OnePlus 10 Pro will launch in India by the end of March 2022 while the company’s most affordable 5G phone yet will be introduced later this year. The announcements were made by OnePlus CEO Pete Lau during a media briefing. OnePlus 10 Pro has already been launched in China and will be introduced in India to compete with other flagship devices like Samsung Galaxy S22, iQOO 9 Pro and others. Pete further revealed that the smartphone will be on display during MWC 2022 at Barcelona ahead of its global launch.

The OnePlus chief also explained the company’s reason for launching the smartphone in China first. He said that it was important to compete with other OEMs and since it takes time to optimise software for different markets, OnePlus decided to launch the phone in its domestic market.

“I have to admit that we didn’t invest much in the China market earlier. Now, we realise the importance of the market and need to invest more to compete. Many of our competitors have already launched their flagship phones in China. So, to keep up with them, we decided to introduce OnePlus 10 Pro in China first. It also allowed us to work on the software for other regions. In future, we will look to deal with this situation in a better way,” he said.

He said that India remains to be a key market for OnePlus alongside the United States, Europe and China.

Most affordable 5G OnePlus phone

Another interesting update from OnePlus is that it will be launching its cheapest 5G smartphone yet in 2022. The phone will be introduced in India and Europe in the second quarter of the year. This means the upcoming phone should sit under the existing Nord line-up. However, OnePlus didn’t share the name or any other details about the upcoming phone.

OnePlus has also confirmed the arrival of SuperVOOC charging on its phones in the second quarter of 2022. The flagship OnePlus phones will get 150W SuperVOOC charging. It will work on smartphones, tablets and gaming consoles. The SuperVOOC charging tech currently powers the Oppo smartphones. OnePlus said that this fast charging speed is enabled by a customised twin battery, industry-leading battery PCB protection board, and a highly integrated microcontroller to improve overall charging efficiency. It is claimed to charge the phone from 0 to 100 per cent in just five minutes.

OnePlus registers record sales

The world might still be divided on the OnePlus and Oppo merger but it didn’t stop the former from registering record sales last year. The company says that it shipped more than 11 million smartphones globally in 2021 – the highest annual shipment in OnePlus history. A major part of these sales came from the Nord phones, which have now sold more than 10 million units.

Pete once again highlighted that the integration between OnePlus and Oppo is beneficial for both the brands. Last year, OnePlus announced that Oppo and OnePlus will provide a unified software experience on their smartphones. It has now been confirmed that while there are plans to merge the features of OxygenOS and Oppo’s ColorOS, the global OnePlus devices will continue to run OxygenOS. It further said that OxygenOS 13 will offer a smoother experience, burdenless design, and exclusive customisation features.

New retail model

2022 will see OnePlus set up a new retail model in India which will act as a bridge between online and offline sales systems. It will enable customers to order a OnePlus product online and directly pick it from the retail store. The customers will also be able to access offline services from OnePlus.