What is OnePlus?
OnePlus is a Chinese smartphone manufacturer headquartered in Shenzhen, Guangdong. Pete Lau and Carl Pei founded the company in December 2013. BKK Electronics’ three subsidiaries are Oppo, Vivo, and OnePlus.
According to CEO Pete Lau, the company’s mission is to produce top-quality smartphones with cutting-edge technology without breaking the bank, hence the slogan ‘Never Settle’.
OnePlus’s first phone, the OnePlus One, was released in 2014. In India, the phone was offered in partnership with Amazon India, which has remained OnePlus’s most prominent sales associate ever since.
Customer Invite
Customers had to sign up for an invitation in order to purchase the first OnePlus smartphones. With the introduction of the OnePlus 3 in 2016, the company switched to a flash-sales system.
The first OnePlus phones were equipped with the Cyanogen OS, a custom operating system based on Android.
An import and sales ban in India was imposed due to a lawsuit by domestic mobile phone company Micromax, which claimed exclusivity to the Cyanogen OS as the default operating system in its phones.
Later the ban was lifted, and the company provided its customers with the custom-made OxygenOS in its subsequent phones, an element now inherent in OnePlus devices.
OnePlus has altered its policy of releasing a single phone every year to a policy of releasing two phones every year starting in 2016, the OnePlus 3 and the OnePlus 3T.
The OnePlus 3T was the first T-edition smartphone with enhanced hardware and a better selfie camera. With every new release, OnePlus has increased the price of its devices. In 2019, the OnePlus 7 Pro was released as a premium smartphone.
“Smash the Past”
On April 23, 2014, OnePlus manufacturers began the “Smash the Past” marketing campaign. A $1 (US) OnePlus One purchase was available to those who destroyed their phones on camera (Wright, 2014).
Because of the misunderstanding, many people published video clips of themselves destroying their phones prior to the beginning of the promotion.
Later, OnePlus allowed individuals to donate their old phones to participate instead of destroying them. There were 100 winners among 140,000 contestants.
OnePlus Playback
Beginning in 2018, OnePlus Playback is a series of music videos collaborating with famous Indian artists.
OnePlus signed up Indian movie star Amitabh Bachchan to promote the company’s phones in India back in 2014.
In May 2019, the company signed up Hollywood star Robert Downey Jr. to market its flagship OnePlus 7 Pro smartphone in the United States and other markets.
Now the current brand ambassador is Shahid Kapoor and Mira Rajput.
Partnership with Hasselblad
On March 8, 2021, OnePlus announced a $150 million partnership with Hasselblad to develop camera technology for OnePlus, which would include the new OnePlus 9 series phones that would have improved color processing and computational photography.
“Ladies First” controversy
In August 2014, OnePlus held a contest to give rare invites to their female forum members. Users were asked to post a photo of themselves with the OnePlus logo, and forum members could then “like” them.
This scheme was immediately withdrawn after it sparked major outrage for demeaning and objectifying women.
Criticism of Customer Support
The OnePlus customer service was once the subject of strong outrage. In 2017, the firm expanded its customer support and repair centres in Asia, Europe, and the United States to enhance repair turnarounds.
Despite this improvement, customers in India still file numerous consumer advocacy cases against OnePlus.
OnePlus 10T 5G launch
The OnePlus 10T 5G model will be released on Wednesday this week, and many will be waiting anxiously. The 6.7-inch AMOLED display and two-color options—Jade Green and Moonstone Black—will be among the product’s key features.