OnePlus has announced it will integrate parts of the company with fellow smartphone brand Oppo, according to a post made by CEO Pete Lau on the official OnePlus forum. It comes after Lau began to oversee Oppo’s product strategy in addition to his OnePlus duties in 2020, and although it’s not described as a merger, there are aspects that sound like it may be that in all but name.
What do we know at the moment? It sounds positive. Lau writes the integration of the two companies will mean both have more resources to build better products, be more efficient, and provide faster software updates too. The OnePlus name will remain, and Lau states the company will continue to operate independently, complete with its own device release schedule. Perhaps more intriguingly, the post teases working with Oppo may help OnePlus launch a wider choice of devices in the future.
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OnePlus is well-known internationally, but Oppo will be less recognizable to those outside China, the U.K., and parts of Europe where it has made a significant impact over the past few years. It recently received plenty of attention for the Find X3 Pro, which makes excellent use of its triple camera system, producing consistent results regardless of which one is used.
The integration — let’s not call it a merger — may not surprise many industry watchers though. Both Oppo and OnePlus, along with Vivo, Realme, and IQOO, are part of the BBK Electronics empire, and are technically all related already. OnePlus was co-founded by Pete Lau and Carl Pei, and both worked at Oppo right before starting the new company. There are some similarities in the technology used in both Oppo and OnePlus phones too, including advancements made in fast charging.
What does this all mean for OnePlus fans? OnePlus has a significant following, its smartphones are well regarded, and its new models are usually highly anticipated. There’s nothing in Lau’s statement to suggest anything will change this. OnePlus has embarked on a multiyear journey with Hasselblad recently, and we are expecting more from the partnership in the future, regardless of the not-a-merger with Oppo.
How about software? In March it was announced the OnePlus 9 and OnePlus 9 Pro sold in China would use Oppo’s ColorOS software, and at the same time, a commitment to use OxygenOS on global phones was made. This is good news, as OxygenOS offers a superior user experience to ColorOS. OnePlus launched the Nord CE 5G earlier this week, and the OnePlus 9 series remains as its flagship range. Digital Trends has contacted Oppo for comment on the integration, and we will update here when we hear back.