OnePlus to start offering cheaper phones and build an ecosystem like Xiaomi

A struggling smartphone market amid a pandemic is a good time for OnePlus to launch cheap phones, says analyst

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At US$899, the flagship OnePlus 8 Pro is also its most expensive phone to date. (Picture: OnePlus)

Xinmei Shen

Published: 8:44pm, 27 May 2020

This article originally appeared on ABACUS

OnePlus used to pride itself on offering only flagship smartphones. But that’s changing.

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

CEO Pete Lau said on Weibo today that OnePlus’ product line will welcome “new members,” offering people more choices both in terms of product categories and price range. That means it will start selling cheaper phones, according to an interview that Pete Lau shared on Twitter.

Lau told Fast Company that OnePlus sees demand from a large consumer base to access the company’s products at a more “suitable price.” He also said that people could expect it to expand to categories beyond the smartphone, because “building an ecosystem is a forward trend.”

Sounds familiar? That’s because it sounds like something another Chinese smartphone maker is doing.

It looks like the company wants to follow the Xiaomi model. Xiaomi famously offers an array of non-smartphone products to draw buyers into what the company calls its ecosystem. It contains everything from smartphone peripherals like power banks to home appliances like rice cookers and air purifiers.

How Xiaomi forged a unique path

That would be a departure from OnePlus’ current strategy, which is to focus on premium smartphones at relatively affordable price points. OnePlus makes far fewer models than most of its rivals, with prices steadily increasing over the years.