OnePlus Smashes Contest Rules, Lets Winners Donate Phones Instead

OnePlus, who offered to let you go Gallagher on your phone for the opportunity to buy their device for a buck, has reversed course. Rather than ask that you take a hammer, chainsaw or other destructive force of nature to your smartphone, OnePlus will now let you donate your old device to a good cause.

The problem with the contest was fairly evident from the start. OnePlus wanted you to take a smartphone, which was still in good working order, and smash it to bits should you be randomly picked from their contest pool. Randomly chosen, smash your phone, spend a dollar for a new one. There was a better way, and OnePlus finally figured that out.

OnePlus is now allowing those who may be randomly chosen to offer their still working and definitely usable smartphones to Medic Mobile. The foundation offers mobile devices to medical professionals in poorer regions of the world, letting technology help those in need. By giving rural care facilities access to communication services, Medic Mobile is helping to streamline healthcare in regions that may not otherwise have the chance to access needed care so readily.

The contest had 140,000 participants ready to smash their phones to bits for a OnePlus, but only 100 will squeak through. The chosen (who will be notified starting today) can still smash their devices, but donation is probably a better avenue. We know OnePlus' original aim was to "smash the past", but let's hope the "contest and donation" model forges a new path forward instead.

Source: OnePlus