Listen to me: OPPO doesn’t want OnePlus to succeed

The OnePlus 13 is a fantastic phone, but it’s clear that the OnePlus 15 is a step back in a number of ways. The most noticeable downgrade is the rear camera system, as the main, telephoto and ultra-wide sensors have been replaced with smaller sensors. The main and periscope lenses also see smaller apertures. That’s not all bad, as the 3.5x periscope camera offers a slightly longer reach than the OnePlus 13’s 3x shooter. Overall, though, you’re still getting weaker camera specs, and that’s disappointing in light of the OnePlus 13’s excellent camera experience.

This isn’t the only polarizing move, as the OnePlus 15 has a 1.5K 165Hz OLED display compared to the 120Hz QHD+ display of the OnePlus 13. OnePlus claimed that this display is actually more expensive than the OnePlus 13’s display and that a 165Hz QHD+ display isn’t technically possible. But it’s still a resolution downgrade after years of QHD+ displays. The company has also replaced the alert slider with a keyboard shortcut. I was never a fan of the alert slider and prefer a remappable hotkey, but this will certainly draw the ire of some long-time OnePlus fans.

And who could forget the OnePlus 10T? This was perhaps the low point of OnePlus’ flagship releases, as it lacked an alert slider and wireless charging. Plus, it offered a measly IP54 rating (and only in the US) and sub-par cameras.

If you go back even further, the OnePlus 8 series isn’t as well remembered as the OnePlus 7 series and the OnePlus 7 Pro in particular. That’s largely thanks to OnePlus’ rising prices after years of aggressively priced flagships, along with the OnePlus 8 Pro’s gimmicky color filter camera.

Back in 2023, I first wondered if OPPO was deliberately trying to ruin OnePlus. Ultimately, I came to the conclusion that OPPO made several calculated gambles to ensure OnePlus would gain mainstream adoption.

Now? I have a new, slightly crazy theory about OnePlus’ inconsistent flagship releases. I don’t think OPPO wants OnePlus’ flagship phones to outshine the most expensive Find X phones. After all, why buy the £1,049 OPPO Find X8 Pro when you can get the £899 OnePlus 13 that does 95% of the work? So every time OnePlus delivers a truly excellent all-round flagship that threatens the Find X Pro phones, OPPO tries to make sure this doesn’t happen again. At least not for a few generations, as OnePlus picks itself back up again. That’s the only way I can explain why brilliant phones like the OnePlus 7T series, OnePlus 9 Pro and OnePlus 13 are juxtaposed with the OnePlus 10T, OnePlus 11 and OnePlus 15.

The Hasselblad deal seems somewhat compelling evidence. OnePlus scored this deal first, followed by OPPO a year later. Now OnePlus is missing the Hasselblad branding, while the OPPO Find I thought that OnePlus’ deal might have simply expired first because the company signed the deal first, and that OPPO’s deal might expire in a year. However, OPPO and Hasselblad actually signed an extension earlier this year. So it certainly feels like OPPO is stealing a key selling point from OnePlus.

Another piece of evidence is that OnePlus’ flagships have not been available through major providers for some time. It’s possible this is because OnePlus and OPPO want to stay under the radar amid the ongoing political tensions between the US and China. Or perhaps OnePlus and OPPO simply refuse to devote resources to US carrier testing and other related activities because they feel the sales don’t justify the expenditure. This inability to offer significant carrier support means that OnePlus’ flagships have little hope of capturing a decent slice of the pie in the US, even if OPPO is more focused on the global market. It makes you wonder about the brand’s long-term viability in a market focused on carrier sales.

This theory isn’t based on concrete facts, but if one thing is clear it’s that OnePlus is following up its first truly excellent all-round flagship in years with a release that is in some ways downgraded. It would be a shame if this happened one day, but it is not unheard of. However, it seems like OnePlus has a cycle of good to great flagships, followed by disappointing successors. Maybe it’s a conscious attempt by OPPO to keep OnePlus under control. Maybe OnePlus doesn’t know how to build two great phones in a row, just like Nintendo and its rough cycle of successful and not-so-successful home consoles.

It’s also entirely possible (and perhaps more likely) that we’ll see this pattern of great and disappointing phones because OnePlus is in a tricky middle ground. The company’s recent high-end phones aren’t Ultra devices with price tags to match, nor are they aggressively priced releases that undercut the $800 phones from Samsung and Apple. So the company would have to navigate a tricky balancing act as it tries to outperform its base flagships while avoiding Ultra prices. The OnePlus 15 could be a byproduct of this approach, as OnePlus makes compromises in some places to avoid price increases. But I’m not sure if this theory holds up if the OnePlus 15 is actually cheaper than the OnePlus 13 in China.

Either way, it’s disappointing to see OnePlus release a strong contender for 2025’s Phone of the Year, with the only result being the OnePlus 15. OnePlus has long struggled to deliver a world-class camera experience, so why sacrifice the cameras just when you’ve finally shown that you can deliver a fantastic camera phone?