In what would be a major shift in strategy for premium smartphone brand OnePlus, the Chinese smartphone maker has officially announced its entry into the affordable smartphone segment. Pete Lau, founder, and CEO of OnePlus made the announcement on the company’s forum.
“Today, I’m very excited to announce that we are bringing the premium, flagship experience that you’ve come to expect from OnePlus to a new, more affordable smartphone product line. I know this is something many of you have been wanting for a long time,” he said.
While he hasn’t revealed details of what the product line would entail, he said in the forum that the company would be starting this new product line in a relatively small way by first introducing it in Europe and India. It plans to eventually bring more affordable smartphones to North America as well, he said.
OnePlus has now created an Instagram account called ‘onepluslitezthing’, where it is taking in followers on a request basis. As of 8 15pm, it had nearly 10,000 followers.
According to report, the latest post on the Instagram account shows a Morse code, which translates to “July”, suggesting that the first smartphone under the new line will be launched in July.
There have been rumours for over a month about the new affordable smartphone from OnePlus. As per rumours, it is to be called OnePlus Z, with a 6.40-inch display, 4000mAh battery and Android 10.
Since its inception, OnePlus has stuck to being a premium smartphone player, releasing limited flagship devices each year. While it initially used to launch only one device per year, on an invite-only basis, it then began making its phones available. Then from the OnePlus 5, it began launching an additional T version of its flagship and from 2019, also began releasing a Pro version. In 2019, it released four smartphone: OnePlus 7, 7Pro, 7T and 7T pro. In 2020 so far, it has released the OnePlus 8 5G and OnePlus 8 Pro.
“For more than 6 years, that has meant working hard to always deliver the best experience for flagship smartphone users. However, as we’ve grown together with our community, we know that there are many people who want a really solid smartphone that meets their everyday needs, and for a more accessible price,” Pete said in the post.
The new product team is being led by Paul Yu, who has headed product hardware development for many of our previous flagship devices over the past five years. “We’ve also assembled a team of young, creative and enthusiastic OnePlus staff from all over the world, who have been working tirelessly over the past few months to bring this product line to life,” Pete added.
OnePlus is also set to launch an affordable mid-range and entry-level smart TV on July 2. As part of its revamped global business strategy, OnePlus aims to deliver a premium and more accessible connected ecosystem experience to its users. While the previous smart TV it launched was a premium offering, the new OnePlus smart TVs will be for the mid-range as well as the entry-level Smart TV segments in India.