By Edward Lim
OnePlus has merged with Oppo, according to reports following a post by Pete Lau, CEO of OnePlus.
But, no where in the post is the word “merger” used. The headline reads “A New Journey for OnePlus” but what exactly this entails is still not clear enough from the post.
“As many of you know, last year I took on some additional responsibilities to oversee product strategy for both OnePlus and Oppo. Since then, we have integrated a number of our teams together with Oppo to better streamline our operations and capitalize on additional shared resources. After seeing positive impact from those changes, we’ve decided to further integrate our organisation with Oppo,” wrote Lau.
“I’m confident that this change will be positive for our community and our users. With this deeper integration with Oppo, we will have more resources at hand to create even better products for you. It will also allow us to be more efficient, for example, bringing faster and more stable software updates for OnePlus users,” he added.
Seems like he’s saying that both companies will share more resources but the OnePlus brand remains.
“As for the OnePlus brand – we will continue to operate independently,” said Lau.
Oppo and OnePlus are closely related as it is. Both are among four phone brands (Vivo and Realme being the other two) owned by BKK Electronics. Lau was also Vice President at Oppo before launching OnePlus in 2013.
Since its founding, OnePlus has built a tightly-knit fan community among techies globally. They were drawn by the brand’s high-end smartphones that more than held their own against flagship products of more renowned makers.
It could be that this niche, while being its strength, could also prove to be a hindrance to the brand’s growth. Outside of this community, OnePlus still remains relatively unknown to the average consumer.
“Now, we’re at a turning point for the future of OnePlus. As we’ve begun growing our product portfolio, we’re able to give you more choices than ever before,” said Lau.
Perhaps, OnePlus is hoping that the integration will let it expand its offerings for different segments of the market, enabling it to grow beyond its niche community of ardent followers.
The move is a two-edged sword as the other segments of the market are crowded and price-sensitive. It would be interesting to see how OnePlus progresses from its tighter integration with Oppo.
Entelechy Asia 