The news everyone has been fearing but also expecting has been confirmed by OnePlus — the phone giant is officially quitting the US and Europe, which means no new products will be launched in either region.
As TechRadar reports, the writing has been on the wall for the Android pioneer in both regions for months. First, OnePlus canceled two of its most-anticipated phones in January, and then in recent weeks its website has pushed buyers towards its parent company, Oppo Global.
Oppo’s Head of Global PR, Shuang Chen, confirmed in a briefing that all rights for existing customers “including after-sales support and software updates” will “remain fully guaranteed”. The official line from the company is that this is a “strategic shift.” In recent years, some of our favorite phones have come from OnePlus, but availability will be much more limited from now on.
But behind the corporate lingo, the reality is that OnePlus has been caught in a pincer movement between a diminishing enthusiast phone market, huge competition from rival Chinese brands, the increasingly dominant established duo of Samsung and Apple, and (in the US) difficulties in maintaining all-important carrier relationships. Oh, and the small matter of a global DRAM and components crisis.
“It wasn’t a decision made in a rush,” explained Oppo’s Shuang Chen in a briefing. “Being a responsible brand means knowing when to go all in and when to make a choice.”
If you already own a OnePlus device in the US or Europe, then you’ll continue to get support and software updates, but there won’t be any new phone launches. Oppo Europe’s Senior PR Manager James Paterson confirmed in a briefing that “all service commitments for existing OnePlus devices in Europe and North America remain unchanged”. That applies to warranties, after-sales support, and promised software updates, but the company also didn’t provide any specifics on how this will happen.
But this news also means that OnePlus owners will now get ColorOS, rather than OnePlus’ OxygenOS. “We’re confident as ColorOS rolls out to OnePlus devices in North America and Europe in the coming months, users will love it just as they’ve loved Oxygen OS,” James Paterson added. That remains to be seen.
The OnePlus news is a sad day for Android as a whole. That’s particularly the case in the US, with Oppo confirming that it won’t be launching any of its phones there to take the place of OnePlus.
“Yes, it is regretful that we won’t launch new products in North America, but we will ensure that all user rights and interests, including the product updates and after-sales services and relevant services, will be fully guaranteed. I’m sure there are other excellent products out there in the market for the consumers to choose from,” said Oppo’s Elvis Zhou.
So what are those products? The obvious spiritual equivalent brand to OnePlus right now is Nothing, founded by former OnePlus CEO Carl Pei, though models like the Nothing Phone (4a) sit more towards the budget end.
If you’re in Europe, there’s also the Oppo Find X9 Ultra, which sadly isn’t isn’t available in the US, but is probably the world’s best camera phone. It’s a similar story with the Xiaomi 17 Ultra, another camera-focused phone that’s available in Europe but not the US, and the Honor.
Android fans who are looking to upgrade soon will no doubt be waiting to see what Google delivers with its Pixel 11 series, which launches on August 12. And could the demise of OnePlus even push some people towards the iPhone?
If you had to choose one brand to switch to from OnePlus, which would it be?
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Photo Credit: Karlis Dambrans / Shutterstock.com
