OnePlus Pulls Back in US and Europe as ColorOS Takes Over

OnePlus is effectively exiting Europe and North America in its current form. The brand is not shutting down outright, but it will stop releasing new devices in those markets, while its technology, product work, and market role are folded further into Oppo.

The companies framed the move as a new “strategic focus.” In practical terms, that means current OnePlus users are promised continued warranty coverage, service, updates, and after-sales support, but upcoming launches in those regions will no longer carry the brand. The most immediate change is on the software side: over the next few months, ColorOS, Oppo’s Android skin, will begin rolling out to OnePlus devices in Europe and North America, replacing OxygenOS.

That shift has been building for years. OnePlus and Oppo have long shared platforms, components, suppliers, and software foundations. In 2021, OnePlus had already announced a deeper integration with Oppo, then partly walked back parts of it at the branding level after fan criticism that the company was losing its identity. A key sign came when OnePlus co-founder Pete Lau returned to Oppo as Chief Product Officer, underscoring how closely the two brands were already aligned.

Recent product decisions pointed the same way. The OnePlus Open 2 was first delayed and then canceled, while Oppo accelerated its own flagship and foldable releases. That left two closely related brands with overlapping hardware, but very different positions in Western markets: OnePlus remained the more visible name in the US and parts of Europe, while Oppo often operated more quietly despite its broader global reach.

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Europe and the US face different fallout

In Europe, Oppo is already rebuilding after earlier patent disputes with Nokia temporarily halted smartphone sales in Germany. The company has since restarted its UK online store and, according to Elvis Zhou, head of Oppo’s European division, is putting more emphasis on flagship devices. Europe remains a priority for Oppo, just no longer through new OnePlus phones.

The picture is harsher in the US. Oppo has no official smartphone business there, Huawei has largely vanished from the consumer market, and vivo and Xiaomi never secured meaningful carrier distribution. For years, OnePlus was one of the few major Chinese brands to win shelf space with US carriers. Its retreat narrows choice even further in the midrange and premium segments.

According to Canalys, Europe’s smartphone market grew slowly in 2024, with Samsung, Apple, and Xiaomi still taking most of the volume. In that environment, maintaining two similar brands with overlapping devices, marketing, and sales channels costs more than consolidating around one. The next few months will show how smooth that transition really is, especially once ColorOS begins replacing one of OnePlus’s last clear points of distinction.