Technology is rife with buzzwords that seek to suggest they are more than they seem. Sony had an “Emotion Engine” with the PS2, Sega had “Blast Processing” with the Genesis, Apple has a Retina Display with its iPhones and iPads, and even Samsung has a Super AMOLED. The goal, of course, is to manufacture some marvelous marketing that will capture the attention of the media and consumers. In many cases, reality is less impressive than the luxurious lingo might imply.

Earlier today OnePlus brought forth its fourth One, titled the OnePlus 3 – the numeric equation of which actually does add up to 4, fittingly enough. Aside from the stunning set of specs – 6GB of RAM! – for a price roughly half that of the Galaxy S7 or HTC 10, the phone came with its own brilliant buzzword: Optic AMOLED.

Given that EL panels are still a relative rarity – though quickly becoming more prominent as per a recent report – one might be forgiven by assuming this is some new hybrid or advancement in panel production or performance. The next question perhaps being, who could be supplying such things to OnePlus. The answer is slightly less exciting than some might have hoped.

As part of an Ask Me Anything on Reddit, OnePlus Co-Founder, Carl Pei, fielded questions about just this issue. Here’s what was asked, and how he answered:

Question: How does optic AMOLED technology differ to regular AMOLED displays used in other phones? Pei: We’ve taken Super AMOLED and added our take on contrast and color temperature, to try and bring it more true to life. In addition, we’ve designed its performance profile to work well when outdoors in bright conditions. Question 2: What generation super amoled is the panel? Pei: Current gen, but do understand that displays get customized for each manufacturer. No serious manufacturer uses off the shelf displays. Question 3: Anything besides software changes? Pei: Even something like color tone is a combination of hardware and software.

And in another reply, Pei says

Samsung for AMOLED. For fingerprint sensor, not a lot of choices right now eh?

So there’s the answer: “Optic AMOLED” is literally just a Samsung SuperAMOLED panel with some modifications. Given that Galaxy smartphones already have several color profile options to select from, it remains to be seen just how “true to life” OnePlus’ modifications will be in comparison.

The key takeaway however, is the simple fact that by using the name Optic AMOLED, OnePlus has already got people talking about its phone and its display. For those interested in just how the product performs, feel free to take a look at our full review here:

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What do you think? Is the term Optic AMOLED a clever creation or is it just a gratuitous gimmick? Are you considering buying the OnePlus 3 making it a proper phone for thee, or will your ship sail with another smartphone? Leave a comment below!