Alright everyone, so we all know OnePlus to be a smart phone producing company that is mainly focused on producing smart phones with high end specs, usually the kind of specs and hardware you will only find on top flagship devices, but at prices that might make one think these phones are not real.
So we all know how they began with the very first OnePlus smart phone, am talking about the OnePlus One here baby, with the tag Flagship Killer, because it had specs to kill for but at a very slashed down price when you compare it with the prices of other phones within its spec range. Then after that, we had the OnePlus 2 with same high spec low price approach, later on we saw the 3 and its 3T, it skipped 4 and went all the way up to 5 and its 5T, and lastly we’re currently on the OnePlus 6, while expecting the coming of its 6T, of which we are not very sure that there’s gonna be one this year because we’ve not really gotten to hearing a single rumor or leak about the device. So let’s just keep our fingers crossed until we approach the last quarter of this year.
So having known about the company OnePlus and what their mission is, can i still tell you that there a lot of things, both good and bad things that a lot of people, including you, doesn’t know about the OnePlus company?.. Well, you are here today, and here is a list of five secrets that you never knew about OnePlus, unless you were told.
1. Who Really Owns OnePlus.. Is It OnePlus Or Oppo
OnePlus seems to have come out of nowhere. Where did the brand come from? It has two fathers, one is the famous and popular Carl Pei, the other is Pete Lau, who is a former vice president of OPPO. That’s probably where the idea that OnePlus is a subsidiary of OPPO came from, but things are a bit more complicated than that. In a nutshell, BBK is the parent company behind these two brands (and behind Vivo as well), which is interesting since the three brands seem to be in competition.
Although this is not confirmed, they seem to have divided the market by scale and by geographical area. Anyway, OPPO and OnePlus cooperate at the production level, and we can even see the fruit of their shared work, particularly with the camera of the OPPO R15 Pro being found in the OnePlus 6.
2. OnePlus Has Built A Large Fanbase Community Through Direct Communication With Their Fans
Some manufacturers have large communities, built over the years through different strategies. But OnePlus was able to distinguish itself from the others. In just a few years, the young Chinese company has managed to create a very strong fan base. The invitation system at the beginning of its journey allowed it to attract attention, then it focused on transparency and communication with users on its forums.
Even the big bosses of OnePlus talk to fans directly through the forums. Few companies communicate with their users in such a direct and regular way, allowing users to feel listened to (unlike other manufacturers) and providing the manufacturer with a solid fanbase to help boost their image and buy their products.
3. OnePlus Came Up With The Term “Flagship Killer”
When OnePlus launched its first smartphone, the OnePlus One, it was called “Flagship killer“. This term has been widely used by the media and has also spread to other smartphones with the same characteristics: flagship-level quality with a price to kill for. In other words, an incomparable quality/price ratio that draws a crowd.
Many Chinese smart phones were later named “flagship killer” by the press, particularly in the modern high-end popularized by models such as the Honor 7.
4. Some Hiccups In The Success Story
At the beginning, OnePlus used an invitation system, but in the face of its growing popularity, it opted for a more traditional way to offer its smart phones. Nevertheless, its advertising campaigns have sometimes been problematic. In one of them, it was accused of sexism. Another campaign contest called “Smash the Past“, also caused problems. The challenge was for users to smash their old smartphone on video to show how much they deserve to get a new OnePlus smartphone for just $1. OnePlus quickly retracted the smashing rule, instead allowing the device to be recycled instead of broken. Nevertheless, the damage was literally already done.
5. A Contradiction Between Ideas And Actions
OnePlus is very proud (and rightly so) of its community and the unwavering support of its fans. The hardcore fans still aren’t resentful in the face of many disappointments. For example, OnePlus had promised to put Android Nougat on the OnePlus 2 and did not do it. It mounted the OnePlus 5 screen upside-down, leading to an unfortunate jelly scrolling effect. It cheated on benchmark testing (several times) and claims its actions weren’t cheating. It ended up being accused of secretly selling user data, and while there wasn’t any apparent wrongdoing after all, the situation was handled very badly. There has also been an unsettling amount of data collection by the company, which it has since said it would scale back. OnePlus was also hacked, causing credit card payment problems for some users. Another story we won’t soon forget is the update of the OnePlus 5T to play HD content: you can’t install it yourself, you have to send the smartphone in by mail. You read that right, to update your smartphone, you must part with it for several days. In short, OnePlus can seem ambivalent about its community, at times very attentive, but when certain things go wrong, not so much.
So right now, it is up to you.. What do you think of OnePlus? Do its products hit the spot for you, or is the company’s troubled past too off-putting? Share your thoughts with us in the comments section below, and don’t forget to share this article too, and subscribe to our newsletter if you’ve not done so already..
Cheers…emmanuelGodwin
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