OnePlus CEO sheds light on the company's new smartphone strategy

In a move to better leverage its increased resources and to create better products, the OnePlus CEO and Oppo chief product office Pete Lau has announced the company’s new smartphone strategy, OnePlus 2.0. As the company described in its forum post, the new strategy will focus on creating “fast and smooth, burdenless products that are tailored to meet the needs” of its core users. With the OnePlus 2.0 in place, the company wants to make affordable product ranges more localized while continuing the trend of releasing ultra-premium smartphones globally. A new OS called Unified OS, which is the result of the merger of OxygenOS and Color OS, is also part of the company’s strategy.

OnePlus’ new product strategy

The company’s new product strategy includes offering?users a high-quality?experience at even more competitive pricing, hinting that cheaper Nord series is a possibility in the coming years. However, affordable Nord-branded phones won’t be available globally, similar to the company’s current strategy regarding the Nord series.

…going forward, our more affordable product ranges will?become?more localized, while continuing to offer our premium and ultra-premium flagship smartphones globally.

The new product strategy also seeks to address one of the biggest complaints about the OnePlus phones: the camera. The Shenzhen-based tech firm is doubling down its efforts on improving the camera system in its upcoming smartphones. The company’s camera efforts will include creating a robust user experience, improving color performance with the help of Hasselblad, with which the company entered into a partnership a few months back. It will also invest more in research and development with the purpose of taking “the camera experience to new heights.”

The merger of OxygenOS and ColorOS

Oppo’s ColorOS and OnePlus’ OxygenOS will now merge to form a new OS called ‘Unified OS.’ The company hasn’t shared much about the new OS, but it promises that it’ll be as clean and lightweight as before.

I believe that the unified operating system will keep the DNA of OxygenOS that many of you love so much, while also giving you an upgraded experience overall. And of course, OnePlus has a unique group of users, therefore we will customize the unified OS specifically for OnePlus devices to make sure it meets your expectations, for example by keeping it as clean and lightweight as before, and continuing to support unlock bootloaders.

The new Unified OS can be seen in action in OnePlus’ next flagship series, which will come to light in 2022. The company has also confirmed that the integrated OS will also be available for some of its older smartphones, though it remains tight-lipped about which smartphones will get the benefit from the merger of the two OSes. The company promises to share more details about when specific devices will receive the new OS at a later date.

By combining our software resources to focus on one unified and upgraded operating system for both OnePlus and OPPO devices globally, we will combine the strengths from both into one even more powerful OS: the fast and smooth, burdenless experience of?OxygenOS, and the stability and rich features of?ColorOS.

Meanwhile, OnePlus is readying its upcoming budget flagship called OnePlus 9 RT for a release on October 15.