OnePlus Admits This Phone Wasn't a Hit

OnePlus makes flagships these days, nothing else. But the brand attempted to get into another segment of the smartphone market back in 2015. It released the OnePlus X, which features a premium design with watered-down specifications to stay affordable.

Now we know why that product was a one-and-done for OnePlus despite getting decent reviews.

In an interview with select community members, OnePlus CEO Pete Lau confirmed its mid-range device didn’t meet expectations. The OnePlus X, though, did make the brand realize it should focus on high-end devices alone.

Here’s what Lau said about the OnePlus X falling short:

“We aimed to create a best in class flagship-lite product, and although the community loved the design and thought the product was beautiful, most still preferred flagship devices. This reaffirmed our positioning as a flagship only company and culture.”

Throughout its history, we’ve never seen the brand express interest in anything but flagships. And that’s worked out pretty well for OnePlus. The brand sold 1 million units of the OnePlus 6 in less than a month yet OnePlus isn’t a mainstream name like Apple or Samsung. OnePlus, a BBK Electronics-owned brand, relies heavily on its community to generate noise.

Will we see OnePlus return to the non-flagship segment again? Not in the immediate future, but you should never rule out anything in the mobile industry.

The discussion between Lau and OnePlus’ community members also covered a number of other topics. He talked about how new products are developed and existing ones maintained. Also, you learn Lau’s transition from an electrical engineer at BBK to co-creating OnePlus in 2013.

If you’re a OnePlus fan or just interested in anything mobile-related, we highly recommend reading the Q&A session. You get some insight on why OnePlus operates the way it does.