Chinese mobile phone companies OnePlus and Realme are undergoing a massive corporate repositioning. As reported by popular Chinese tipster Digital Chat Station, the merger will unify local and global operations at the 'sub-product centre'.
The reorganisation is slated to have Li Jie, president of OnePlus China, both in charge of product operations and Realme founder Sky Li and other senior executives in charge of marketing and customer support. Rumours of operational redundancies, fewer product releases and more layoffs are spreading throughout the last 3 months especially in Europe.
OnePlus has not said that it has shut down its operation, said a spokesperson. The company did not release any public statements but said it was exploring new global plans. Analysts believe the reorganisation could involve streamlining operations, removing duplication of product lines, and simplifying OPPO’s wider infrastructure.
Of course, Realme itself was rumoured to have re-entered OPPO’s more stringent corporate structure earlier this year after working alone for years. The OPPO team is also expected to marry the two brands together and consolidate the company’s efforts to build a cohesive business as it ensures separate brand identities in priority markets, according to industry observers.
The latest developments have been discussed by phone fanatics online. Users were concerned at Reddit and tech forums that OnePlus would become less original, lose its unique edge, and become increasingly like Realme and OPPO machines. And some longtime die-hard supporters wrote this year that OnePlus has already fallen from its original philosophy of a “flagship killer” in recent years.
But the merger reports remain largely unconfirmed. But tech industry observers say the intensifying integration between the brands is evidence of the developing consolidation trend in the competitive smartphone marketplace and a growing price-conscious, operating and operational efficiency-focused focus from companies.
There are also questions that linger about what the restructuring means for consumers in Europe, India and North America. Realme and OnePlus have strong local footprints in Asia and parts of Europe, and also in the U.S., while OnePlus has, for some time, also boasted better coverage, particularly in the West with Android users.
The two brands continue to act as separate, if not competing, brands in the open-source market, but the reported backend merger represents something of a new, potentially significant path for OPPO’s global smartphone business.
