2025 kick back off with a smash , with the launch of theOnePlus 13just seven days into the new year . It catch out well ahead of the flagship competition from Samsung , Honor , and Xiaomi , whose flagship launch in previous January , February and March , severally .
It ’s a grotesque smartphone with a high - ending silver screen boasting LTPO 4.1 tech not find on any competing smartphone , a capable Hasselblad - branded television camera setup , Snapdragon 8 Elite powerfulness and incredible stamp battery life thanks to a sizeable 6000mAh cellular phone .
When we reviewed it at the start of the year , we grant it a respectable four stars , and it has since made its path into thebest smartphonechart we maintain . It was a strong start to the twelvemonth for OnePlus , indeed , and it wait like it was only going to get best from there .
The OnePlus Open 2 blunder
Around the same metre the OnePlus 13 was making wave in the technical school closet , we started to see leaks and teasers about the Oppo discovery N5 , an incredibly slimline foldable by OnePlus ’ parent caller . Given that theOnePlus Openwas a reskinnedOppo Find N3 , this unrestrained OnePlus fans – this author included .
Fuel was thrown onto the flame with check that the Oppo Find N5 would n’t be widely available worldwide despite being given a ‘ spherical ’ release . Apparently , to Oppo , spherical imply Singapore … and that ’s about it .
This was an singular conclusion considering just how flimsy , light , and capable the foldable was compare to the likes of theSamsung Galaxy zee Fold 6andGoogle Pixel 9 Pro sheep pen , but it appear as if it was lay the groundwork for what we were all expect : the re - badged OnePlus Open 2 for the UK , US , and European markets . Except that did n’t happen .
OnePlus subject project manager Vale Gconfirmed on the OnePlus forumthat there would n’t be a OnePlus Open 2 in 2025 . “ We ’ve cautiously believe the timing and our next steps in foldable devices , and we have made the decision not to release a foldable this yr ” , noting that Oppo is “ taking the lead in the foldable segment ” with the N5 .
It ’s all o.k. and good wanting Oppo to take burster in the foldaway infinite , but with the Find N5 ’s limited availability , it does n’t make any sense to me .
OnePlus ‘meda’ mistake or two with the Watch 3
That ’s not the only injured party in 2025 , though ; let ’s not forget the ( charmingly hilarious ) misspelling of “ Made in China ” on the rear of theOnePlus Watch 3 , whichcaused the fellowship to detain the releaseof the smartwatch by over a calendar month .
That ’s graspable hold how small the text is on the posterior of the watch – I for certain did n’t spot it before it was pointed out to me – but that ’s not the primary issue with the OnePlus Watch 3 ; instead , it get down to what some might key as a misleading software promise .
OnePlus claims that the Watch 3 will receive three years of software system updates and three age of quarterly protection updates , which , on the open , seems like a healthy offering . In my psyche , that would mean the OnePlus Watch would stop up with Wear OS 8 .
The problem is that , despite shipping with the Wear operating system 5 update pre - installed , OnePlus is reckon Wear o 5 as one of say software program updates , confirm late that “ The OnePlus Watch 3 will receive 3 years of software updates ( put on oxygen 5 , 6 & 7 ) ” .
Things were looking pretty wobbly for OnePlus at this point , but on the face of it the company was n’t quite done with shooting itself in the foot just yet .
OnePlus ditches the Alert Slider – for the second time
The latest casualty ? The most iconic feature of OnePlus smartphones , the Alert Slider .
Taking to the OnePlus forumthis calendar week , conscientious objector - founder and CEO Pete Lau confirm that the Alert Slider is start the path of the Dodo . Lau explained that it comes down to the fact that the Alert Slider is a large bit of hardware for something as elementary as change over between sound profile , and OnePlus want it to do more .
The answer ? What sounds like an Apple - esqueAction Buttonthat permit you to customise what the button does .
Lau reassures fans that the button will still allow users to tack between sound profiles , but the introduction also give up OnePlus to “ better utilize the twist ’s space , explore young layout , and make morphologic improvements while keeping performance top - notch . ”
We ’ve already had a preview of how this will go down with OnePlus fans , as this is n’t the first time the companionship has try on to do aside with the Alert Slider . TheOnePlus 10Tshipped without the slider , and to say fans were infuriated is a bit of an understatement .
The troupe quickly regress course with the subsequent release of theOnePlus 11 , 12 and 13 , all featuring the Alert Slider once again .
I see consumer demands for more customisable hardware , especially if you keep your phone on tacit 24/7 , but the Alert Slider was possibly my pet feature of any smartphone .
It ’s not about quickly switching to silent mode – buttons can do that pretty quickly – but instead tally if your earpiece is already on dumb by the billet of the slider . This meant I did n’t have to get my telephone set out of my sack , change state it on or spam any buttons to check into , and if it were on garish modality , a quick flick would quieten things .
I had similar feelings about Apple ditching the silent switch on the iPhone for the Action Button with theiPhone 15 Pro , a notion I still have after using two generations of iPhones with the customisable side button .
one by one , these elements might be forgivable , but for this all to happen in the space of a few months , I ca n’t help but evoke an brow about the decisions being made behind closed doors at OnePlus .
I ca n’t make believe to understand the pressures and considerations of running a massive smartphone company , but I desire the caller makes better decisions as 2025 continue .
