Oppo boss criticizes Xiaomi 17 Pro Max

The rear display of the Xiaomi 17 Pro Max is the most interesting detail on the new phone model. Photo: My Wish List Cyberpower .

Liu Haoran, General Manager of OPPO Industrial Design Center and chief designer of OPPO and OnePlus, recently made a stir by strongly criticizing the trend of adding secondary rear screens to modern smartphone models.

Rear sub-screen

His comments are seen as a direct challenge to the design philosophy applied on the new Xiaomi 17 Pro series.

“Honestly, I myself cannot understand what they were thinking,” Mr. Haoran declared, openly expressing his opposition to the design.

The designer argues that this feature detracts from the overall value and functionality of the device.

According to the designer, the secondary rear screen on the Xiaomi 17 Pro Max is just there to make a difference. Photo: Wired.

Technically, he claims the secondary rear display "increases power consumption" and warns that it "adds unnecessary cost, making repairs expensive later on."

In terms of design philosophy, he believes the trend "needs a series of additional features to convince users" and notes that it "could cause visual conflicts in the future."

As for user experience, Mr. Haoran admits that “the rear screen makes it very convenient to read notifications,” but warns that displaying them on the back of the device “may affect privacy.” He questions the actual usefulness, arguing that non-essential information like the clock should be placed on the main front screen.

While acknowledging the small benefits like customization and support for selfies with the rear camera, Mr. Haoran still sticks to his original point of view. He concludes that this is a "forced" design, does not serve the actual needs of users and is applied only to "create a difference."

“This design is not sustainable, it is difficult to maintain in the future. It feels like it is trying to create a difference, this will not last long. Let's wait and see,” the designer commented.

According to the record, this move by Mr. Haoran follows a previous public competition. Specifically, in 2021, before the launch of OnePlus products, he caused controversy when using the official brand account to mock Xiaomi's design taste, declaring: "They cannot learn, it is also a matter of aesthetic taste."

This statement led to a public confrontation on social media with the former product director of Redmi. Mr. Haoran later had to apologize to his rival. This apology was confirmed by Mr. Liu Zuohu, then product director of OPPO.

Sales say otherwise.

Despite the veteran designer’s skepticism, consumers have shown a keen interest in the concept of a secondary screen. The sales of the Xiaomi Mi 17 are seen as a strong rebuttal to Mr. Haoran’s criticism.

Leaked design photos of the Oppo Find x9 series, Xiaomi's rival 17. Photo: Gadget360.

Specifically, this product line has achieved extraordinary success, selling more than one million units in just 5 days.

Notably, the Mi 17 Pro Max version with a secondary screen accounted for more than 50% of total sales of the entire product line, demonstrating consumer excitement for this design.

This success has led to unprecedented demand for customization features. Zhang Guoquan, director of Xiaomi's system software, noted that user requests for secondary screen functionality have "exploded across the board," with needs ranging from displaying stock prices, pet information, and tracking deliveries.

He admitted that the software team was "overloaded" with this large number of requests. The enthusiastic reception from users shows that the longevity of the secondary screen design is being determined by the market's desire rather than the concerns of the design community.

Source: https://znews.vn/sep-oppo-cong-khai-che-xiaomi-17-pro-max-post1592580.html