OPINION : OnePlus corroborate this week that there wo n’t be a OnePlus 11 Pro or a OnePlus 11 T later this year in a bid to simplify its flagship smartphone offering – and I opine other companies should follow cause .
The smartphone market is importantly more complex than it once was , no matter if you ’re look at budget , mid - range or flagship telephone set .
While company would once upon a time release a single all - encompassing flagship smartphone – like Apple and the iPhone 5 – the advanced flagship offering is n’t quite as straightforward . Apple ’s latest line - up include theiPhone 14,iPhone 14 Plus , iPhone 14 ProandiPhone 14 Pro Max , each of which put up slenderly different specs at different price head .
To be clear , it ’s not just an publication exclusive to Apple , it ’s something that much every smartphone maker does in 2023 .
There ’s also the new trend of mid - year refreshes from companies like Xiaomi , Oppo , Samsung and others in a bid to keep smartphones competitive as the yr goes on and new competition appear on the market , but these are rarely anything more than a pocket-sized specification bump .
Some might argue that more choice is cracking for the consumer , and I do n’t discord , but there ’s a difference between choice and just flood the grocery with dissimilar variations of a smartphone in a bid to make as many sale as possible .
In fact , I opine that the mod shotgun approach to flagship smartphone releases can be confusing for consumer , and it forces them to choose what they desire most rather than getting a great all - libertine .
get ’s use the current iPhone range as an example . The iPhone 14 is the basic flagship iPhone , the iPhone 14 Plus is alike to the base model but with a big projection screen and a bump to electric battery spirit . The iPhone 14 Pro offer better display and camera spec with a small material body gene and the iPhone 14 Pro Max offers that same premium experience with a larger showing .
To the average consumer who does n’t follow the modish smartphone developments , that can be an overwhelming pick . They have it off they want the late iPhone , but that ’s about it .
Would n’t it be easier if there was just one flagship iPhone that combined all the good technology from Apple ? It take the mix-up out of the physical process and gives the consumer the best overall experience , rather than prioritising specific feature like camera or battery life at the cost of others .
It might also have the smash - on effect of turn back the runaway costs of top - destruction smartphones like the £ 1199/$1099iPhone 14 Pro Maxand £ 1249/$1199Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra . Companies can keep rising the top - end cost because they have other variants of the flagship at chintzy prices , but if there was only a exclusive smartphone , it ’d have to be competitively price to stop potential customers from going elsewhere .
This is precisely what OnePlus accomplished with theOnePlus 11 , which I highly praise and gave a 4.5 - star rating with the Trusted Reviews Recommended award in my review . It ’s pro in all but name with top - stage glasses , a premium aim and most significantly , a very private-enterprise cost tag . It ’s well one of the go - to Android recommendation for 2023 .
The simplification also allows OnePlus to free up the resource that would unremarkably crusade out Pro models and mid - year phone update and to center its feat on other interesting projects like theOnePlus Padand the OnePlus mechanical keyboard .
Imagine the opening for companies like Apple , Samsung , and Google if they only had to focus on developing a single smartphone each yr ( the Apple Car might be less of a piping dreaming ) .
