OnePlus is wobbling hard, and the cracks are showing. Android Headlines says the outfit is close to collapse, with staff describing a business being stripped for parts.
The report, based on interviews with current and former employees, says OnePlus is battling plunging shipments, closed offices, dead partnerships and cancelled devices. It is the sort of slow-motion mess that usually ends with a brand becoming a badge.
Sales are sliding fast. In 2024, OnePlus shipments fell more than 20 per cent to between 13 million and 14 million units, down from about 17 million in 2023.
While OnePlus was shrinking, parent OPPO grew by 2.8 per cent. That is awkward when you are supposed to be the edgy sibling, not the one needing pocket money.
India has gone particularly sour, with razor-thin retailer margins and warranty issues hammering confidence. Android Headlines claims OnePlus’s share of India’s premium segment has dropped by about 70 per cent in the past 12 months.
China is not bailing it out either. OnePlus’s share there slipped from two per cent to about 1.6 per cent by the end of 2024, and India plus China now account for 74 per cent of its sales.
The company has been pulling down the shutters on its overseas footprint. OnePlus closed its Dallas HQ for US operations in March 2024, and its Palo Alto office is said to have been reduced to 15 staff covering all of North America.
Carrier support has dried up as well. The brand no longer has a US carrier partner after its T-Mobile tie-up ended in 2023, and its European operations are said to have vanished.
Products are being tossed off the roadmap. The report says OnePlus has binned the Open 2 foldable and the 15s compact, which is never a great sign if you are trying to look alive.
OPPO pledged $14 billion in 2022 to prop up OnePlus, opening service centres and even letting it sell phones for zero profit, and it still did not turn the tide. Taiwan has reportedly issued an arrest warrant against the OnePlus CEO over illegal recruitments, adding another layer of chaos to a brand already on the ropes.
