendation, well you can easily get in the car's virtual cockpit through your smartphone—it doesn't really matter what your height is.
It'll be best to wait till tomorrow to know what's actually cooking.
And if you believe in the hype, here's what the hyper-exposed image of the teaser looks like:
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First Published:1 Apr 2019, 08:19 PM IST
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