What is Going on With OnePlus?

Despite recent reassurances, OnePlus faces significant challenges including market share decline and strategic repositioning by its parent company OPPO.

• OnePlus is not shutting down, but its product strategy is being heavily influenced by parent company OPPO.

• OnePlus is being redirected to focus on performance-oriented, mid-range and 'flagship killer' devices.

• The brand is facing a rapid decline in market share, driven by software changes and past hardware issues.

OnePlus initially faced rumors of shutting down, which were later denied by its India CEO, but odd things have been occurring with the brand for the past six months. OPPO, the parent company, is strategically streamlining its brands, positioning OPPO for flagships with top cameras, Realme for budget phones, and OnePlus to compete in the mid-range and 'flagship killer' performance segment.

OnePlus Repositioning

• 00:00:33 OPPO is actively repositioning OnePlus by removing its Hasselblad camera branding, while OPPO phones retain it, indicating a clear intent to eliminate product overlap. This strategy aims to make OPPO the flagship brand with the best cameras, similar to Vivo, while OnePlus focuses on performance, akin to iQOO, and is expected to cancel products like the OnePlus 15S and foldable OnePlus Open 2 in favor of OPPO's counterparts.

Market Share Decline

• 00:02:12 OnePlus is experiencing a rapid decline in market share, falling from 7% in Q2 2023 to 2.4% in Q3 2025, despite significant marketing efforts and launching competitive phones. This downturn started with the transition of Oxygen OS to Color OS and was accelerated by the 'Greenline issue,' which, despite being addressed with fixes and lifetime warranties, did not reverse the brand's diminishing market presence.