Is the new Oppo the end of the old OnePlus?

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Source: Alex Dobie / Android Central

One of the more surprising Android stories in the past week was the news that after the two companies combined their R&D efforts a few months ago, OnePlus will undergo a “deeper integration” with Oppo. The latter, depending on who you’ve asked over the years, is either the OnePlus parent company, sister brand, babysitter, casual acquaintances, or a completely unrelated competitor, will obviously have a greater impact on OnePlus going forward. forward as part of this integration. This is a result of the positive impact the two experienced from previous resource-sharing efforts. (In other words, the strong performance of the OnePlus 9 series, especially in European markets.)

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While OnePlus and Oppo fall under the umbrella of Chinese giant BBK Electronics – whose other tentacles include Vivo and Realme – the exact relationship between the two is shrouded in some mystery. Over the years, the official line from OnePlus representatives has been that he and Oppo only share the same investors. However, after leaving the company, former employees often talk about a much closer relationship, some even claiming that they were actually the same company.

Over the years, similarities between the brands’ products have only fueled speculation, including rather obvious copy-paste functions like the 2017 OnePlus 5 and Oppo R11.

However, things are in the past. From now on, the link between OnePlus and Oppo will become more visible to the public. And that shouldn’t come as much of a surprise considering the events of OnePlus’ previous release cycle. In China, for example, the OnePlus 9 series runs Oppo’s ColorOS out of the box.

OnePlus started out as a small and beloved brand for smartphone enthusiasts. But as I mentioned before, no one gets into the phone business with the goal of staying small. The previous Oppo / OnePlus release cycle clearly demonstrates the noble corporate goals of the OnePlus brand – OnePlus 9 Pro is one of the best Android phones at the moment, beating the Oppo flagship in terms of charging speeds and camera performance. Looking at the combined lineup of the two brands, you can make a strong case that OnePlus is now the premium brand.

And if OnePlus is to continue to compete at this level, challenging Samsung with its cutting edge offerings, it makes sense to pool resources with Oppo as much as possible. As OnePlus is moving ahead with using more advanced optics in phone cameras, it only makes sense that it shouldn’t do so in a vacuum.

As CEO Pete Lau wrote:

With this deeper integration with OPPO, we will have more resources on hand to create better products for you. It will also allow us to be more efficient, for example, to deliver faster and more stable software updates to OnePlus users.

The size of the Oppo OnePlus can help solve its software update issue.

It’s no surprise to see programs chosen this way. Outside of this year’s flagship phones, OnePlus doesn’t have a good reputation for the quality or timeliness of its updates. Several major updates have been pulled due to bugs over the past year. OnePlus Nord owners have been left waiting nearly half a year longer than OnePlus 8 users to upgrade Android 11. That says nothing about the rubbish-class update prospects for phones like the Nord N10 and N100.

In terms of the short-term positive impact, this is the biggest area where Oppo’s size should help.

But Lau’s statement also raised concerns among fans that the popular OxygenOS user interface may give way to ColorOS at some point in the future — especially given that Oxygen is already retired in China. Lau unequivocally denied that this had happened, saying, “OxygenOS will remain the operating system for global OnePlus devices outside the China market.”

Source: Alex Dobie / Android Central

Remember, however, that OxygenOS is ultimately just a brand name. The future look of OxygenOS and its relationship to ColorOS, remains to be seen. And Android Central has heard that another design fix is ​​coming with the release of OxygenOS 12. Harish Gunalagada, Editor of AC Asia says in his article on Nord CE:

OxygenOS 11 offers a clean interface that doesn’t include a lot of bulge. However, OnePlus is flexing its design muscle, and OxygenOS 12 will introduce a major interface overhaul once it goes live later in the year. So if you are buying OnePlus because of the interface, you should wait a bit to see just what OxygenOS 12 has in store.

That doesn’t mean OnePlus will slap a coat of paint on ColorOS 12 and call it OxygenOS. But he points out that since OnePlus is no longer a developer in a bubble, we may see more similarities in terms of feature set and even some design elements between its user interface and Oppo. Other BBK brands such as Vivo and Realme are already moving in this direction.

OxygenOS will live, but what will it look like?

More ColorOS impact in OxygenOS wouldn’t necessarily be a bad thing. As Western versions of Oppo have gotten more polished over the past year, I’ve enjoyed using ColorOS on phones like the Find X2 Pro and Find X3 Pro. But OnePlus also needs to balance the relationship with its fans and their attachment to the way OnePlus phones look and feel. Lau seems to be well aware of this:

We will continue to launch OnePlus products, hold events (hopefully in person soon), and interact with you directly for feedback through the same OnePlus channels as before. OnePlus’ commitment to you remains the same.

This week’s announcement of the “merger” is a huge opportunity for OnePlus, which is now a far cry from the small, enthusiast-focused brand behind the OnePlus One of 2014. If it can take advantage of Oppo’s additional scope in terms of R&D, software development and speeding up software updates Constant while keeping her fans happy, she may go from strength to strength in 2022.

But as you navigate its integration with Oppo, you have to be careful not to lose any more of the charm that made it a fan-favorite brand in the first place.

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