OnePlus, the brand of ‘Flagship-Killer’ Smartphone, All But Dead

But OnePlus’ exit comes at a time when smartphone shipments are showing a sharp decline due to the trend memory problem– lack of RAM, consumed by data center about AI boomhe is it caused a shortage of land. Research firm Counterpoint on Monday realized 11 percent The year-on-year decline in global smartphone shipments in the second quarter of 2026, the lowest quarter in the period in 13 years. Two companies saw growth – Apple and Samsung – while competitors like Xiaomi, Oppo, and Vivo fell sharply. (Vivo is part of the same group, BBK Electronics, that owns Oppo, OnePlus, and Realme.)

Last year, at the beginning of the presidency of Donald Trump The tariff wasOnePlus very expensive his is the new smartwatch from $330 to $500. In May 2026, the company raised its prices new phones in India. The company has been experiencing major losses in the US smartphone market for several years.

Nabila Popal, head of research for Consumer Devices at Opinions of the company International Data CorporationIt is said that OnePlus was not the leader in the US. However, the company’s sales fell flat when T-Mobile pulled out of its deal in 2023.

OnePlus went from shipping 1 million phones in the US in 2019 to shipping less than 130,000 devices in 2025 — a nearly 90 percent drop in volume over six years. Cell phones are sold primarily by carriers in the US, which means that cell phone manufacturers that are not available in retail stores often have trouble disrupting the market. Popal says the carrier drives up to 66 percent of the volume in the US, mostly based on 2025 data. T-Mobile declined to comment on the OnePlus news.

The US represented about 22 percent of OnePlus’ shipments in 2021, with similar figures from Europe, and only 18 percent from China. But Popal says that by 2025, the numbers will rise to 56 percent of OnePlus’s volume from China, which may explain Oppo’s statement that OnePlus’ China roadmap is not changing. If you add Asia Pacific, that number rises to 91 percent—a big jump from 51 percent in 2021.

“In 2018, with the OnePlus 6, they introduced what they proudly call a ‘flagship killer’ at a price of $529, with specifications,” says Popal. “Then, instead of staying on the price point, they took the market for the price – trying to raise prices – and that made them equal to the competition.”

Popal says it’s a strategy often adopted by companies with limited margins. The first goal is to capture the interest, then increase the cost, the way to enter the market and increase the profit. “But unfortunately, some brands can’t command a price beyond a certain period,” he says. “Only Apple and Samsung have been able to do this very well.”

Chinese phone brands they are often the first to introduce new technologies (eg silicon-carbon batteries), and while there aren’t many Chinese players in the US, OnePlus was out there. The lack of quality means less choice for consumers, and Popal says the market is moving forward with consolidation. OnePlus went from having 1.8 percent of the US market in 2021 to 0.1 percent in 2025, according to Popal; Apple and Samsung went from 73 percent of the market in the same period to 80 percent in 2025.

“It’s unfortunate that the US consumer doesn’t have the choice of the number of models that are available around the world because there are so many interesting technologies and features,” says Popal. “But I don’t see this place changing.”

OnePlus now joins a growing list of companies that have suspended operations, exited the mobile business, stood down, or significantly scaled back their ambitions, including HTC, LG Mobile, Sony, Mayizand HMD.