A decision by OnePlus not to launch its follow-up foldable this year has its fans concerned about its future as an independent entity.
Parent BBK Electronics decided to merge OnePlus and Oppo in 2021 to pool development resources in the cut-throat mid-range Android market.
OnePlus co-founder Pete Lau then said the move would also let OnePlus be more efficient, “for example, bringing faster and more stable software updates for OnePlus users”.
“As for the OnePlus brand – we will continue to operate independently, focused on providing you with the best possible products and experience as we have always done,” he said.
OnePlus is a sub-brand of Oppo.
A new move this week has fans of the companies’ products wondering whether the sands are shifting again.
After launching the ground-breaking OnePlus Open foldable in 2023, there was much anticipation about its successor the OnePlus Open 2 being available this year.
It was to be an important milestone for OnePlus; without it, Samsung is increasingly consolidating dominance in the foldables market.
However, OnePlus now have announced a “pause on foldable{s} for this generation”, which means the OnePlus Open 2 won’t come to market this year, if at all.
Not only that, but OnePlus is citing further developments at Oppo as the reason.
Its product manager explained the move on the OnePlus community forums.
“At OnePlus, our core strength and passion lie in setting new benchmarks and challenging the status quo across all product categories. With that in mind, we’ve carefully considered the timing and our next steps in foldable devices, and we have made the decision not to release a foldable this year.
“While this may come as a surprise, we believe this is the right approach for us at this time. As OPPO takes the lead in the foldable segment with the Find N5, we’re committed to developing products that will redefine multiple categories and bring you experiences that are as innovative and exciting as ever, all while aligning closely with our Never Settle mantra.”
