OnePlus is officially exiting the U.S. and Europe after months of shrinking its presence. Parent company Oppo has confirmed that OnePlus will no longer release new products in North America or Europe, although it will continue to provide support.
The Android phone maker calls the shutdown part of a “proactive global strategic adjustment.” Oppo will integrate OnePlus’ features and product vision into its brand. While this isn’t a major shift when recent OnePlus phones have frequently been variants of Oppo designs, it comes shortly after OnePlus co-founder Pete Lau returned to Oppo as its Chief Product Officer.
Oppo hasn’t said whether OnePlus will still release products in other regions. However, it told community members that OnePlus India would still run “business as usual.”
What will happen to my OnePlus phone?
Oppo will continue support, including software
Oppo stresses that OnePlus devices will still receive full customer support, including warranties as well as promised software and security updates. For newer hardware like the OnePlus 15, that means four years of OS upgrades and six years of security patches.
This includes the unique option of switching operating systems. OnePlus devices that fit into the “eligible upgrade scope” will have the choice of a voluntary move to Oppo’s ColorOS 17 once it’s available, according to the company. That will let Oppo “accelerate” updates, boost quality, and otherwise harmonize its efforts.
You can keep using OnePlus’ OxygenOS, and you’ll even have the option to “roll back” if you have regrets about moving to ColorOS. The outgoing platform will still receive “version maintenance support,” the company says. The available rollback versions will be announced later.
Oppo says it’s upgrading its European presence, including a focus on flagship phones. Oppo hasn’t said if or when it might officially release phones in the U.S., so we wouldn’t expect devices like the Find X9 Pro to be available outside of importers.
Why is OnePlus leaving the US?
A tough phone market and missteps likely played roles
OnePlus was founded in late 2013 by Lau and Carl Pei, and quickly garnered attention when it unveiled the $299 OnePlus One. The “flagship killer” delivered performance matching powerhouses like Samsung’s Galaxy S5 at roughly half the price, even if its camera quality, display, and durability didn’t always compare. The early invitation-only purchasing system was necessary due to limited production, but it also elevated the brand’s reputation — you were part of an exclusive club if you had an early OnePlus phone in your hands.
The company gradually became more like its rivals, raising prices and expanding its lineup to include budget phones like the Nord series as well as earbuds, smartwatches, and tablets. That negated its cost advantages, and there were missteps like the OnePlus 10T that abandoned signature features like the alert slider. The increasing similarities between OnePlus and Oppo phones turned off customers who had expected unique features.
OnePlus represented Oppo’s only significant foothold in the U.S. phone market, and there were wins that included carrier deals with T-Mobile and a footprint in Best Buy stores. Its American market share peaked at 1.8 percent in 2021, according to IDC analysts. That slice shrank to 0.1 percent by 2025, however, helped largely by T-Mobile dropping OnePlus in 2023. Without the carrier sales that dominate the U.S., OnePlus had little chance of reclaiming its relevance.
This isn’t helped by Pei leaving OnePlus to found Nothing in 2020. While his firm is focused more on design-centric phones and audio, it has unofficially taken OnePlus’ place as the fast-growing upstart willing to take risks. When OnePlus left Best Buy shelves, Nothing hardware took its place.
This is compounded by a rough global smartphone market hurt by soaring component costs. The mobile industry just faced its worst spring quarter in 13 years, according to Counterpoint Research, with Oppo losing share even as sales fell for most of the competition. Oppo has spent the past several months scaling back OnePlus, merging its development with its Realme budget brand, and has just revealed that Realme will stop selling phones in China to “focus on overseas markets.”
Fewer choices for US phone buyers
Oppo is ultimately in survival mode — it’s consolidating work and cutting costs to help it withstand market conditions that are only expected to worsen in the near future. OnePlus was relatively easy to cut. However, that also leaves U.S. phone shoppers with one less option. That limits competition and makes it that much harder to stand out in a sea of Galaxies, Pixels, and iPhones.
Stephan is the sports journalist for the Maple Grove Report.
