Chinese smartphone brand OnePlus is rediscovering China amid the pandemic

OnePlus made a name for itself in the West for its high performance at lower prices, but it now wants to win over its home country

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The newest OnePlus 8 series came with a different price tag for Western countries than for India and China. (Picture: OnePlus)

Masha Borak

Published: 5:00am, 21 Apr 2020

This article originally appeared on ABACUS

While it’s not as nearly as big of a brand as Apple or Samsung, OnePlus has still managed to inspire some fans to line up for hours just to be one of the first to get its latest phones. But back home in China, the OnePlus brand is a lot less well-known.

OnePlus now wants to change this in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, which has dampened smartphone demand and damaged global shipping.

The day after the international launch of its newest 5G-enabled OnePlus 8 series phones, company CEO Pete Lau did something uncharacteristic for the low-profile executive. After holding the China OnePlus 8 event on Thursday, Lau sat down for a live-streamed interview and sold more than 2,800 devices.

OnePlus, the Chinese smartphone startup that made a mark in the West

“We will try our best in marketing this year to be recognized, to help people understand OnePlus,” Lau told local media after the two-hour stream.

OnePlus CEO Pete Lau joined Luo Yonghao, the founder of fallen smartphone company Smartisan, in a live-streamed interview on Douyin, China’s version of TikTok. (Picture: Luo Yonghao via Douyin)

For most of its short history, OnePlus didn’t concentrate much on its home country, even though it’s the largest smartphone market in the world. But now the spread of the deadly coronavirus is expected to force OnePlus sales to plummet overseas, where it’s had the most success, said Counterpoint analyst Mengmeng Zhang.

Becoming a big smartphone brand in China, however, is more difficult than ever. Competition is tough, and brands sometimes go to great lengths to sell their wares. Executives occasionally throw shade at rivals or even directly disparage brands as “sellouts,” as in the case of the flamboyant Smartisan founder Luo Yonghao.