OnePlus buyers guide: Everything you need to know about the brand – Android Authority

As early as five years ago, OnePlus was barely a blip on the radar to the general tech consumer. Nowadays, the brand is becoming very well known as a global powerhouse in the smartphone industry. It’s also starting to branch out to other technology markets.

You may have heard of OnePlus before, but know little about the brand. What’s the company’s history? What products does it offer? What has made it so successful? This OnePlus buyer’s guide will help answer many of those questions, and even some others you might not have thought of yet.

Who is OnePlus?

OnePlus is a Chinese technology company that mostly makes smartphones. The co-founders — Pete Lau (CEO, shown above) and Carl Pei (Director) — started the company in late 2013. Both Lau and Pei formerly worked for another Chinese technology brand called Oppo — a subsidiary of BBK Electronics.

Related: Who is BBK, the world’s second-largest smartphone manufacturer?

Although it might seem that OnePlus would be a subsidiary of Oppo, both companies deny this. Instead, they each claim that OnePlus acts as its own separate brand. However, because of their close connection and BBK overseeing both of them, OnePlus has access to various Oppo infrastructure. This helps OnePlus create products cheaply since it doesn’t need to fully invest in its own R&D, manufacturing equipment, etc.

As an example of this, OnePlus was founded in December 2013, and released its first smartphone four months later. There’s simply no way a company could do something like that without significant assistance.

OnePlus is its own separate electronics brand, but it’s connected behind-the-scenes to much larger companies.

Regardless of how OnePlus makes its products, the brand’s primary focus is on smartphones. Each year since 2015 it has released at least two new phones. In addition, it’s released several mobile-focused products, such as headphones, cases, and other accessories. It’s also created various apps and services for phones, such as OnePlus Switch — an app that helps you move your phone data to a OnePlus device — and OnePlus Pay — a mobile wallet service that’s coming to India soon.

Recently, the brand has expanded out of the smartphone space and into other markets. In 2019, for example, it released its first television — the OnePlus TV.

Related: OnePlus phones: A history of the company’s entire lineup thus far

What does OnePlus offer?

As stated earlier, OnePlus primarily creates Android smartphones. In its early days, it was known for making high-powered phones with unique design elements and low price tags. We saw this in its first phone, the OnePlus One, which had a starting cost of just $300.

As the brand attained more footing in the industry, it slowly raised its prices. In 2020, its two flagship phones — the OnePlus 8 and OnePlus 8 Pro — launched with much more traditional pricing. However, the OnePlus 8’s starting price of $699 is still very competitive, especially when you consider the starting price of a Samsung Galaxy S20 is $999.

OnePlus differentiates itself from the competition by approaching its design and software from a somewhat minimalist perspective. The company’s smartphones are always simple and elegant, focusing heavily on usability. Likewise, its software — known as Oxygen OS — is frequently heralded as one of the best Android skins ever made. This praise is usually based on how fast, smooth, and bloat-free the software is.

OnePlus also fully embraced internet marketing and sales from the beginning. Almost all of its products are available directly from its website, which eliminates the need to visit carriers or deal with third-party price markups. However, as time has gone on, the company has limited its products to certain areas of the world, which is a sore spot for fans.

Outside of phones, OnePlus also has a limited range of other products. Its first non-smartphone product — aside from cases, chargers, and other accessories — was a set of wired headphones known as OnePlus Bullets. These eventually evolved into wireless headphones known as the OnePlus Bullets Wireless. Finally, this year the company launched its first pair of true wireless headphones — the OnePlus Buds.

Related: OnePlus Buds review: No longer serving the Android community at large

In 2019, OnePlus also launched the OnePlus TV. There have been a few different models released within its TV line already with various sizes and feature configurations. The TVs are all powered by a custom skin of Android TV. However, the televisions are only available in limited areas of the world — mostly India. OnePlus has said the TVs will make their way to more countries — including the US — but that hasn’t come to pass yet.

Finally, OnePlus has also released travel gear, most notably OnePlus-branded backpacks. However, this doesn’t seem to be a major focus for the company and is instead a treat for hardcore fans of the brand.

OnePlus phones: a breakdown of your options

There are only two categories of smartphones on OnePlus’ roster — its flagship numbered series and the Nord series. Within the flagship series, there are a few subcategories that exist as riffs on the primary phone. The Nord series focuses on the mid-range market and only has one device as of now.

Further reading:

The flagship numbered series

Each Spring, OnePlus launches a new numbered flagship phone. This year, it’s the OnePlus 8 series. In 2021, we fully expect there to be a OnePlus 9 series, and the numbers should continue to go up from there, just like we see with iPhones.

Since these are the flagship phones from OnePlus, they all feature top-of-the-line specs, including the latest 800-series processor from Qualcomm. They usually also get the newest and most innovative features from the brand which strongly align with flagship trends of the year.

Starting in 2019, OnePlus started releasing Pro variants of its numbered series of flagships. As you might have guessed, the Pro variants up the ante on the numbered flagship phones by offering better specs, some new features, and other upgrades. Obviously, these phones are also more expensive than the vanilla flagships.

As an example, this year’s OnePlus 8 doesn’t have wireless charging or an IP68 rating against water and dust. However, the OnePlus 8 Pro has both features.

The “T” variants

In 2016, OnePlus released the first “T” phone: the OnePlus 3T. This phone looked exactly like the OnePlus 3 launched earlier that year, but had a few spec upgrades. This started the trend of OnePlus refreshing its flagship phone line in the second half of the year.

Since the 3T, the “T” series has moved to become more than just iterative upgrades. For example, the OnePlus 7T from 2019 looks dramatically different from the OnePlus 7, while also featuring upgraded specs and features. However, OnePlus doesn’t consider these “new” flagships, which is why they don’t get a new number.

For now, the OnePlus 7T and 7T Pro remain the latest available T models.

The Nord series

OnePlus revealed the very first phone in its new Nord line this year. Known simply as the OnePlus Nord, the new phone features a lot of the classic OnePlus flagship design elements and specs, while dialing back a few aspects to keep the price lower.

Theoretically, OnePlus will release more Nord phones in the future. The company could use it as an attempt to grab some of the mid-range market share it abandoned over the years as OnePlus focuses mostly on the premium segment. Unfortunately, the phone is only available in select markets — the US isn’t one of them.

Looking for accessories? 

What sets OnePlus apart from competitors?

The smartphone industry is pretty cut-throat. There are a lot of players on the field, and all of them create a very similar product: a flat computer that you keep in your pocket. With so much competition, it can be hard for a brand to stand out in the crowd.

Luckily for OnePlus, it has a few characteristics that make it unique in the industry. Even in the various aspects that aren’t unique about it, OnePlus does a great job of nailing the basics of what makes a modern smartphone company successful.

Here are three things that OnePlus does differently than competitors.

A very limited lineup

Although OnePlus releases more smartphones each year than it did in the year prior, its lineup is still downright tiny compared to many of its competitors.

Samsung, for example, releases dozens of smartphones each year across multiple lines, including the Galaxy S, Galaxy Note, Galaxy A, and Galaxy M lines. Xiaomi — a sizable competitor for OnePlus in India — releases multiple variants of one phone with each release, sometimes ending up with four or five devices all with similar names.

OnePlus has a much smaller roster. This enables the company to give more focus to its devices than some of its competitors. This is a similar strategy as the one adopted by Apple, which also releases a very small selection of phones each year.

Aggressive pricing

One of the most contentious topics amongst OnePlus fans is how the company has raised its pricing over the years. While it’s true that OnePlus phones are more expensive now than they’ve ever been, the brand’s overall pricing strategy is still competitive. It’s just not releasing flagship-tier phones for $300 anymore — as it did in its early years.

Related: How the price of OnePlus phones changed over the years

When you compare OnePlus phones to the bigshots in the Android world — especially Samsung and Huawei — it’s plain to see that OnePlus offers a lot for sometimes hundreds of dollars less. For example, the OnePlus 8 has many similar specs to the Samsung Galaxy S20 yet costs $300 less. Even the OnePlus 8 Pro — which is very analogous in specs and features to Samsung flagships — starts at $899, significantly less than top-tier flagships of 2020.

While the days of ultra-cheap yet ultra-powerful OnePlus phones are long gone and likely never coming back, OnePlus hasn’t completely abandoned its status as a wallet-friendly brand.

Worldwide availability

While it’s easy for pretty much anyone to walk into a store and buy a Samsung smartphone, that’s not the case for a lot of other brands. Huawei, Xiaomi, Realme, and many other Chinese smartphone makers have zero presence in the United States, for example.

OnePlus, though, has a footprint in all the major markets, including the US. Being a Chinese brand, that’s a huge differentiator between OnePlus and its competitors.

Granted, OnePlus is starting to embrace global exclusivity for some of its products. The OnePlus Nord, for example, is unavailable in the United States and many other countries. However, consumers across the globe are able to buy various OnePlus products with ease.

Oxygen OS: What is it and why is it so popular?

We’ve mentioned Oxygen OS a few times already in this article. Without a doubt, Oxygen OS is one of the biggest reasons OnePlus fans stick with the brand. This is because it offers an Android experience that most other companies simply don’t offer.

The key differentiator between Oxygen OS and other Android skins is the company’s minimalist approach. Rather than try to revamp the way Android looks and feels in an effort to “brand” its phones, OnePlus lets stock Android do most of the work.

Related: Oxygen OS vs One UI: A thorough comparison of the two popular Android skins

In essence, Oxygen OS is just stock Android with new features added in to make it better and more powerful. Even the very few design tweaks OnePlus has made over the years are subtle, and more of an effort to refine Android rather than revamp it entirely.

Not only does this make Oxygen OS a familiar and easily understood experience, but it keeps the operating system fast and smooth as well. It also makes it much easier for OnePlus to update Oxygen OS. This allows the company to deliver updates to its phones at a faster pace than some other brands.

But don’t take our word for it. There have been many times we’ve tasked Android Authority readers with letting us know which Android skin they love the most, and Oxygen OS is frequently the top choice or one of the top choices.

Competitors you might want to consider

While OnePlus makes great phones at good prices, there are other companies out there that boast a similar pedigree. As one would expect, though, each brand also has a few caveats.

Here in the United States, OnePlus competes most directly with Samsung, LG, Google, and Apple. Samsung offers a whole lot more phones than OnePlus, but Samsung usually prices comparable products higher than OnePlus does. Samsung arguably offers more features, so it comes down to how much you’re willing to pay for the kitchen sink approach.

LG has some phones that are competitive with OnePlus, but has a much weaker track record when it comes to Android updates. Apple obviously has a huge market share here in the US. However, ditching OnePlus for Apple would require switching to iOS, which is not something many fans are willing to do.

Related: Who is the next OnePlus?

As of today, the most comparable competition in the US for OnePlus is Google with its line of Pixel phones. The flagship Google Pixel 4 and Pixel 4 XL are similarly priced when compared to the OnePlus 8 and OnePlus 8 Pro. The Pixel 4 and Pixel 4XL come with a great design aesthetic, a terrific Android skin, and fast updates. However, Google phones generally have weaker specs than OnePlus phones and some of Google’s feature decisions — such as foregoing a fingerprint scanner on the Pixel 4 — might not be what you’re looking for.

Outside of the US, there are a slew of competitors, even some that are also under the BBK Electronics umbrella. The most notable competitor is most likely Realme, which is positioning itself as the “new” OnePlus — and yes, it’s a BBK brand. This is because Realme is offering high-powered phones with great designs at low prices. However, Realme’s roster is much bigger than the OnePlus roster, and it doesn’t seem that Realme has any plans to try and enter the US market, so there are still a few differences.

The greatest moments in OnePlus history

Although OnePlus is a very young company, it’s had some incredible success in a short time. In less than a decade, the company has gone from nothing to a brand that is used in the same breath as Samsung, LG, Huawei, and even Apple.

Here are some of the company’s most important achievements and landmark moments.

The launch of the OnePlus One

The OnePlus One was not only the company’s first smartphone, but its very first commercial product. One would assume it would take a while for a company to find its audience, but not so with OnePlus — the One was a gigantic hit amongst hardcore Android users right out of the gate.

In fact, the company found it hard to keep up with the demand for the device. Reportedly, it expected to sell about 50,000 units of the One over its first year but ended up selling over a million.

Related: From OnePlus 6T to OnePlus One: A week with a five-year-old phone

Luckily for OnePlus, it had instituted an invite-only system for the One, which helped it regulate supply and demand. Although consumers weren’t big fans of the system, it ended up being a smart move for the company and acted almost like a strange PR stunt.

The OnePlus One is one of the most-loved Android phones of the past decade. Despite its age, it still has a sizable user-base, and various developers still create and update custom Android ROMs for it. Just recently, the OnePlus One received an unofficial update to Android 10, and will probably get Android 11 down the line — unofficially, of course.

The debut of Oxygen OS

Originally, OnePlus used a popular custom Android ROM on its phones called Cyanogen OS. Unfortunately, not long after the launch of the OnePlus One, the company behind the software — Cyanogen, Inc. — started making some incredibly bad decisions, which soured the relationship between the two brands.

As a result, OnePlus cut ties with Cyanogen, and started to make its own version of the Android operating system. The whole debacle ended up being a blessing in disguise, as it bore us Oxygen OS — the proprietary Android skin of OnePlus.

Related: Oxygen OS: Six features you need to know about

Oxygen OS is — without a doubt — one of the biggest reasons fans stick with the brand. Its debut on the OnePlus One was like a breath of fresh air in the smartphone market. Clean, smooth, and unbelievably fast, Oxygen OS acted as an antithesis to other Android skins of the time, many of which were ugly, slow, and bloated.

A partnership with T-Mobile

It would be hard to pick just one moment when OnePlus stepped out of its status as a niche brand and into a mainstream one, but its partnership with T-Mobile might be that moment. The agreement saw OnePlus phones — specifically the OnePlus 6T — enter a US-based carrier store for the first time.

OnePlus had had carrier partnerships prior to its T-Mobile deal, but they had all been outside the United States. With the OnePlus 6T appearing in physical retail shops right next to a Samsung Galaxy S9 and an iPhone XS, the move signaled a new era for the company.

Related: T-Mobile OnePlus 6T vs OnePlus 6T: What’s the difference?

It wasn’t long before OnePlus phones were sold at other carriers in the US. It earned a similar deal with Sprint — now owned by T-Mobile — and then Verizon shortly after. The only major US carrier without OnePlus phones on the shelf is AT&T. This will probably change in the future.

Keep in mind that OnePlus is a Chinese company and earned these deals during the US/China trade war. Other Chinese companies have been unable to break into the US market at this level.

Becoming top dog in India

Although OnePlus’ success in the US is very important, its success in India is altogether extraordinary. As of now, OnePlus is the number one brand in India’s premium smartphone market.

That means OnePlus has more control over the premium market in India than heavyweight players such as Samsung, Huawei, and even Apple. This is incredibly advantageous considering India is the world’s second-largest smartphone market and home to over 1.3 billion people.

With the launch of the OnePlus Nord — the company’s first mid-ranger in years — OnePlus could make a big splash in India’s cut-throat mid-range sector, too. Time will tell how OnePlus will handle this, but it’s already made a good start for itself with the premium market.

The not-so-great moments in OnePlus history

No company rises to the top without a few fumbles along the way, and OnePlus is no exception. Although there have been no high-level scandals that have put the company’s future in jeopardy, there have been some things that have been PR disasters.

Below are a few of these issues.

Very questionable promotions

In the early days of OnePlus, the company relied heavily on word-of-mouth promotions rather than traditional advertising. There were a few of these that ended up backfiring on the company for one reason or another.

As an example, the “Smash the Past” campaign saw OnePlus encouraging fans to smash apart their current phones and film the destruction. The wording of the contest, though, made it seem like most people who did this would get a new OnePlus phone, but in reality only a handful would. By the time OnePlus clarified things, hundreds of fans had already smashed their phones to bits. Whoops.

Related: Six years of OnePlus: The biggest hits (and misses) in its short history

Another example of an ill-advised internet promotion was the “Ladies First” campaign. This saw OnePlus encouraging female visitors to its official forums to post a picture of themselves with the OnePlus logo. Some of these entries would win an invite to buy the OnePlus One. As one would expect, it wasn’t long before the trolls came out in force, and OnePlus was chastised for the quite obviously bad idea.

Finally, OnePlus has also received flak for its more legitimate ad campaigns. In 2019, OnePlus revealed it had hired none other than megastar Robert Downey, Jr. to be a OnePlus spokesperson. He would go on to star in India-centric ads for the brand, which reportedly cost OnePlus millions of dollars. While this isn’t the worst thing in the world, fans were quick to point out that the rising costs of OnePlus phones were helping to pay the millionaire’s salary, which didn’t sit right with them. OnePlus has continued to use Downey, Jr. as a spokesperson, though.

The user data breach

In early 2018, OnePlus saw a security breach on its website. The breach resulted in sensitive user data getting stolen. This data included information such as emails, physical addresses, and more. To make matters worse, around 40,000 OnePlus shoppers had credit card information stolen, too.

When OnePlus found out about the breach, it temporarily shut down all payment transactions on its website. Unfortunately, the damage had already been done.

This wasn’t the first — nor the last — time that OnePlus has seen a data breach of some kind, but this was certainly the biggest one that caused the most damage.

A poorly chosen company slogan

Since day one, the official slogan for OnePlus has been “Never Settle.” At first, the slogan made perfect sense as the company was pushing out the OnePlus One, which was a phone with multiple top-of-the-line specs for just $300.

Over the years, though, “Never Settle” has come to bite back at OnePlus. As prices for its phones started to creep up to normal flagship levels, the devotion of OnePlus to its mantra came into question. Other decisions have also caused fans to mock the slogan such as the across-the-board removal of the headphone jack, the lack of wireless charging and IP ratings in the majority of its lineup, and the inability to get certain phone models in various countries.

In hindsight, “Never Settle” may not have been the best choice of slogan.

A few other OnePlus details to keep in mind

If you’ve made it this far, you now know a lot about OnePlus. Hopefully, this information will help you make informed buying decisions when it comes to your next smartphone, TV, or other electronic devices.

However, there are a few miscellaneous things related to OnePlus you should also know. Here’s a quick roundup:

• Customer support: Unless you buy your OnePlus product from your carrier, you’ll need to contact the OnePlus customer support system with any issues you might have. The OnePlus customer support is a mixed bag. Some people rave about it while others get so frustrated they boycott the company. Of course, your mileage may vary, but you should be aware that the company doesn’t have universally loved support.
• Older devices: A company like Samsung will sell the latest Galaxy S device for years after it launches. OnePlus, however, is notorious for discontinuing products only months after release. That means grabbing a OnePlus phone from as early as a year ago might mean going the used route. In other words, if you want a OnePlus phone, buying the latest one early — or at least within a few months — is probably best.
• Android upgrades: OnePlus has a really good reputation when it comes to delivering the latest version of Android quickly and to a majority of its devices. However, sometimes its speed sacrifices stability, which could result in a buggy, not-quite-ready-for-primetime upgrade. If stability is super important to you, it might be best to hold off on Android upgrades for a few weeks to make sure everything is working well.
• Accessories and extras: If you buy a OnePlus phone from your carrier, your local shop should have a limited selection of cases, screen protectors, and other accessories for it. However, chances are very, very slim that a third-party retailer such as Best Buy, Target, Walmart, etc., will have much selection for OnePlus products — if any at all. Keep this in mind if you like to accessorize your smartphone, as you’ll likely need to depend on online sources such as Amazon or even OnePlus itself for those items.

Frequently asked questions about OnePlus

Q: How much do OnePlus smartphones usually cost?
A: If you want a device in its flagship numbered series, you should expect to spend no less than $700 on the latest from its roster. If you want the best of the best from the brand, you should plan on spending $1,000 or maybe more. If you are just looking for the most basic of experiences, the OnePlus Nord starts around $500. If you’re looking to save the most money, used OnePlus phones from the previous year can usually be found for $400 or less.

Q: Do OnePlus phones have wireless charging, IP ratings, headphone jacks?
A: Since 2018, all OnePlus phones have shipped without headphone jacks, so it’s unlikely that feature will ever return. The only phone on the company’s roster as of now with an IP rating and wireless charging is the OnePlus 8 Pro. All other devices — including the regular OnePlus 8 — don’t have either feature (with the notable exception of the Verizon-branded OnePlus 8). Every OnePlus phone launched in 2020 has a 90Hz display refresh rate and 30W wired fast-charging speeds. Every OnePlus phone from 2019 onward features an in-display fingerprint sensor.

Q: What usually comes in the box with a OnePlus phone?
A: OnePlus keeps its in-box accessories minimal. When you buy a OnePlus phone, it usually only comes with the phone itself, a USB cable, a wall charger, and a SIM tool. Most of the time, there is a not-so-great screen protector pre-applied to the phone and sometimes a protective case is included. Other items are usually not included with OnePlus phones, including headphones, headphone dongles, mounts, stands, etc.

Q: How long does OnePlus support its phones?
A: Each OnePlus phone comes with a limited one-year warranty that starts the day the phone ships. You can add more coverage and/or extend coverage by purchasing a third-party insurance plan, which OnePlus offers you during the checkout process. Although the company doesn’t have a hard rule for how long it issues Android security patches and upgrades, it generally follows a policy of a minimum of two upgrades for the operating system and three years of security patches. It has been known to go above and beyond this minimum many times.

Q: If something goes wrong, would I need to ship my phone to China for repairs?
A: No. OnePlus has a large presence in the United States, Europe, and many other countries, so your phone returns and repairs would be handled in the country of purchase. In some rare cases, OnePlus might issue you to a third-party repair service, but it would never ask you to ship a phone to China.

Q: I live in (insert country here), can I buy OnePlus products?
A: OnePlus sells products via its online store in the US, Canada, almost all of mainland Europe, the United Kingdom, China, India, Australia, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Hong Kong, Vietnam, and a few others. Generally, there are very few areas of the world where OnePlus doesn’t offer sales and support.