Founded in 2013, OnePlus is a cautious company with a careful release schedule. The Shenzhen-based company doesn’t obsess over being the first to market with new features, he used to release one or two phones a year. This was a cadence that allowed the company to differentiate itself, in part through pricing, by selling its products for hundreds of dollars less than Samsung’s and Apple’s flagship products.
The company’s focus on device quality hasn’t gone away, with OnePlus still releasing products that can compete with the biggest names in the space. , the company has unveiled its new flagship, the OnePlus 11. Earlier this month, his India-focused 11R arrived. Most recently, the company also offers last year’s 10T and 10 Pro, three affordable Nord devices, five earbuds and a tablet. A new mechanical keyboard is in the works, ushering in a new “Featuring” series focused on product collaboration.
2023 will also see the release of OnePlus’ first foldable device, fulfilling the promise of “something amazing” announced at the 11th launch event this month. After the shiny liquid-cooled OnePlus 11 concept was unveiled at MWC yesterday, TechCrunch sat down with COO Kinder Liu to discuss the company’s long-rumored entry into the category.
“We plan to release a flip phone in the second half of this year,” Liu told TechCrunch through an interpreter. “This is our flagship phone, as well as other top products in our portfolio. That is why we haven’t released a foldable phone in the last few years. because I wanted to.”
The sentiment is reminiscent of the deliberate release schedule that characterized OnePlus’ early days. Samsung defined the form factor with the release of the 2019 Galaxy Fold and refined the category with the 2020 Galaxy Z Flip. Last summer, he claimed to have sold about 10 million foldable devices in his first three years.
At a press conference at MWC, Liu said, “The folding form, the industrial design, the mechanics, all of this is a restless flagship machine. At the top of today’s folding market. We want to release a device that aims to stand.”
Oppo’s Find N2 Flip at MWC 2023. Image credit: Brian Heater
A little over a week ago, OnePlus parent company Oppo released its own foldable device, the Find N2 Flip. It’s inspired by the Flip form factor. Asked about OnePlus’ first foldable design, Liu put his hands together and opened it like a book, seemingly confirming something along the lines of the Fold.
Liu did not provide further information about the product. Speaking more broadly about the company, executives referred to “support” OnePlus operating as an Oppo-owned company. may indicate a reason for doing so. It might also explain why the two products adopted distinctly different form factors, as sales could be ruined in a market that is still a small niche in the smartphone market.
I spent some time with the Oppo Find N2 Flip at MWC this year, and found it to be a sturdy foldable, as reflected in my early reviews so far. His $1,025 price tag for the product is also well below Samsung’s Flip. Given OnePlus’ track record, it seems likely that the company will offer its own foldable product at an aggressive price.
