I’m not entirely sure why is it that everyone has once again realized that OnePlus pulled a bait and switch on the enthusiasts that turned them from a random BBK sub-brand into a legitimate competitor in the space. Fortunately for us, commoditization means that we don’t need OnePlus anymore.
I’m not quite sure why this blew up recently. I remember that enthusiasts were complaining about the company losing its roots and just “becoming” rebranded Oppos since the OnePlus 5 back in 2016. Linus’s video on the situation and the bad experiences leading to him no longer recommending OnePlus devices may have helped. But as best as I can tell, the reason actually involves Carl Pei.
The founder of OnePlus and champion of their strategy of good value (not cheap) devices with a basically stock version of Android has been very busy with his new company, the unfortunately named Nothing. In March, they announced their first smartphone the Nothing Phone (1). It’s unique selling proposition is not in the front, where 120Hz displays are becoming ever more common, but on the back.
In addition to having a transparent back to capture the “Remember your transparent N64 controller” market. The other selling feature is of course, the giant notification lights which can alert you about getting a message, your charging status, and a flash. I am old-school. I just want a little notification LED on the front of my phone to tell me that I missed a call, but this is certainly more impressive. I am not sure if it will make the non-enthusiast crowd clamor for one though.
However, it’s on the Nothing Phone where we find the answer for OnePlus and how they became inessential. See, it was revealed last week that the processor underneath all of those LED’s and aesthetically painted interior is…a midrange Snapdragon 778G+. That combination of letter and numbers mean nothing to you? Good. You’re part of 98% of the population and will be served perfectly well by this phone.
Smartphones are one of those markets where it doesn’t help you to cater to the hardcore fans. XKCD has an entire series of only-slightly-exaggerated visions of what the results of pursuing this approach would bring you. This can result in them overcorrecting and doing stupid stuff like removing the 3.5mm headphone jack, notification LEDs, and IR blasters (shout-out to the other three people in the world who still miss that feature). What enthusiasts can do is function as brand ambassadors. Give them a product they like and they will recommend it to everyone in their life, whether it will actually solve the problem they came to them with or not. If you’re starting from zero, enthusiasts are your lifeline.
Sadly, if you want to stop depending on a lifeline, you need to move past them. A lot of them will simply move to the next enthusiast-approved thing on the line. A few vocal ones will complain and shout betrayal like you just showed them a rebooted X-Com. However, if you can continue to provide a quality product (which is where OnePlus is failing right now) there will still be a trickle of recommendations from them to people who do not feel as strongly about this or that feature.
For 90% of the market, going with a midrange is perfectly fine. Check if the camera isn’t absolute garbage, check the country of origin of your manufacturer (if you care about that sort of thing), check if it works for you and your network.
The best way to kill a flagship is to starve it.
