OnePlus pulls out of the US and Europe this week

OnePlus will begin winding down operations in the US and Europe as early as this week, according to Bloomberg, marking a sharp retreat for the Android brand once known for its low-cost “flagship killer” phones. The move is part of a broader restructuring at parent company Oppo.

The changes go beyond OnePlus. Realme, another Oppo brand, will also leave the China market. OnePlus will stay active in China for now, but its closure is set to expand globally — including India — at some point in 2027.

Bloomberg says Oppo’s decision is tied to mounting financial pressure across its phone businesses, weak momentum in the US, Europe, and India, geopolitical concerns around selling Chinese phones in the US, and an Apple lawsuit over trade secrets. In the US, OnePlus has lagged well behind Apple and Samsung, as well as smaller rivals including Motorola and Google Pixel.

Its latest flagship, the OnePlus 15, also faced a troubled US rollout after a delay caused by a government shutdown. At the same time, the economics that helped define the brand have deteriorated. The report says the AI-driven memory crisis pushed LPDDR prices up 250% in a year as Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron shifted production toward data centre chips. That hit OnePlus especially hard because its budget Nord line depended on low-cost components.

The wider smartphone market has also weakened. Chinese handset shipments fell 4.3% in Q2 year on year, according to IDC. As part of the restructuring, Oppo will focus on Central Europe and on selling Realme devices in the Nordic region, where the company has seen stronger results.

Recommended reading

Oppo Reno 16 adds IP69K and a bigger battery

For OnePlus, it is a steep end for a brand that built its reputation on offering high-end hardware at prices competitors struggled to match — until those price assumptions stopped holding.