Since the beginning of this year, rumors of OnePlus shutting down have been a hot topic. Although the company's executives have tried to deny the fact that many senior executives have stepped down and global operations are shrinking, raising concerns about the company's future.
This situation has gained more attention when a new report emerged claiming that OnePlus is not actually shutting down, but is instead undergoing a major change by merging with Oppo's brand, realme, under a new business unit.
The claim was obtained via Digital Chat Station on Weibo and a report by Android Authority stating that OnePlus and realme have combined major parts of their operations.
This restructuring is said to involve the domestic and global markets, although until now no official announcement has been made by both brands. Through this, the operations of both companies are now placed under a newly established sub-product unit. The unit is led by the President of OnePlus who is responsible for overseeing product strategy for both brands and reports directly to Pete Lau. Meanwhile, former Vice President of realme, Wang Wei, has been appointed Deputy General Manager in the same unit and also reports to Li Jie.
In addition to product development, the restructuring also consolidates marketing and after-sales services into a separate sub-business unit. The unit is led by realme founder and CEO Sky Li. Meanwhile, Chief Marketing Officer Chase Xu is responsible for overseeing marketing and service operations for OnePlus and realme products.
As of now, neither OnePlus nor realme has officially confirmed the merger. Therefore, all the details that have been circulating are still considered mere speculation and it is better to wait for an official announcement.
