Changes always come like this quietly and violently.
First, it was an internal CEO letter that had to be scrolled several times to read, and then a forum post for overseas consumers. OPPO and OnePlus, both of which belong to the Oga Group, officially announced their merger. However, this does not mean that one of the parties will “disappear”: According to the official statement of OnePlus, the two teams will be fully integrated, and OnePlus will become an independent brand under OPPO and continue to compete in the market.
From the founder to the product style to the supply chain system, OnePlus has always been inextricably linked with OPPO. After more than 7 years of independent company operation, it is now regarded as open to the former. Can you continue to launch innovative and differentiated products after having a new identity? How will the future develop between the two brands? Everyone who cares about OnePlus cares about these issues.
OnePlus is always inseparable from OPPO
Liu Zuohu, founder and CEO of OnePlus, led the Blu-ray division to gain the favor of global audio-visual enthusiasts during his inauguration at OPPO. The story of the successful launch of OPPO Find 5, OPPO N1 and other products has long been circulated. Since the first “Golden Sentence” conference on April 23, 2014, the first OnePlus mobile phone, OnePlus products have never left the shadow of OPPO.
OnePlus 1 and OPPO Find 7, OnePlus X and OPPO A30, OnePlus 5 and OPPO R11… From appearance to key hardware specifications, the pair of products listed here are extremely similar degree. There have been many rumors in the market, but none of them have been officially confirmed by OnePlus or OPPO. The only thing we can believe is that the R&D teams of both sides have had quite in-depth exchanges.
Fast charging technology is another key point. The DASH flash charging initially introduced on OnePlus 3, from the 5V4A low-voltage and high-current technology route to the experience that can be interchanged with OPPO phones in the same period, has enabled more consumers to start ” Suspicious” began to care about the relationship between the two brands. Today, only OPPO, OnePlus, and realme phones can be compatible with each other’s 65W fast charge.
The screen wars set off from the full screen has made the relationship between brands more clear. The flagships of OnePlus and OPPO Find in the past two years have both adopted curved AMOLED screens with similar specifications, 120Hz high-brush, LTPO technology, etc., which can be matched, and this happens to be an exclusive selling point hard to find on other mobile phones , We can see the “blood relationship” behind it.
Huawei and Honor also have a similar relationship. The latter was originally a sub-brand launched by Huawei for the online market. However, as the influence of Huawei’s mobile phone business continues to expand, Honor is gradually defined as sharing Huawei’s consumer business system in addition to brand operations. Brands with different hardware specifications but cheaper overall prices. For consumer groups with different needs and budgets, Huawei will win.
Even with the introduction of brand-new investors now, after the separation of capital relations from Huawei and becoming an independent new company, Honor still has many traces of Huawei’s mobile phone business. System experience, channel construction, brand style, etc. are all familiar appearances. On the just released Honor 50 series phones, there is a postponed release of the same “double ring” rear camera module of the Huawei P50 series.
Now that OnePlus merges with OPPO, the relationship and collaboration system between the two are likely to undergo a transformation similar to the above brands, gaining different consumers to expand their influence externally, and using the same R&D team, sales channel, and after-sales system internally. Reduce costs and improve the efficiency of business operations.
Integration only for the larger market
After OnePlus becomes its independent brand, it may be able to resolve OPPO’s “online market anxiety” to a certain extent.
In the same period when vivo launched the iQOO brand, OPPO also launched a series of measures such as the new Reno series and Ace series mobile phones, trying to change the entire brand style to obtain markets that were not effectively touched before. But judging from the results, OPPO failed to do so.
OnePlus does not have the “historical baggage” like OPPO. Therefore, in the seven years of independent team operation, it has gained insights from user groups that pursue differentiation, performance, and unique experience, and also have a louder online discussion. Less favorable. Therefore, OnePlus is a very good complement to OPPO, grasping the users that it has not been able to attract before.
Although there are voices expressing concerns about the merger, they are more concerned about whether OnePlus will lose its characteristics, such as the native-style Oxygen OS, which allows users to customize the mobile phone experience in a way that exceeds the average line of domestic mobile phones. OnePlus is currently using ColorOS to attract mainstream domestic user groups. Whether it can continue to take into account the hard-core demand beyond this, it depends on the next product performance.
But in terms of selling more mobile phones and gaining more market share, the merger is a good thing for OnePlus and OPPO. OPPO has a relatively stable user base all year round. It is more concerned about breaking the circle than expansion. After integrating resources, OnePlus puts on the Huantai online store, enters OPPO offline stores and distribution channels, which obviously can create more exposure for the entire Oga Group. Opportunity.
Both OnePlus and the other brother Realme tried to build an after-sales system independently of the OPPO brand and group resources in the early stage of the brand. There may indeed be a distinction between experience and quality, but in the eyes of most consumers, the setting of after-sales points with a small number of provinces and cities will directly affect the purchase decision. After all, the after-sales experience is an average of more than two years. important parts of.
After announcing the sharing of the after-sales system with OPPO, not only was the investment in the expansion of repeated after-sales resources eliminated within the Oga Group, the public opinion on the after-sales of the two brands also took a 180° turn. “Difficult to find after-sales” and “poor after-sales experience” are no longer the focus of discussion. Ordinary consumers other than geeks and hardcore users have more confidence to choose these products.
Concluding remarks
In the past days, OnePlus has brought a cost-effective native Android experience, higher performance, and higher degree of freedom to the mobile phone market. It has become a classic case for Chinese brands to be recognized overseas. Refresh rate is the big screen for the popularity of screens. But just like Liu Zuohu’s speech, to survive and enter a larger market, you must have the corresponding power.
Such a turning point can be said to be inevitable, but it happens to happen in 2021, and the next road is for OnePlus and OPPO to go together.
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