OnePlus, the “flagship killer” smartphone brand, is almost dead

But OnePlus’ exit comes at a time when smartphone shipments are showing a sharp decline due to the ongoing memory crisis – a lack of RAM eaten up by data centers for the AI ​​boom has caused a global shortage. Research firm Counterpoint on Monday reported an 11% year-on-year decline in global smartphone shipments in the second quarter of 2026, the lowest level for the period in 13 years. Two companies saw growth – Apple and Samsung, while competitors such as Xiaomi, Oppo and Vivo saw the sharpest decline. (Vivo is part of the same conglomerate, BBK Electronics, that owns Oppo, OnePlus and Realme.)

Last year, at the start of President Donald Trump’s tariff war, OnePlus dramatically increased the price of its then-new smartwatch from $330 to $500. In May 2026, the company increased the prices of its latest phones in India. The company has been dealing with a huge loss of smartphone market share in the US for several years.

Nabila Popal, senior research director of Consumer Devices at International Data Corporation, says OnePlus has never been a leader in the US. However, the company’s sales plummeted after T-Mobile dropped its partnership in 2023.

OnePlus went from 1 million US smartphone shipments in 2019 to just under 130,000 device shipments in 2025 — roughly a 90 percent volume decline in six years. Smartphones are primarily sold through carriers in the US, meaning that phone makers that aren’t available in carrier stores often have a hard time breaking into the market. Popal says the carriers drive up to 66 percent of U.S. volume, at least based on data from 2025. T-Mobile declined to comment on the OnePlus news.

The US accounts for about 22 percent of OnePlus’ shipments in 2021, with similar numbers from Europe and just 18 percent from China. But Popal says that by 2025 the numbers have turned around with 56 percent of OnePlus’ volume coming from China, which likely explains Oppo’s statement that OnePlus’ product roadmap in China is not changing. If you add the Asia-Pacific region, that number jumps to 91 percent—a huge jump from 51 percent in 2021.

« In 2018, with the OnePlus 6, they launched what they very proudly called a ‘flagship killer’ at $529, with flagship specs,” says Popal. “And then, instead of staying at that price point, they went after the premium market—trying to increase prices—and that made them similar to the competition. »

Popal says it’s a strategy often set by companies with thin margins. The initial goal is to grab interest, then raise the price, a method of penetrating the market and gradually increasing profitability. « But unfortunately, some brands are unable to manage a price above a certain point, » she says. « Really only Apple and Samsung have been able to do it very successfully. »

Chinese phone brands are often the first to introduce new technologies (like silicon-carbon batteries), and while there aren’t many Chinese players in the US, OnePlus was the most different. The lack of brand presence will mean one less choice for consumers, and Popal says the market continues to consolidate. OnePlus went from 1.8% of the US market in 2021 to 0.1% in 2025, according to Popal; Apple and Samsung went from a combined 73 percent of the market in the same period to 80 percent in 2025.

« It’s a shame that US consumers don’t have a choice from the number of brands that are available globally, because there are some compelling technologies and features, » says Popal. « But I don’t see that landscape changing. »

OnePlus now joins a growing list of companies that have either shut down, exited the mobile business, pivoted or scaled back their ambitions, including HTC, LG Mobile, Sony, Meizu and HMD.