Jump to content

OnePlus

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Mechanical Keyboarder (talk | contribs) at 14:21, 17 March 2019. The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

OnePlus
Company typePrivate
IndustryMobile phones
Founded16 December 2013; 11 years ago (2013-12-16)
FounderPete Lau, Carl Pei
HeadquartersShenzhen, China [1]
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
Pete Lau (CEO)
Carl Pei (co-founder)
ProductsSmartphones, Earphones, Powerbanks, Phone cases, Shirts and bags, OxygenOS (Global), HydrogenOS (China Only),
RevenueIncrease US$1.4 billion (2017)[2]
Number of employees
776 (2017)[2]
ParentBBK Electronics
Websitewww.oneplus.com/global
OnePlus OnePlus Science & Technology Co., Ltd.

OnePlus is a Chinese smartphone manufacturer based in Shenzhen, China founded by Pete Lau (CEO) and Carl Pei in December 2013. The company officially serves 34 countries and regions around the world as of July 2018.[2] They have released numerous phones, amongst other products.

History

OnePlus One
OnePlus 3

OnePlus was founded on 16 December 2013 by former Oppo vice-president Pete Lau and Carl Pei.[3] According to the Chinese government's documentation, the only institutional stockholder in OnePlus is Oppo Electronics.[4] Lau denied that OnePlus was a wholly-owned subsidiary of Oppo and stated that Oppo Electronics and not Oppo Mobile (the phone manufacturer) is a major investor of OnePlus and that they are "in talks with other investors".[5] The company's main goal was to design a smartphone that would balance high-end quality with a lower price than other phones in its class, believing that users would "Never Settle" for the lower-quality devices produced by other companies. Lau explained that "we will never be different just for the sake of being different. Everything done has to improve the actual user experience in day-to-day use."[6][7] He also showed aspirations of being the "Muji of the tech industry", emphasizing its focus on high-quality products with simplistic, user-friendly designs.[6] Continuing Lau's association with the platform from the Oppo N1,[7] OnePlus entered into an exclusive licensing agreement with Cyanogen Inc. to base its products' Android distribution upon a variant of the popular custom ROM CyanogenMod and use its trademarks outside of China.[8][9]

The company unveiled its first device, the OnePlus One, on 23 April 2014.[6] In December 2014, alongside the release of the OnePlus One in India exclusively through Amazon, OnePlus also announced plans to establish a presence in the country, with plans to open 25 official walk-in service centres across India.[10]

In April 2014, OnePlus hired Han Han as the product ambassador in mainland China.[11]

On 9 March 2014, the company expanded its operations to the European Union.[12] As of July 2018, OnePlus serves to the following 34 countries and regions:[13] Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, China, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden, United Kingdom, and United States.

The invite system and its discontinuation

Early phones were only available through a system whereby customers had to sign up for an invite to purchase the phone at irregular intervals. The system was claimed to be necessary for the young company to manage huge demand.[14] OnePlus ended the invite system with the launch of OnePlus 3 on 14 June 2016.[15] Announced via an interactive VR launch event, the OnePlus 3 initially went on sale within the VR app itself. OnePlus touted the event as the world's first VR shopping experience.[16] The phone was made available for sale later that day in China, North America and the European Union on the OnePlus website, and in India on Amazon India.[12]

"Smash the Past" campaign

On 25 April 2014, OnePlus began its "Smash the Past" campaign.[17] The promotion asked selected participants to destroy their phones on video in an effort to purchase the OnePlus One for $1 (US). Due to confusion, several videos were published by unselected users misinterpreting the promotion and destroying their phones before the promotion start date.[18][19]

The campaign was heavily criticized for environmental waste and safety concerns, due to batteries and phone components posing potential hazards to participants destroying their phones.[20][21] OnePlus allowed the winners to donate the old phone.[22] There were 140,000 entrants in the contest with 100 winners.[23]

Warranty rejections

OnePlus One issue with yellow display band at the bottom of the screen which affected some units were not covered under warranty. A similar issue was reported for Oppo Find 7 and Oppo Find 7a and Oppo covered it under warranty.[24][25]

Ladies First

On 13 August 2014, OnePlus hosted a contest to give invites, which were hard to come by at the time, to their female forum members. Users were asked to post a photo of themselves with the OnePlus logo, images would be shared in the forum and could be "liked" by other forum members.[26] Hours after being announced, the campaign was stopped because of the sexist implications in the election process. OnePlus stated that a few "rogue" employees created the campaign.[citation needed]

Ban in India

On 16 December 2014, The Supreme Court of India and Delhi High Court banned the import and sales of OnePlus One phones in India following a lawsuit by Micromax alleging it has exclusivity for shipping phones with Cyanogen OS software in India.[27]

As of 21 December 2014, the banning of import and selling of the device in India has been lifted. The device continues to be shipped with Cyanogen OS; however, a customised version of Android specially designed by OnePlus and named OxygenOS has been released, allowing later OnePlus devices to be sold in India.[28][29]

Cease of operations in Indonesia

OnePlus made its products available in Southeast Asia for the first time, partnering with Lazada Indonesia[30] on 23 January 2015 and was expected to expand during that year throughout the region.

In June 2016, OnePlus made the decision to pull out of the Indonesian market due to local regulations for imported 4G smartphones restricting sales of the OnePlus 2.[31] After-sales support such as warranty claims and repairs for the OnePlus One and X were taken over by PT Multi Mobile Indonesia.[citation needed]

OnePlus 2 launch invite issue

In advance of the OnePlus 2 launch, OnePlus assured customers that obtaining invites would be easier, and handsets would ship a lot quicker than with the OnePlus One. However, in a public apology, Carl Pei admitted the company had "messed up" the launch, and that OnePlus "only began shipping meaningful quantities [the week of 10 September 2015], nearly a month after [the] initial targeted shipping date."[32][33]

OnePlus customer support

The customer support at OnePlus has received widespread criticism. In 2017, the company increased the number of customer service staff and added some local language support.[34]

OnePlus 2 software updates

Despite promising 24 months of software updates, and telling consumers that the OnePlus 2 would be updated to Android 7 "Nougat", it was eventually confirmed that this was not to happen, leaving the device on the older Android 6.0.1.[35]

OnePlus USB-C cable

After several weeks of customer complaints on OnePlus forums and on Reddit, Google engineer Benson Leung showed that the USB-C cable and USB-C-to-Micro-USB adapter offered by OnePlus do not conform to the USB specification. OnePlus co-founder Carl Pei on 26 November 2015 admitted that the cable and adaptor indeed don't conform to the USB specification, and offered refunds (although not for cables bundled with the OnePlus 2 phone).[36][37][38]

Products

Phones

OnePlus has manufactured nine phones:

Name Codename Unveiled International Release
OnePlus One bacon 23 April 2014 6 June 2014
OnePlus 2 oneplus2 27 July 2015 11 August 2015
OnePlus X onyx 29 October 2015 5 November 2015
OnePlus 3 oneplus3 14 June 2016 14 June 2016
OnePlus 3T oneplus3t 15 November 2016 28 November 2016
OnePlus 5 cheeseburger 20 June 2017 27 June 2017
OnePlus 5T dumpling 16 November 2017 21 November 2017
OnePlus 6 enchilada 16 May 2018 22 May 2018
OnePlus 6T fajita 29 October 2018 6 November 2018

OnePlus One

Main article: OnePlus One
OnePlus One unboxing

The company's first product was the highly anticipated OnePlus One. It was unveiled on 22 April 2014, and was claimed as the "2014 Flagship Killer." The One had comparable, and in some ways better, specifications to other flagship phones of the year, while being sold at a significantly lower price at $299 for the 16 GB version or $349 for the 64 GB version.[39] The One also debuted the infamous invite system, which ensured that the company didn't take more orders than it was capable of shipping.

The OnePlus One had several minor hardware issues at launch, which reportedly was corrected in later batches of the phone.

OnePlus 2

Main article: OnePlus 2

The OnePlus 2 was the successor to the company's highly successful first phone. It was unveiled a little over a year after the One, on 27 July 2015. It was highly promoted as "2016 Flagship killer". There were very high expectations for the second generation OnePlus phones, partly because the company managed to create a high amount of hype for the upcoming phone. One of the marketing channels used was YouTube tech reviewer MKBHD who was sent a unit, which he covered in detail leading up to the launch.

The OnePlus 2 had specifications comparable to other flagship phones of the time, including the highly criticized[citation needed] Qualcomm Snapdragon 810, though OnePlus had decided to leave out an NFC chip, as it didn't see mobile payment being an essential feature at the time.[40] The phone was also one of the first Android devices to sport a USB-C port over the older micro USB port.[41]

OnePlus X

Main article: OnePlus X

The OnePlus X was OnePlus' entrance to the budget phone market, at 5 inches instead of the One and 2's 5.5 inches. The phone was unveiled on 29 October 2015. The phone was sold for $249, and consisted mostly of the same internal components as the year and half old OnePlus One, but had an AMOLED display.

OnePlus 3

Main article: OnePlus 3

The OnePlus 3 was unveiled on 14 June 2016. The 3 was the company's first "metal unibody" phone. The phone launched with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 820, 6 GB of RAM and 64 GB of UFS 2.0 storage.[42] The phone was well regarded amongst critics, mostly for its low price and high specifications.

OnePlus 3T

Main article: OnePlus 3T

The OnePlus 3T was unveiled on 15 November 2016 as a minor upgrade to the still relatively new OnePlus 3. The upgrade consisted the use of a newer SoC; the Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 was replaced with the Snapdragon 821. Also introduced were a higher-capacity battery, 64 or 128 GB of storage and 16 MP front-facing camera. The phone launched in the US on 22 November 2016 and in the EU on 28 November 2016.

OnePlus 5

Main article: OnePlus 5

The OnePlus 5 was unveiled on 20 June 2017. It launched with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 835, a dual-lens camera setup, up to 8 GB RAM, and up to 128 GB of storage. It was released in two colours: Midnight Black and Slate Gray. A third limited edition colour, Soft Gold was released on 7 August 2017.[43] Another special edition colour was launched on 20 September 2017, in collaboration with Castelbajac.[44]

OnePlus 5T

Main article: OnePlus 5T

The OnePlus 5T was unveiled on 16 November 2017, as the successor to the OnePlus 5.[45] It features the same Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 SoC and storage options as its predecessor. Notable features include a larger 6" 18:9 display, a new "Face Unlock" facial recognition method, and an improved dual-lens camera.

OnePlus 6

Main article: OnePlus 6

OnePlus opened forums for the OnePlus 6 in April 2018 and launched the device on 17 May 2018 with sales starting on 22 May 2018.[46][47][48] The phone notably features a display notch, water resistance (although not IP Code rated) and an all-glass design. The smartphone was the first from the company to offer a 256 GB inbuilt storage variant. At the launch event, OnePlus announced it would be opening five new OnePlus Experience stores in India, as well as 10 new service centres.[49]

OnePlus 6T

Main article: OnePlus 6T

The OnePlus 6T was unveiled on 29 October 2018. It launched with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 845, a dual-lens camera setup, up to 8 GB RAM, and up to 256 GB of storage. It also features a larger 6.41" 19.5:9 AMOLED display with In-Display fingerprint sensor running on OxygenOS based on Android 9 Pie. The camera has a 'Nightscape' mode which uses a longer exposure time to capture better photos in poor lighting conditions.[citation needed]

OnePlus set a Guinness World Record title of "the most people unboxing a phone simultaneously" on the launch of OnePlus 6T.[50]

OnePlus 5G phone

OnePlus will launch a 5G phone in the first quarter of 2019[51] with the Snapdragon 855 processor. This phone will be the first in a new product line of the company. It will be showcased in Mobile World Congress 2019. The smartphone, however, will be a prototype running on Qualcomm’s latest Snapdragon 855 processor. The OnePlus 7 won't feature a 5G chipset.

Variants

Name Launch Variants Special Variants Limited Co-branded Variant
OnePlus One Silk White, Sandstone Black OnePlus JBL Limited Edition
OnePlus 2 Sandstone Black
OnePlus X Onyx, Ceramic, Champagne
OnePlus 3 Graphite, Soft Gold
OnePlus 3T Gunmetal, Soft Gold, Midnight Black OnePlus 3T Colette 20th Anniversary Edition
OnePlus 5 Slate Gray, Soft Gold, Midnight Black OnePlus 5 JCC+ Limited Edition "Callection"
OnePlus 5T Midnight Black, Sandstone White Lava Red OnePlus 5T Star Wars Limited Edition (Sandstone White)
OnePlus 6 Mirror Black, Midnight Black, Silk White Amber Red OnePlus 6 Marvel Avengers Limited Edition
OnePlus 6T Mirror Black, Midnight Black Thunder Purple OnePlus 6T McLaren Limited Edition (Speed Orange)

Other

OnePlus Bullets Wireless

Oneplus Bullets Wireless Unboxing

At the launch event of the OnePlus 6, the company also announced the OnePlus Bullets Wireless earphones. The earphones have the company's Dash Charge technology with a USB-C port that allows five hours of playback for 10 minutes of charging. The earbuds feature a weather-resistant design and operates on Bluetooth connectivity with aptX technology. The Bullets Wireless earphones also supports Google Assistant from a button click. They went on sale at their website for $69.[52]

OnePlus TV

In September 2018, the company confirmed[53] it plans to venture into the smart TVs market with the OnePlus TV. The new division will be headed by the company CEO Pete Lau. An exact launch date isn't available yet, but reports suggest the company will launch it first in India beginning Q1 2019.

See also

References

  1. ^ Xiang, Tracey (13 January 2014). "Smartphone Startup OnePlus Aims at Developed Markets". TechNode. Archived from the original on 23 April 2014. Retrieved 2 May 2014. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  2. ^ a b c "OnePlus publishes 2017 annual report: revenues and sales on the rise". GSMArena. 30 January 2018. Retrieved 16 June 2018.
  3. ^ "OnePlus: setting its sights on changing the world with affordable smartphones". The Guardian. 10 July 2015. Retrieved 13 July 2015.
  4. ^ F., Alan (26 April 2014). "Is OnePlus a wholly owned subsidiary of Oppo? Chinese document suggests that the answer is yes". Phone Arena.
  5. ^ "OnePlus Responds To OPPO Controversy". Gizchina.com. 28 April 2014.
  6. ^ a b c "Meet the One, OnePlus' $299 Nexus killer". Engadget. Retrieved 3 February 2015.
  7. ^ a b Kastrenakes, Jacob (16 December 2013). "From Oppo to OnePlus: a new company wants to build the next great smartphone". The Verge. Retrieved 14 February 2014.
  8. ^ "OnePlus to Delhi High Court: Micromax's Cyanogen OS Is Different". NDTV Gadgets. Retrieved 3 February 2015.
  9. ^ Dent, Steve (7 January 2014). "Cyanogen will partner with OnePlus on its debut phone, the 'OnePlus One'". Engadget. Retrieved 14 February 2014.
  10. ^ "OnePlus One launched in India for $355 on Amazon". GSMArena. Retrieved 3 February 2015.
  11. ^ "Oppo unveils Chinese actress Mini Yang M as brand ambassador". GSM INSIDER. Retrieved 17 April 2015.
  12. ^ a b "The OnePlus 3 is now on sale from the OnePlus website". Android Central. 14 June 2016. Retrieved 20 June 2018.
  13. ^ "Never Settle - OnePlus". OnePlus. Retrieved 1 July 2018. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
  14. ^ Orf, Darren. "OnePlus Is Finally Ditching Its Annoying Invite System".
  15. ^ "OnePlus goes invite free". Wired. Retrieved 25 June 2016.
  16. ^ "Free loop VR headset". Fortune. Retrieved 25 June 2016.
  17. ^ "Phone Smash". OnePlus. Archived from the original on 27 April 2014. Retrieved 27 April 2014. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  18. ^ "OnePlus One 'Smash the Past" contest sees hopefuls smashing their phones prematurely". Retrieved 27 April 2014.
  19. ^ Smith, Chris (25 April 2014). "Warning: You really shouldn't smash your phone for a OnePlus One just yet". BGR. Retrieved 9 August 2017.
  20. ^ "OnePlus One "Smash the Past" is a Pretty Bad Contest". Retrieved 27 April 2014.
  21. ^ Hearn, Mark (2 May 2014). "OnePlus now accepting donations in lieu of phone smashing". 9to5Google. Retrieved 9 August 2017.
  22. ^ "OnePlus revises their 'smash' contest to allow winners to donate perfectly good phones to charity instead". Android Central. Retrieved 2 May 2014.
  23. ^ "OnePlus revises their 'smash' contest to allow winners to donate perfectly good phones to charity instead". Android Central.
  24. ^ "OnePlus accused of not honoring warranty on yellow screen issue". Phone Arena. Retrieved 1 July 2017.
  25. ^ "OnePlus Forums: Reply from @vikas during OnePlus official AMA on Reddit". OnePlus Forums. Retrieved 1 July 2017.
  26. ^ "OnePlus asks women to participate in degrading contest to get a smartphone". Verge. Retrieved 13 August 2014.
  27. ^ "Delhi HC bans import & sales of OnePlus One smartphone in India". AndroidOS.in.
  28. ^ Vikas SN (8 May 2015). "Micromax & OnePlus resolve legal dispute; OnePlus handsets will get Cyanogen updates". Economic Times.
  29. ^ "Cyanogen to continue support for OnePlus One in India".
  30. ^ "OnePlus Launches in Indonesia through Exclusive Lazada Partnership - OnePlus Blog".
  31. ^ "Chinese phone maker OnePlus quits Indonesia - Techinasia.com". www.techinasia.com. Retrieved 29 November 2017.
  32. ^ Pei, Carl (10 September 2015). "Sorry for the delay guys". OnePlus forums. Archived from the original on 25 September 2015. Retrieved 29 September 2015. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  33. ^ McCann, John (11 September 2015). "OnePlus admits it messed up the OnePlus 2 launch". TechRadar. Retrieved 29 September 2015.
  34. ^ Savov, Vlad (6 June 2017). "OnePlus touts improvements to customer care in anticipation of OnePlus 5". The Verge. Archived from the original on 7 June 2017. Retrieved 7 June 2017. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  35. ^ Carlon, Kris (10 June 2017). "OnePlus finally confirms no Nougat update for the OnePlus 2". Android Authority. Retrieved 11 June 2017.
  36. ^ "OnePlus Offers Explanation, Refunds In Type-C 'Cablegate'". Retrieved 29 November 2015.
  37. ^ "OnePlus admits that it's selling dodgy USB Type-C cables and adapters". Retrieved 29 November 2015.
  38. ^ "In response to the Type-C cable discussions". Retrieved 29 November 2015.
  39. ^ "Press Releases - OnePlus". oneplus.net. Archived from the original on 18 August 2017. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  40. ^ "OnePlus Says It Dropped NFC From The OnePlus 2 Because OnePlus One Owners Weren't Using It". 27 July 2015.
  41. ^ "List of phones with usb type c connectivity (as of June 2016)".
  42. ^ "OnePlus 3". oneplus.net.
  43. ^ "The 'Soft Gold' OnePlus 5 is a pretty phone, with one big downside". Android Central. 7 August 2017. Retrieved 7 August 2017.
  44. ^ England, Rachel (20 September 2017). "The OnePlus 5 got a whimsical French makeover". Engadget. Retrieved 22 September 2017.
  45. ^ Savov, Vlad. "OnePlus 5T announced with bigger screen, new camera system, and a headphone jack". The Verge. Retrieved 23 February 2018.
  46. ^ "OnePlus confirms 'OnePlus 6' name for next phone, opens forum for it". Android Police. 2 April 2018. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
  47. ^ "The OnePlus 6 is coming on May 16th". The Verge. 25 April 2018. Retrieved 26 April 2018.
  48. ^ "OnePlus' latest flagship arrives May 22 for $529 – TechCrunch". techcrunch.com. Retrieved 16 May 2018.
  49. ^ "OnePlus Plans to Expand Offline Stores in 10 Cities in India". NDTV Gadgets360.com. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
  50. ^ Bureau, BW Online. "OnePlus Creates Guinness World Record Of Unboxing Most Number Of Phones Simultaneously With OnePlus 6T". BW Businessworld. Retrieved 24 November 2018. {{cite news}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  51. ^ https://www.gizmochina.com/2018/12/06/oneplus-5g-phone-with-snapdragon-855-confirmed-to-launch-in-early-2019/
  52. ^ "OnePlus Bullets Wireless have fast charging and magnetic controls". Android Authority. 16 May 2018. Retrieved 24 May 2018.
  53. ^ "Here's why the OnePlus TV won't sell in India - EOTO Tech | OnePlus TV Price in India". EOTO Tech. 17 September 2018. Retrieved 25 September 2018.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/enwiki/w/index.php?title=OnePlus&oldid=888186856"