Will OnePlus exit India soon? Company shares plan amid speculation

OnePlus has sought to clear the air, reiterating commitment to the market, as it prepares to replace OxygenOS with a unified ColorOS platform

Amidst significant product restructuring currently underway, technology company OnePlus insists it is “business as usual” for the India operations, attempting to dispel rumours about the company’s possible departure from the Indian market. OnePlus, owned by smartphone giant Oppo (a subsidiary of BBK Electronics), tells HT it will continue to remain an independent entity in the Indian market.

OnePlus phones will soon transition from the company’s own OxygenOS operating system to a unified approach, using the ColorOS software also used in Oppo’s phones. They classify this as an “operational adjustment,” a change that will gradually happen with the Android 17-based operating system update once it is ready.

“This does not change OnePlus’ commitment to its customers and will not devalue the experience,” a OnePlus spokesperson tells HT.

OnePlus, which launched a new N6 mid-range smartphone in June, has been struggling to find traction in the market. The Q1 2026 numbers from CyberMedia Research indicate that OnePlus recorded a 28% year-on-year shipment decline. A striking detail is that the flagship OnePlus series (15 and 15R) contributed 48% of volumes, indicating stronger performance in the premium price bands.

Also read: Which premium smartphone are Indians buying the most? Top-selling phones ranked for 2026

In the recently concluded Amazon Prime Day 2026 sale, OnePlus confirms it was the top-selling smartphone brand across all segments. Also, OnePlus was the top-selling smartphone brand between ₹15,000– ₹50,000 price points. The N6 was the most sold phone on the shopping platform, across all price segments. The OnePlus N6 competes with the Samsung Galaxy M47, the Nothing Phone 4b, and the Xiaomi Redmi Note 15 SE.

Also read: Nothing Phone 4b goes on sale in India: Price, specifications and sale offers

The new N6, with prices starting at ₹19,999 and powered by the MediaTek Dimensity 6360 Apex chip with 4GB or 6GB memory and 128GB storage, will sit alongside an existing Nord series in the company’s phone portfolio, marking a renewed attempt at volumes at lower price points. HT has not reviewed the N6 and cannot comment on the smartphone's performance or overall value proposition.

The company also confirms to HT that the promised software and security patch timelines for existing OnePlus phones, will be completed using ColorOS instead of OxygenOS. “Software updates, security patches and after sales support for all existing devices is fully guaranteed even after the evolution to ColorOS,” says the OnePlus spokesperson.

Using the same underlying software for OnePlus and Oppo phones is expected to allow the manufacturers to consolidate and speed up innovation, aiming to build “world class software”. Development of artificial intelligence (AI) features will also be shared.

Vishal Mathur is Technology Editor for Hindustan Times. When not making sense of technology, he often searches for an elusive analog space in a digital world.