QUALCOMM 4G/5G SUMMIT, HONG KONG: Pete Lau, OnePlus CEO, set the formidable goal of changing the shopping behavior of western customers, who he laments are still reluctant to purchase handsets online.

“We will hopefully change the purchasing behavior in Europe and North America, where customers are accustomed to paying a low fee to their operator for a good phone. But consumers are seeing that with OnePlus they can have a very good phone at a very low price,” he explained.
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Speaking to the media through a translator at the annual event, Lau (pictured) said it wants to show customers that “the best buy online is the best rational decision”. He acknowledged it may take more than 10 years, but noted that it has patience.

The vendor, which only markets its products online, sees great opportunity in India and Western markets.

As the company announced earlier this year, it will drop its mid-tier OnePlus X and will focus on flagship products in the future. “We have a clear position and that’s what we’re focused on.”

OnePlus 3, which was launched in June, has had really good feedback from the market, he said.

The company has no plans to launch larger-display models. “Our main markets are India and western market, which are not that open to larger displays,” Lau said.

It has pulled out of Indonesia, where it was initially optimistic, because online demand in the South East Asian region was “not as rosy as expected”.

“And after deciding to focus only on our flagship model, with a higher price point, demand would be very limited, which would make it difficult to do service well.”

Lau insisted that the company never talks about production volumes. “We focus on quality and an increase in volume will be a natural result of that focus.”

When asked about future products, he said OnePlus will continue to have a limited range to focus on what it does best, so won’t be moving into consumer electronic products beyond smartphones, unlike many of its Chinese rivals.