OnePlus CEO Pete Lau has shared a torrent of exciting updates about his company in a blog post, which was shared as the biggest smartphone tradeshow in Europe – Mobile World Congress, which is held annually in Barcelona – got underway. In the post, Pete Lau confirmed that OnePlus 10 Pro will be coming to the United States, Europe and India by the end of next month. The flagship smartphone, which launched in China at the start of the year, is the successor to the OnePlus 9 Pro, which launched in the UK last year.
OnePlus 10 Pro is the first handset to launch following the merger between OnePlus and Oppo last year. Both smartphone manufacturers are now owned by Chinese conglomerate BBK Electronics, which has triggered a shake-up throughout the company. First up, OnePlus’ OxygenOS and Oppo’s ColorOS have been merged, so that each Android-based operating system relies on the same underlying codebase.
Following the confirmation of the merger last year, a report from Bloomberg suggested that as much as 20 percent of staff across software and device teams were made redundant as the two former rivals pooled their resources. When it launched in China earlier this year, OnePlus 10 Pro shipped with ColorOS 12.1, which is based on the latest Android release. For longtime OnePlus fans, this was a bad sign.
In his blog post, CEO Pete Lau is keen to reassure fans that OxygenOS isn’t going anywhere …despite sharing some underlying code with ColorOS. He writes: “Our software philosophy for OxygenOS has always been to offer users a light and clean experience that is close to stock Android and oriented towards usage globally. With OxygenOS 13, we want to deliver an experience that long-time OnePlus users will be familiar with while ensuring it upholds hallmarks of OxygenOS, like a fast and smooth experience, burdenless design, and ease of use. OxygenOS 13 will retain its unique visual design and a range of exclusive customisation features.”
Unfortunately, there’s no word on when OxygenOS 13 will launch …however, it might make sense to coincide the software, which hopes to recapture what OnePlus’ passionate fanbase love about the previous releases, with the arrival of the OnePlus 10 Pro in Europe, India, and the United States. That said, if OnePlus wants to bring together the latest features from Google’s Android 13 release with its own OxygenOS, it might need to wait.
Google published the first developer preview of Android 13 earlier this month, however, the full-featured launch is likely to still be months away. The Californian search firm usually rolls-out Android in September, with the update first becoming available for Pixel smartphones before other brands.
For OnePlus fans concerned the Shenzhen-based firm was planning to ship all future handsets with ColorOS – which has a distinct visual flair that’s very different to OxygenOS, which is much closer to what the design team at Google produces – this update will likely to prove very reassuring. And OnePlus really doesn’t want to anger is most enthusiastic fans. In the same blog post, Pete Lau confirmed that OnePlus’ Red Cable Club membership scheme now boasts 20 million members.
By the end of this year, OnePlus hopes to add a further 10 million people to the ranks.
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Red Cable Club is free loyalty scheme that allows members to earn perks, such as discounts on OnePlus-branded accessories and handsets. Purchases and engagement across OnePlus platforms, like oneplus.com and OnePlus Store app, helps to earn “Growth Values”. After reaching a certain total, you’ll graduate to the next tier of the membership scheme – unlocking bigger discounts. Members with Red Cable Supreme status – the highest tier in the scheme – can unlock a 10 percent discount on all OnePlus smartphones bought from its official store as well as 50 percent off all accessories and IoT (Internet Of Things) devices.
Finally, Pete Lau has confirmed that OnePlus will “release new IoT products in existing categories and expand to new IoT categories in 2022.” The Shenzhen-based company has already debuted a smartwatch and a number of popular wireless earbuds. It’s likely we’ll see new entries for both of these products, however, it’s unclear what the “new IoT categories” could be – a smart speaker, a smart display, a video doorbell, a games console?
Whatever it turns out to be, OnePlus is keen to impress on fans that – despite the merger and shake-up behind the scenes – there are plenty of announcements coming in the pipeline that are sure to please its fans …starting with the arrival of the OnePlus 10 Pro in the coming weeks.
Published at Tue, 01 Mar 2022 08:26:40 +0000
OnePlus just confirmed huge news …and promises more will follow soon
