The end of OnePlus: Oppo rumored to retire smartphone brand due to plummeting sales

The smartphone market is increasingly focusing on the few market leaders, which makes it difficult for smaller brands to compete against giants like Apple and Samsung. For this reason, LG and Asus have already discontinued their smartphone lineups. Furthermore, Oppo finally reintegrated Realme and fired more than half of the Realme workforce in some departments in order to save costs.

In the medium term, this will likely mean that Realme and Oppo smartphones won’t differ as much as before. Now Android Headlines reports that OnePlus faces an even worse fate. The Oppo-owned smartphone brand is reportedly being killed off completely due to drastically falling sales numbers of smartphones like the OnePlus 15 (from $999 on Amazon). According to data from Omdia Research, sales of OnePlus smartphones declined by 20% in 2024 to around 14 million units, while Oppo smartphones recorded growth in the same time period.

Thousands of retailers have reportedly removed OnePlus from their (digital) shelves because the margins were simply too low. 74% of all OnePlus sales come from the Chinese and Indian markets, which is where the brand only had a market share of 1.6% and 3.9% respectively in 2024. Over the past five years, OnePlus has lost numerous contracts with carriers, its headquarters in the US was downsized to fewer than 15 employees, and the teams for France, Germany, and the UK have also been cut down from over 60 to around 10 people.

Neither OnePlus nor Oppo has officially commented on the reports that the OnePlus brand could be discontinued. However, the report from Android Headlines that cites falling sales numbers also mentions sources within OnePlus. Specifically, this information supposedly has been confirmed by current and former OnePlus employees from China, India, Europe and the US. Until there’s an official confirmation, this rumor should be treated with caution. The timeline for a possible market exit is also unknown at this point, so OnePlus smartphones that are already in development might still launch in the coming months.