OnePlus is set to leave Europe
It appears that OnePlus is preparing a major change of direction. According to the reliable Winfuture, the brand is set to officially announce this week that it is ceasing sales of new products in Europe and the United States. Although OnePlus and its parent company Oppo have not yet confirmed the reports, the announcement is expected to follow shortly.
If the information is correct, this means that no new OnePlus smartphones, tablets or other products will be released in Europe and the US. For existing users, little will change for the time being. OnePlus is said to have confirmed that devices already sold will continue to receive software updates and support for as long as previously promised.
Sales
Remaining stock of OnePlus products will continue to be sold over the coming weeks and months. However, no new deliveries are expected. This is in line with the current situation, in which stock levels in OnePlus’s European online shops have already dwindled significantly.
According to reports, Oppo is taking over the role of OnePlus in Europe. Following the removal of various sales restrictions in recent times, Oppo is reportedly planning to expand its presence into more European markets. No concrete details of these plans have yet been announced. Earlier this year, Oppo did, however, release another Ultra model, the Find X9 Ultra. That smartphone impressed in the Oppo Find X9 Ultra review on DroidApp.
No official reason has yet been given for OnePlus’s withdrawal from Western markets. Even during closed-door discussions with the press, representatives from Oppo and OnePlus are said not to have provided any explanation for the decision.
Rumours of a withdrawal from Europe are, incidentally, nothing new. Speculation about the future of OnePlus has been rife since the start of this year. At the time, the company denied that it would be withdrawing, but the rumours have persisted ever since. At the same time, no new OnePlus smartphones have been released, and several staff members have left the brand’s European divisions.
Founded in 2013
OnePlus was founded in 2013 and managed to attract a great deal of attention a year later with the OnePlus One. That device offered powerful specifications at a relatively low price and ran on CyanogenMod, a popular and highly customisable version of Android at the time. As a result, OnePlus became a favourite among many smartphone enthusiasts.
In the years that followed, the brand’s position gradually changed. OnePlus began collaborating ever more closely with Oppo, and its latest devices were often technically very similar to Oppo smartphones. There have also been recent rumours that OnePlus and realme are switching to ColorOS as their shared software skin worldwide.
For the time being, we must wait for official confirmation. Should the report prove accurate, it would mark the end of sales of new OnePlus products in Europe and the United States after more than ten years.
