Can OnePlus Regain the Top Spot in the Premium Smartphone Market in India?

OnePlus, a Chinese manufacturer of smartphones, entered the Indian smartphone industry in 2014 with the OnePlus One. The device was a success and paved the way for other OnePlus smartphones to be launched in the country. At the time of the release of the OnePlus 6 and 7, the company had become one of the most popular smartphone makers of premium smartphones in India. Comparisons with Apple and Samsung were drawn for OnePlus in the premium smartphone category.

OnePlus actually toppled both Samsung and Apple to rise to the top of the chart. However, a lot has changed since then, and the Chinese smartphone maker has now slipped behind Samsung, Apple and even Vivo in the premium smartphone market share in India. Currently, the South Korean company Samsung is leading the charts with more than 80% share for smartphones costing more than Rs 30,000 in India. Apple and Vivo then follow Samsung. OnePlus has fallen miles behind in the race, and it needs to start bringing devices which can counter the features and prices offered by the top three premium smartphone makers in India.

All eyes are on the OnePlus upcoming smartphones in India, which can help the company reassert its dominance in the premium category. Recently the buzz about the OnePlus 10T has been getting intense. The phone is soon expected to be launched in India. Several tech tipsters in India have revealed a few key features the smartphone could have. It will likely be priced between ₹39,900 and ₹47,200. The smartphone will be available in two variants in India.

The basic variant will come with 6GB RAM and 64GB storage, while the high-end variant will harbour 8GB RAM and 128GB internal storage. Oxygen OS 12.1, based on Google Android 12, will probably be the operating system for the upcoming mobile phone. It will be powered by the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 8th GEN SoC Processor. The smartphone may feature three cameras at the back. The primary camera is expected to have a 50MP lens, while the ultrawide lens will be 8MP. A 2MP macro lens will complete the trio of rear cameras. On the front, the OnePlus is expected to include a 32MP which will be able to record the video in 4k at 30fps. On the other hand, the back camera will record videos in both 8k and 4k.

OnePlus 10T will be the company's bet to reenter the premium smartphone market in India with a bang. Earlier in the year, OnePlus had released the OnePlus 10 Pro 5G, which received massive coverage in the media but failed to live up to its potential. The 10 Pro 5G was a costly mobile phone. It costs between Rs 66,999 to Rs 71,999 to purchase this smartphone. The over-hiked price was perhaps the reason that Indian buyers could not get behind this smartphone. However, OnePlus has worked on its pricing, and the OnePlus 10T is a step toward a positive direction for the company.

OnePlus is working on the Nord series, which aims to target the mid-range smartphone market in India. At the moment, Samsung and Xiaomi are two behemoths in this market segment in India. OnePlus expects to widen its reach in this sphere with the release of the next Nord smartphones. The rumours indicate that OnePlus will launch the Nord 3 CE 5G and 5G Lite by the end of July 2022. OnePlus 11 and 11 Pro are also in the works, and they can debut in September 2022 in India. The future is looking bright for the company with the upcoming smartphones. However, their sales strategy and pricing need a revamp if they want to prevail in the Indian smartphone market.