Over the past few months, we have heard multiple reports claiming that OnePlus is planning to shut down its operations in the US and also make an exit from the European market. OnePlus has consistently refuted these reports, claiming that rumors of retail shutdown and executive reshuffle are just part of regular operations, not a prediction for operational shutdown in these crucial markets. Now, WinFuture reports that the company will officially announce its exit from the European and US markets this week.
“According to our well-informed sources, OnePlus and its parent company, Oppo, intend to announce fundamental changes to their strategy this week. What sounds like a lot of marketing hype is nothing less than the withdrawal from key markets and the end of OnePlus as we’ve known it,” the outlet claims. The report further adds that all the remaining inventory of OnePlus devices is being sold, and once it’s exhausted, they won’t be replenished. Across OnePlus’s European stores, nearly all the stock is already cleared.
So, what happens next?
Even though OnePlus will officially pull back from the US and European markets, the company will continue to honor the software update commitment and the hardware warranty terms for the devices it has already sold in the regions. That is, assuming the company goes ahead and officially make an exit. The silver lining is that parent company Oppo is in a much better position to honor those after-sales commitments as it plans to stay and expand in the EU bloc.
“In recent discussions with members of the press, OnePlus and Oppo made it clear that while they intend to continue providing support and updates for already sold devices until the end of their respective lifecycles, they definitely do not plan to introduce any further new OnePlus products in Europe and the USA,” adds the report.
But why?
The retreat by OnePlus in the US and European markets can be attributed to multiple factors, though there is no official confirmation as to why that is exactly happening. The parent company, Oppo, recently announced an integration of supply chain and manufacturing resources for OnePlus and Oppo devices, and it was followed by some executive shuffling as well. Recent reports have also claimed that the OxygenOS software skin, which has been a mainstay on OnePlus devices for years, will also be sunset. It will be replaced by the ColorOS experience that is available on Oppo-branded smartphones.
Some rumors claim that Oppo is simply consolidating its resources and shrinking its smartphone strategy in markets where it’s not a major player, against bigger competitors like Samsung and Apple. The current state of the industry further makes it difficult for OnePlus, which has stood out for offering top-tier hardware at a lower price compared to its established rivals. To recall, OnePlus was the first brand that popularized the “flagship killer” strategy by offering top-performance phones while undercutting bigger names like Samsung and Apple.
But in recent months, the smartphone industry has been reeling under extreme pricing pressure, especially due to the rising costs of memory and storage modules due to their demand from the AI sector. As a result, prices have climbed across the board. Budget smartphones are becoming increasingly rare, and even Apple had to raise the pricing of its devices. As per analysts’ reports, the asking price of the iPhone 18 Pro could go up by as much as $300 later this year.
In a market like that, following the strategy that OnePlus stood out for will be increasingly difficult to maintain. So far, there is no clarity on where things will go, or if this was just another rumor. Nonetheless, the situation definitely looks bleak for any other brand that is not named Samsung or Apple, thanks to their sway in the supply chain and tight control over the assembly and production steps, which allows them to absorb some of the component pricing surge.