At a time when promoting premium smartphones to prospects appeared an uphill climb with the pandemic impacting disposable incomes of individuals the world over, OnePlus says its new high-end OnePlus 9 collection is not going to solely impress its loyal followers but in addition assist the model faucet into new customers in India, its greatest and most important market.
“Consumers are not only looking at power-packed performance, but also want a no-compromise device,” Navnit Nakra, Vice-President & Chief Strategy Officer, OnePlus India, tells Indianexpress.com in an interview forward of the worldwide debut of the OnePlus 9 collection.
Nakra stated OnePlus’ philosophy of understanding what the group desires hasn’t modified and with each new flagship launch, the model tries to enhance its smartphones. “So for those consumers who really want the best product in terms of specs, design, performance, and everything that a flagship phone can give in terms of an all-encompassing experience, I think OnePlus 9 is that full experience flagship phone,” he stated.
During a digital-only occasion, OnePlus launched three smartphones within the OnePlus 9 collection, alongside its first smartwatch. All three telephones — OnePlus 9 Pro, OnePlus 9 and OnePlus 9R — are geared toward a various buyer base with completely different worth factors. Nakra says having three new premium gadgets will broaden the phase for high-end telephones in India, the world’s second-largest smartphone market.
Hasselblad, the DJI-owned Swedish digicam maker, has signed onto a three-year partnership with OnePlus. (Image credit score: Anuj Bhatia/Indian Express)
While many say premium smartphones have change into boring and there’s no scope for additional enchancment apart from beefing up the {hardware}, Nakra factors out that the OnePlus 9 collection include improved digicam techniques. OnePlus smartphones have all the time been praised for his or her specs and the uncluttered OxygenOS. However, the digicam is one half the place OnePlus telephones can’t beat the iPhone or Pixel gadgets. The new partnership with Hasselblad, the Swedish-based luxury-camera maker, is geared toward addressing these considerations.
“One feedback which will always come is the OnePlus camera module is good but can we improve the colour reproduction and enhance the colour performance in our cameras, and hence for the OnePlus 9 we collaborated with Hasselblad to create what is called the Hasselblad camera for mobile, to deliver aesthetic, high quality and honestly unparalleled colour reproduction for future mobile imaging,” he says, explaining what the Hasselblad title on the OnePlus 9 signifies.
OnePlus plans to speculate greater than $150 million over the following three years to enhance the imaging capabilities on its smartphones. “With the Hasselblad, not only are we working on high-quality imaging, but also working on creating a better colour calibration,” he says, including that “there’s a lot of work which is happening around software and new camera modules and how to integrate with the hardware.”
“The OnePlus brand has really invested a lot of effort and assets and explained to consumers what a great flagship device is and a lot of that messaging has gone to not only first users of premium brand smartphones but also existing users,” he says.
Both the OnePlus 9 Pro and the OnePlus 9 sit on the top-end of the market and are geared toward energy adapters, whereas the OnePlus 9R is pitched as an “accessible flagship” smartphone. OnePlus is promising quicker efficiency, higher excessive refresh shows and connectivity to 5G networks on its new smartphones.
The launch of the OnePlus 9R, which might be unique to India and probably the most inexpensive among the many three smartphones, is what many count on OnePlus’ response to the rising competitors within the mid-range phase, particularly from Samsung in latest months.
OnePlus has used this technique of getting a mid-range smartphone earlier than and the model succeeded to some extent with the OnePlus Nord. Although the OnePlus 9R gained’t change the OnePlus Nord, Narka says the thought is to have a smartphone at a extra inexpensive worth level however nonetheless have all of the premium options the model is thought for delivering in its flagship cellphone. OnePlus 9R, in response to Nakra, is designed for many who are lively in cell gaming.
Before becoming a member of OnePlus, Nakra was with Apple as Head of Affordability in India. (Image credit score: OnePlus)
“I would say the OnePlus 9R is the best in a class flagship phone, which is being launched exclusively for India. “It’s going to come at a slightly more affordable price point compared to the OnePlus 9 or the super flagship phone [OnePlus 9 Pro].”
“The OnePlus 9R is not replacing the Nord, it will continue to be in our flagship portfolio,” confirms Nakra.
Nakra, who was beforehand with Apple as head of affordability in India, says as OnePlus’ portfolio of merchandise retains growing the emphasis is clearly on find out how to make its merchandise extra accessible to customers. For Nakra, the precedence is to not solely broaden the model’s on-line visibility but in addition to ink partnerships with main offline retailers – particularly mid-tier ones – throughout the nation, the place gamers like Apple and Samsung have a lead.
He admits the model was too centered on tapping the purchasers in prime cities of India, and though it helped OnePlus to change into a recognized model within the premium smartphone area, Nakra says any further the emphasis might be on find out how to attain out to a buyer in India’s hinterland who might be prepared to purchase an OnePlus smartphone or its different merchandise. “I think consumers will figure out what price point suits them, and in all honesty, what value it delivers to them,” he stated.
OnePlus is thought for its cutting-edge, high-end smartphones. (Image credit score: Anuj Bhatia/Indian Express)
The positioning of OnePlus as an aspirational model would be the key focus, however on the similar time, Nakra and his staff wish to attain out to customers in tier-2 and tier-3 cities of India with premium mid-range choices. OnePlus has had success with the OnePlus Nord and a variety of good TVs in these markets up to now. Nakra says OnePlus will proceed to convey extra merchandise in that phase however like its friends, the model too aspires to create an ecosystem of merchandise.
OnePlus is clearly trying to replicate the success past smartphones. Customers usually tend to learn about OnePlus if the model dabbles into new product classes, one thing Nakra agrees. Earlier this yr, OnePlus debuted its first wearable machine which is a finances health tracker that retails for Rs 2499. Now, the corporate is bringing its first smartphone to the market. The OnePlus Watch, which can tackle comparable smartwatches from Xiaomi and Amazfit, has the round look and presents options like heart-rate monitoring, sleep monitoring, IP68 mud and water resistance. Interestingly, the watch can be utilized to regulate the OnePlus TV. A limited-edition OnePlus Watch with a cobalt alloy case in gold can even be made obtainable available in the market, along with the usual mannequin.
OnePlus Watch will compete towards the likes of finances smartwatches from Xiaomi and Amazfit. (Image credit score: OnePlus)
“The idea to bring it at a very interesting price point, which allows a very large spectrum of our community users to go for their first watch, maybe upgrade some of the watches that they’ve been using,” Nakra explains.
But OnePlus has larger plans to broaden the ecosystem of gadgets sooner or later. “We will look at products for the smart office and hopefully somewhere in the near future look at devices for the smart car,” Nakra stated whereas giving a touch at how the next-generation of OnePlus merchandise might be part of an ever-growing ecosystem making it more durable for customers to change out of it.
