OnePlus has been producing some superb gadgets recently, like the OnePlus 15 and the OnePlus Watch 3. Despite this, rumors have been circulating in the smartphone industry that the brand is soon going to shut down. But if a recent report is to be believed, it's not actually shutting down; instead, it is merging with another tech brand whose name you might never have heard of.
However, OnePlus India CEO Robin Liu clarified a couple of days later that the report was completely false, and the company would continue to operate as usual in India. But you must have heard the popular saying, "There is no smoke without fire."
Robin explicitly mentioned that the brand will continue to operate in India. There was no mention of other regions. Furthermore, research has found that the sales of OnePlus smartphones haven't been that great lately.
All this suggested that something really was going on with OnePlus behind the scenes, and you might hear about it very soon. Apparently, that day has come, as OnePlus is reportedly going to merge with Realme.
OnePlus joining hands with Realme
Rear view of OnePlus 15R. | Image by PhoneArena
First of all, if you are reading this story from the United States, there's a possibility that you might have never heard of Realme, as their phones are not officially sold in the States. But it's quite a popular brand in the European and other global markets like India. In fact, it has more than 12% market share in India, with Vivo leading the list.
That said, Digital Chat Station made a post on Weibo claiming that OnePlus and Realme have officially merged. The leakster also detailed all the structural changes that will happen because of the merger. Basically, both tech brands will reportedly join their global and domestic operations under a new "sub-product center."
In addition to this, the marketing and service units of both companies are also joining hands. This will be led by the founder of Realme and senior vice president of Oppo, Li Bingzhong. Li Jie, who is currently the president of OnePlus China, will oversee the product unit and will report to the founder of OnePlus, Pete Lau (Liu Zuohu).
It's worth noting that both OnePlus and Realme come under the Oppo ecosystem. And if the report of both coming together is actually true, then it means that products from both brands could be worked on together from the outset.
What do you think about the Realme and OnePlus merger?
There might not be a near-term impact
I believe as a consumer, you might not experience any impact because of this merger just now. Both companies will continue to launch their products. For instance, we might see the launch of the OnePlus Watch 4 sometime in the near future.
But a few years down the line, there could be a conflict between both brands, especially in the mid-range segment. As it turns out, OnePlus is a popular name in the flagship segment, with its smartphones like the OnePlus 15 competing against the Pixel 10 and Galaxy S25. Realme, on the other hand, is popular for its mid-range phones.
But it's worth noting that OnePlus also has some mid-range devices like the OnePlus 15R or Nord 6. So, if the company continues to produce more such mid-range smartphones, then it might challenge the existence of Realme, whose sole focus has always been on mid-range products.
It'll be interesting to see how everything pans out
At the time of writing, there is no official confirmation on this story. That's why we can only currently guess how everything will actually turn out in the future. But I believe there could be both positive and negative outcomes of this partnership.
The negative outcome is the one I talked about above – OnePlus facing internal conflict with Realme in the mid-range segment. The positive thing could be that OnePlus could now focus more strongly on markets such as India and China, where it has most of its customers. Realme is quite a popular name in Asia and certain parts of Europe, and OnePlus could use this popularity to its benefit.
That said, the partnership might not be good news if you live in the United States. That's because Realme doesn't have any presence in the states, and there have been a lot of strong rumors that OnePlus might close its operations in global markets like the US.
Furthermore, it also hasn't released any new products for the global market in the last few years. All this makes me worried about the future of OnePlus in the US. What do you think about this? Please let us know in the comments.
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Aman Kumar is a tech news writer with a long-standing passion for smartphones. Aman specializes in everything smartphones, from AI features like Pixel’s Camera Coach to understanding ideal hardware combinations. He loves breaking down complex features in a simple, clear way and hopes manufacturers bring back bold designs like the Nokia N-Gage. When he’s not writing, he’s either gaming on PUBG or talking fitness as a dedicated gym enthusiast.
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