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.
