OnePlus phones

OnePlus is a Chinese smartphone manufacturer. The company is owned by BBK Electronics, which also owns the Oppo and Vivo brands. OnePlus was founded in late 2013 by former Oppo chiefs Pete Lau and Carl Pei. OnePlus' devices are almost all premium high-end flagships at a very competitive price. Besides phones, the company also makes various phone accessories including headphones (the Silver Bullets and Icons).

OnePlus models

OnePlus' phones can be recognised by a number that increases by one with each model. Since the OnePlus 3, OnePlus has switched to two releases per year. That second model gets the suffix -T and is usually announced at the end of the year. The unveiling of the main model usually falls mid-year.

OnePlus history

The first OnePlus device was announced in April 2014. The OnePlus One was available by invitation only and was given the tagline 'Never Settle'. It was a high-end smartphone with modern components at a low price. Starting with the OnePlus 3, the invitation-only system was abandoned and anyone could buy one.

Never Settle

The company's tagline reads "Never Settle". In a blog post, Carl Pei explains what he means by that. It wants to close the gap between a good product and a great product. By also paying attention to the smallest details in the process, it aims to create a high-end premium product.

The slogan backfired in 2018 when, after criticising other manufacturers for omitting the headphone port many times itself, OnePlus removed the beloved port itself on the OnePlus 6T. It did so due to lack of space, it later revealed, but goes against the never settle principle.

Flagship killer

OnePlus' products are often described as 'flagship killers'. This comes from offering phones with equivalent specifications at a lower price. However, we see the term coming up less and less often. On the one hand, this is because the starting prices of OnePlus phones are getting higher every year and competitors' prices are getting lower.

Cyanogen, OxygenOS and Hydrogen OS

OnePlus applied the CyanogenMod operating system based on Android for its first generation of phones. This choice caused problems for OnePlus right from the start. For instance, it got into an import ban for India because another company had exclusivity for phones running Cyanogen. In response, OnePlus developed its own custom ROM called OxygenOS. It too is Android-based and follows the same design principles. The name OxygenOS was coined by a Belgian following a competition launched by OnePlus. Incidentally, in China, OnePlus applies a different operating system called HydrogenOS.

Collaboration McLaren

In 2018, OnePlus announced a collaboration with McLaren Racing; the company behind the Formula 1 team of the same name. This collaboration resulted in the OnePlus 6T McLaren Edition. That device was equipped with carbon fibre, an extra fast charger and more working memory. Inside the box is an exclusive book on the history of McLaren Racing and a piece of carbon fibre from the 2018 McLaren MCL33.