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Experts attempt to make sense of OnePlus 10 Pro's China-first release

By Anam Hamid

Published: Jan 10, 2022, 4:31 PM

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Android OnePlus

Experts attempt to make sense of OnePlus 10 Pro's China-first release

The OnePlus 10 Pro will be heading to China tomorrow and this may be making fans in other territories feel left out. There could be several reasons behind this strategy, as explored in a report from Android Central.

OnePlus went through a lot of changes last year. In a break from tradition, the company did not release a T flagship in the second half of the year. It also merged operations with Oppo, which is also owned by its parent company BBK Electronics. Although the companies continue to be separate brands, their phones will now run an operating system that will be developed by a unified team, and OnePlus has also integrated its Warp Charge with Oppo’s SuperVOOC charging standard.

Lack of resources and the Chinese New Year Holiday makes China an obvious priority

Apparently, OnePlus' decision to launch the OnePlus 10 Pro in China first has a lot to do with its new emphasis on China. Counterpoint Research's Neil Shah believes the company was eager to have a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1-powered handset on the shelves as soon as possible, seemingly to compete with the likes of Xiaomi. The company likely also wants to capitalize on the Chinese Lunar New Year holiday to drum up sales.

China was not an important focus market for OnePlus earlier, but after folding into OPPO, China becomes a key focus market for scaling the OnePlus brand. It will be positioned to fill the big gap between the Reno series and Find series for OPPO. Especially in the China market where Vivo has done well with the V and X series.

China is amongst the largest markets for the company's high-end phones and given the ongoing supply crunch, a China-first release makes sense, according to IDC's Jitesh Ubran.

It was also perhaps easier for the China-based OnePlus to release the OnePlus 10 Pro in its home country first instead of waiting a few months more to get done with the formalities associated with an international launch, such as obtaining the necessary certifications, according to Esper's Mishaal Rahman.

This hardly means that the North American market has fallen in priority for the company. After all, OnePlus grew far more than any other company in the US in H1 2021, 428 percent year-on-year to be exact.

Regardless, by the time the device reaches the US, the Samsung Galaxy S22 series will have been released, so there will be more competition for the title of the best Android phone of the year. So, while some may see the delayed international launch as a missed opportunity, they may be missing the big picture.

I would say that the OnePlus 10 Pro is an opportunity for the company to release a phone that would normally do better in markets outside of China, which does make the OnePlus 10 Pro release in China all the more perplexing. That said, an earlier launch could also mean more mature software once it reaches North America and the European Union, which has been a problem for some OnePlus phones in the past." - Anshel Sag, a senior analyst at Moor Insights & Strategy

OnePlus must also be able to prove to consumers that even after the merger with Oppo, it has managed to preserve its identity. Otherwise, it may become irrelevant.

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Anam Hamid is a computer scientist turned tech journalist who has a keen interest in the tech world, with a particular focus on smartphones and tablets. She has previously written for Android Headlines and has also been a ghostwriter for several tech and car publications. Anam is not a tech hoarder and believes in using her gadgets for as long as possible. She is concerned about smartphone addiction and its impact on future generations, but she also appreciates the convenience that phones have brought into our lives. Anam is excited about technological advancements like folding screens and under-display sensors, and she often wonders about the future of technology. She values the overall experience of a device more than its individual specs and admires companies that deliver durable, high-quality products. In her free time, Anam enjoys reading, scrolling through Reddit and Instagram, and occasionally refreshing her programming skills through tutorials.