The tech creator community is in a state of absolute chaos following viral reports that OnePlus, the once-beloved flagship killer, is being dismantled. Leading the charge is Marques Brownlee, better known as MKBHD, who took to YouTube to analyze what he calls a “blueprint of betrayal” after an exclusive report suggested the brand’s days might be numbered.
The drama reached a boiling point when fans across Reddit and X began speculating that the company was quietly folding into its parent brand, Oppo.
Marques noted that while some of the most sensational headlines felt like they were written by AI, the underlying fear among enthusiasts is very real.
Adding fuel to the fire, the experts at Beebom, a major tech channel in India, pointed out some deeply concerning “oddities” from the past six months.
They highlighted how the latest OnePlus 15 was stripped of its iconic Hasselblad camera branding, while Oppo’s own devices got to keep the prestigious partnership.
Beebom’s team didn’t hold back, suggesting that OnePlus is being “sent back to basics” to focus only on gaming performance, much like the brand iQOO. This shift has left loyalists feeling like the premium “vibe” that made OnePlus a household name is being sacrificed to save Oppo’s bottom line.
In a rare move, the OnePlus India CEO was forced to issue a public statement to calm the storm, insisting that the business is running as usual and nothing is shutting down.
However, the creators aren’t entirely convinced, pointing to the rumoured cancellations of the OnePlus Open 2 foldable and the compact OnePlus 15s.
Marques Brownlee explained that OnePlus has essentially completed the “enthusiast arc,” moving from a niche $300 powerhouse to a $900 mainstream phone that feels increasingly generic.
He argued that the very thing that made them successful, catering to tech heads, is now the very thing they are running away from to achieve mass appeal.
The numbers shared by Beebom paint a stark picture, showing OnePlus’s market share in India plummeting from 7% in 2023 to just 2.4% recently.
Both creators agree that while the brand might still be “alive” for now, it is sitting on incredibly thin ice as it loses its unique identity to its corporate cousins, Oppo and Realme.
