Elaborative SWOT Analysis of OnePlus – A Chinese Consumer Electronics Manufacturer

Updated on: Mar 2, 2022
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Last time we discussed an in-depth and complete SWOT Analysis of CarMax, which is one of the famous used-car retailers based in the United States. This time, we will elaborate the SWOT Analysis of OnePlus in-depth.

OnePlus Technology Co., Ltd. is a Chinese consumer electronics manufacturing company that was established 9 years ago. The company is best known for making smartphones, and officially serves around 34 countries and some regions around the globe as of July 2018.

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In this blog, we will learn about the SWOT Analysis of OnePlus. Before we begin, let us learn more about OnePlus as a company, its achievements, products and competitors.

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About OnePlus

SWOT Analysis of OnePlus - OnePlus

Founded in the year 2013 by Pete Lau and Carl Pei – OnePlus is best known for manufacturing smartphones. OnePlus Co. Limited is considered to be more popular for selling the best mobile phones around the entire world. It is currently majority-owned by Oppo electronics as its only shareholder and not the Oppo mobiles, which is a subsidiary of BBK Electronics along with Vivo and Realme.

The company’s main goal is to design a smartphone that would be balancing the need for high-end quality with a lower price than other phones so that the user will “Never Settle” down for the low-quality products produced by other companies.

It also launched the OnePlus Playback which consists of music video series in collaboration with popular Indian singers, beginning in 2018. The company unveiled its first device, the OnePlus One, on 23 April 2014 which was ready to capture the market attention from the Google Nexus series. In December 2014, the OnePlus One series was launched in India exclusively only through Amazon only which increased the curiosity among people to buy it.

Quick Stats on OnePlus
Founder Carl Pei & Pete Lau
Year Founded 2013
Origin China
No. of Employees 2,700+
Company Type Subsidiary
Market Cap 36-40% Market Share (2022)
Annual Revenue $1.9 Billion (2021)
Net Income/ Profit N/A

 

SWOT Analysis of OnePlus - Oneplus 10 pro


Products of OnePlus

OnePlus is mostly engaged in producing the world’s best smartphones. But it also deals in other segments such as

  • Smartphones
  • Earphones
  • Power Banks
  • OxygenOS
  • HydrogenOS
  • Phone cases
  • Shirts
  • Bags
  • Televisions
  • Smart Watch


Competitors of OnePlus

OnePlus competes on a global level with many other smartphone manufacturers. The top 5 competitors of OnePlus are

  • Oppo
  • Xiaomi
  • Samsung
  • Apple
  • Lenovo
  • ASUS


As now we have a better understanding of OnePlus, let’s look into the SWOT Analysis of OnePlus.


SWOT Analysis of OnePlus

A SWOT analysis identifies a company’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. A proven and true management paradigm that allows OnePlus to compare its business and performance with competitors and the industry as a whole.

SWOT Analysis of OnePlus - SWOT Infographics of OnePlus

So let us go ahead and first have a glance at the strengths of OnePlus from the SWOT analysis of OnePlus.

Strengths of OnePlus

As one of the leading companies in the industry, OnePlus, Inc. It has numerous strengths that make it stand out in the market. These strengths not only help protect your market share in existing markets but also help you penetrate new markets.ion along with the weakness of the organization falls under the internal factors.

  • Amazing Design: The company does not shy away from experimenting with the choice of design and materials, which is the prime factor of the OnePlus.
  • Quality Performance: OnePlus smartphones are known for being super-fast performers. Their smartphones are really smart that can run anything you install in them, including basic video playback to hardcore gaming.
  • Entry in New Markets: Recently, the company entered into an exclusive licensing agreement with Cyanogen Inc. to the base android distribution of its products with variants of popular customs.
  • Best Software: Oxygen OS which is a special android platform by OnePlus sets its phone apart from other android phones. It looks so fantastic that the majority of people fall crazy for it initially at first sight itself. Also, the users will get free updates from the OS for almost two years absolutely free.
  • Company Goals: The company’s main goal is to design a smartphone that would be balancing the need for high-end quality with a lower price than other phones so that the user will “Never Settle” down for the low-quality products produced by other companies.
  • Diversity in Portfolio of Product: Oneplus has diversified its product ranges such as Shirts, Bags, Televisions, SmartWatch and other essential accessories which has been achieving impeccable growth just like OnePlus smartphones.
  • Effective Marketing Strategy: The brand is known for its marketing strategies in which it promotes its products through popular web series on Netflix or through brand ambassadors like superstars Robert Downey Jr. and Amitabh Bachchan.


Weaknesses of OnePlus

Strategy is all about choices and weaknesses are areas where companies can improve through SWOT analysis and leverage their competitive advantage and strategic positioning.

  • Defect in Camera: The smartphone’s camera is prone to produce inconsistent photos with overexposed images. This is the reason why the customers are not satisfied with their smartphones and prefer other brands with better camera quality.
  • Critical Lack of Talent: Particularly in the areas of technology and digital transformation, OnePlus is facing a lack of talent which is causing OnePlus to struggle to structure processes in light of developments in Artificial Intelligence.
  • Increasing Prices: Oneplus main motive was to provide affordable smartphones with premium qualities. But now, OnePlus is moving away from its words by pricing its latest technology smartphones at a higher end.
  • Negligence: Oneplus Co-Founder Carl Pei has left the company in 2020 to start his Technology startup named Nothing. 
  • Sells only on Online Platforms: The major drawback for OnePlus is that it relies on its sales of products on the e-commerce marketplace Amazon which leads to OnePlus not capturing the market that likes to visit a mobile store and purchase smartphones.
  • Limited or Flagship Sales: OnePlus smartphones always come with limited offerings of its products on Amazon and a window of the limited time that barely closes in a second for a customer to make a purchase of a OnePlus smartphone. This led to increasing hatred for OnePlus by customers who were excited and long waited to purchase a phone.


Opportunities for OnePlus

Opportunities are potential areas for companies to focus on to improve results, increase sales, and ultimately profit.

  • Open New Markets Through Government Agreements: New technology standards and government free trade agreements provided to OnePlus opens up opportunities for OnePlus to enter newly developed markets. 
  • New Customers Through Online Channels: The company has invested huge amounts of money in its online platform over the past few years. This investment opened up a new sales channel for OnePlus. Over the next few years, companies will be able to seize this opportunity by better understanding their customers and meeting their needs through big data analytics.
  • Economic Recovery: Economic recovery and rising consumer spending after years of recession and slow industrial growth are opportunities for OnePlus to attract new customers and increase market share.
  • Variety Features in New Products: New products with new features would attract more users. For example, the OnePlus phones do not have wireless charging features which are in trend nowadays. So, if OnePlus constantly introduces new features it can easily attain a new user base.
  • Artificial Intelligence: The company can leverage developments in AI to better predict consumer demand, target niche segments, far better recommendation systems, and good user experience.


Threats to OnePlus

Threats are environmental factors that can harm a company’s development. Here are some of OnePlus’s threats:

  • Strong Competitors: The company has many competitors, including the strongest brands Apple and Samsung. OnePlus should continue introducing technology according to new trends and stay updated so that it does not lose market share.
  • Alternate Cheaper Options: The market is flooded with lower priced smartphones that contain the same features relating to brands like OnePlus. Brands like Xiaomi or Realme are selling equally competitive phones at a lower price which is another major challenge for OnePlus.
  • Privacy in Data: Asian countries like India are banning Chinese products due to allegations of Chinese brands like OnePlus breaching the sharing of customer data with Chinese Security Agencies. Also, many countries have banned Chinese applications from Play Store and App Store.
  • Competition with Parent Company: OnePlus is competing on the global market with its parent company BBK Electronics product Oppo and Realme which tends to increase competition and internal fights within the two organisations.
  • Controversies & Criticism: OnePlus has been subjected to major controversies and criticism related to customer support, OnePlus USB-C cable and app performance throttling which has led to a significant decrease in the brand’s market reputation.


This ends our elaborative SWOT analysis of OnePlus. Let us conclude our learning below.

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To Conclude

OnePlus is a well-known software company with significant global positions. During the SWOT analysis of OnePlus, we found that the company is highly dependent and enjoys strong brand awareness and trust from its customers. It has a solid logistic base and covers all markets it serves, but suffers from more active research and development from an increasing number of manufacturers and competitors in the same space.

But being such a huge brand across multiple countries, OnePlus should continue to innovate and develop more products and launch them in the market with the best possible marketing strategies.

Especially digital marketing which is vital in today’s growing and expanding world, to get better results and to remain competitive in the market. If you don’t have any idea of what digital marketing is or want to learn more about it and upgrade yourself, here is IIDE’s 3 Month Advanced Online Digital Marketing Course to know more.

We hope this blog on the SWOT analysis of OnePlus has given you a good insight into the company’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats.

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Aditya Shastri

Lead Trainer & Head of Learning & Development at IIDE

Leads the Learning & Development segment at IIDE. He is a Content Marketing Expert and has trained 6000+ students and working professionals on various topics of Digital Marketing. He has been a guest speaker at prominent colleges in India including IIMs......[Read full bio]

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