Has OnePlus Finally Found Its Niche?
I'm still a bit worried about the cult phone company.
By Sascha Segan
23 Feb 2021, 12:13 a.m.
OnePlus holds a special place in the heart of a lot of geeks. More than any other phone maker, it's managed to keep the aura of a young, tech-centric startup, even as it's actually owned by phone giant BBK. It was originally known for its flagship killers, unlocked phones with spectacular specs for the price, but in recent years it's been trying to compete on carrier shelves with mixed success.
With the OnePlus Nord N10 and the N100 (shown above, en masse), the company may have hit a sweet spot. We think the new $299 Nord N10 is the best budget smartphone in America right now. Wave7 Research told us that free-with-a-new-line promotions have vaulted OnePlus to 15% market share at Metro by T-Mobile, which is just huge. Mostly, OnePlus seems to be eating Motorola's lunch; the Moto G lineup used to be the no-brainer affordable phones we'd recommend, but they're not so great this year.