OnePlus Says A Cheaper Phone Would Sell Better

The OnePlus brand made a name for itself with a set of creative endevors in low-cost, high-value smartphones. From the beginning, with the OnePlus One, the company aimed to be a master of the cult classic Android smartphone. In the last couple of years, OnePlus smartphone prices crept upward. In the year 2020, a new OnePlus 8 will cost you around $700 USD off-contract. This price structure may be about to change.

In an interview this week with company CEO Pete Lau, the next wave of OnePlus devices was essentially revealed. First, a new OnePlus smartphone for India – where they've been a contender for the top spot in the smartphone sales market.

A Counterpoint Research report for India's premium smartphone market for the full years 2016, 17, 18, and 19, it should be clear that OnePlus is already rolling particularly hard in the Premium Smartphone Shipment Market in the country. Now they're gunning for that number one spot across the board.

OnePlus' Lau suggested that their smart TV and wireless earbuds action will expand. That'll be clear soon, as Lau revealed to FastCompany, as the company "wants to get back to making more affordable phones while also expanding into new product categories."

In late 2020, OnePlus "hopes to bring lower-priced devices to other markets, including North America and Europe." The goal, offered the report, was that OnePlus will "sell a lot of phones with lower price tags, then spin them into an ecosystem of connected devices." Many devices mean many users and many users of services aplenty.

The first major OnePlus device with a relatively small price tag will likely be the OnePlus Z as leaked earlier this month. A pair of cameras at the back, a single punch-hole camera up front, and a simple design all around. Imagine that with a decent processor and a price tag hundreds of dollars below the OnePlus 8 – sound like a winner?