The news is out, and after weeks of speculation and rumours, OnePlus has confirmed that they’re backing out of the North American phone market. As a big fan of the brand, and their devices, I’m disappointed, and I have a few thoughts.
Brands come and go, and a lot of them disappear because they’ve been bought out, or the business has fallen apart. I’m not sure what the metric was for OnePlus and parent company Oppo to consider the brand successful, but for average consumers it’s unfortunate to see the phone brand disappear when there are not many options out there.
OnePlus was also doing something unique with their devices, which is rare to say.
They were the brand that dared to ask, what if you could put your phone in the dishwasher? What if you could put your phone into silent mode with a dedicated slider? I even appreciated the customizable alert button that OnePlus switched to for the OnePlus 15. And the previous collaboration with Hasselblad was a fantastic partnership. I still miss the XPan shots.
I’m still using the OnePlus 15 as my daily driver, alongside the Pixel 10 Pro XL. The 15 didn’t have the same quality of cameras that I loved with the 13, but it’s still a great phone overall.
For Android users, there are not many options for phones, either, and competition is essential, but hard to come by these days. OnePlus was a great fit for anyone who wanted an affordable phone that had some power, and while the best years for the brand were probably between the OnePlus 10T and the OnePlus 13, I still appreciated what they did and what they tried to do.
I think the biggest mistake was taking the focus away from the cameras and embracing AI. Brands continue to try shoehorning AI into phones that no one wants, and I think things immediately went downhill when the partnership with Hasselblad ended.
More than their phones though, I loved the whole OnePlus ecosystem. Their OnePlus Buds Pro 3 in Sapphire Blue are still my favourites, for the price point, features, and style. And their tablets were the best alternative to everyone else, including Samsung who have both the best but most expensive flagship, and their basic alternative that just doesn’t offer what I’m looking for.
The OnePlus Pad 3 is, without question, my favourite tablet that I’ve ever used. It’s a perfect laptop replacement when you don’t need to carry extra weight and cables. I use it all the time, and the fact that there won’t be a Pad 4 is really disappointing.
What I miss already about OnePlus is that the energy around their launches genuinely felt unique in North America. For a while, they really understood how to tap into what fans wanted, and they delivered on a promise for unique devices and features. I still have photos from the OnePlus 13 that stand up today, even next to some of the best phones that I’ve ever used.
I loved the OnePlus watches, and the OnePlus Open foldable phone was incredibly unique. While the cameras were a little less impressive, I still loved that phone. It’s one of the few phones that I was actually sad to put it aside.
Fans of the brand now have to decide if we want to support Google’s Pixel phones–which I also love–or find another brand on the fringes, because I don’t plan to spend over $2,000 for a new phone.
Nothing Phone 3 does look interesting, but I don’t know anyone who owns one, and it almost seems too niche. Motorola Razr also has an appeal, and they seem to be one of the more accessible phone brands in Canada, but the prices I’ve seen their phones is a little eye-watering.
Whatever happens next in the tech market, I have to say a big thank-you to OnePlus and their PR and marketing teams for introducing me to their devices, and making me love a phone brand this much. It’s difficult to say goodbye. Thank-you to Spenser, Tyler, John, Taylor,and everyone else who I worked with over the years.
Hopefully some day Oppo reconsiders the Canadian and North American markets, and delivers something refreshing once again.
