One Plus phased out the OnePlus 3 after it came out with the OnePlus 3T, and the latter is also now no longer in production. Now, the Chinese company is all set to repeat the same with the OnePlus 5 phone once the stock runs out.
Why will the OnePlus 5 phone be discontinued?
Speaking to the Indian Express, General Manager of OnePlus India, Vikas Agarwal, confirmed the news saying the company would follow the same approach for the OnePlus 5 phone as it did with the OnePlus 3T and OnePlus 3, and only one product will be on the market, i.e., the OnePlus 5T.
“As a brand we want to make sure there is one device which is the latest, and the previous devices are usually sold out once the new product launches,” Agarwal said.
Further, the executive noted that the changes to the OnePlus 5T are not major enough to call it a new product altogether. Rather, it should be seen as a “variant” with a better display.
“So as a company which focuses on the premium segment, we need to make sure our phones compete with the current available flagships in the market,” Agarwal said, adding that the OnePlus 5T will do that.
It is a smart strategy as updating the flagship after a few months keeps the product relevant. However, it could also backfire by affecting the future sales of the first model to come out each year.
Users and fans should now be aware of the trend as OnePlus is comparatively a small company, and therefore, it cannot keep multiple flagships running simultaneously. However, the strategy that OnePlus is using is not new. Established players like Samsung and LG already follow a similar strategy. Samsung launches the Galaxy S in the spring and Galaxy Note in the fall. Similarly, LG brings out its “G” flagship in the spring and “V” flagship in the fall.
No plans to cater mid-range
When asked about mid-range phones from the company, Agarwal said right now the company is focusing on the premium smartphones and has no plans for tapping the mid-range segment. According to the IDC, OnePlus smartphones are becoming the preferred choice of Indian consumers in the premium segment over big brands such as Samsung and Apple.
Agarwal also stated that the company is focused on the online segment mainly, and the strategy is working well for them. However, they are working to boost their offline presence as well. Talking about the price of the phone, the executive made it clear that since the OnePlus 5T is only an extension, there was no need to raise the price.
OnePlus 5T specs
The OnePlus 5T is going on the market just months after its predecessor. The latest flagship is sleeker with 18:9 6-inch 1080p AMOLED displays and thinner bezels. Further, the OnePlus 5T sports a dual camera with a 16MP primary camera and a 20MP dedicated low light shooter; both sensors come with f/1.7 lenses also. The handset is powered by the Snapdragon 835 chipset, 8GB RAM, 64 GB or 128 GB non-expandable storage, a 16 MP selfie camera, a 3,300mAh battery, as well as, Android 7.1 Nougat.
In addition, the OnePlus 5T can be unlocked either by facial recognition or through a fingerprint scanner. There are no early reviews available about how well the face recognition technology of the phone is working.
