The rumors have been swirling for months now about OnePlus slowly winding down in certain regions. Of course, the company refutes these claims, and for the most part, it’s been business as usual. However, we’re now getting word that the brand will reportedly make an official announcement about pulling out from a couple of regions sometime this week.
What’s next?
The report comes from WinFuture, stating that OnePlus will announce its exit from the US and EU. While it’s to be expected, since the writing has been on the wall for some time, it’s still sad to see it happen to a brand that’s so beloved.
As you can imagine, this does leave current customers on shaky ground, but we imagine the support will be there for the time being. But if this really does come to fruition, it would mean the death of a brand that lasted a little over a decade.
It first started with a lot of hype, with OnePlus offering phones that would cost half as much as competitor flagships while still delivering a similar experience. Over the years, the company has experimented with some success and some failures.
Perhaps one of the biggest misses by the brand was not being able to get its products picked up by US wireless carriers. There was a brief, very brief moment with T-Mobile, but it didn’t last long.
Oppo may pick up the mantle
OnePlus wasn’t a scrappy startup as it made itself out to be when it first launched, and was instead backed by Oppo. While that name might not mean anything in the US, the name holds quite a bit of weight in Asia.
With that said, there’s a good chance that Oppo might just pick up the mantle and run with it, making a big splash in the US as it introduces itself for the first time to new customers. Oppo has been making some great products over the past few years.
If it can manage to bring some of those coveted devices to the US, things could change quickly. However, it will still need to overcome the hurdle that OnePlus couldn’t — getting its foot in the door with wireless carriers. That’s been the way to succeed in the US since pretty much forever.
Folks don’t want to buy a phone that doesn’t have a physical presence in the US. And if you don’t have your own store, you at least need to be available with a carrier, especially when it comes to support perspective.
Again, this is retreat from the US and the EU is reportedly happening this week, according to WinFuture. So, we’ll just have to wait and see whether this rumor or leak all pans out. We don’t want to see a big brand go, but we’ve seen it happen before, and we’ve managed to carry on.
