Amid swirling rumors, OnePlus and Oppo have both denied they are pulling out of the UK or European market.
Well, this has been an odd morning. According to leaker Max Jambor, OnePlus and Oppo were apparently going to stop selling phones in Germany, UK, Netherlands, and France. But over the course of the past couple of hours, both companies have expressly denied this is the case.
With the likes of the OnePlus 11 and Oppo Find X5 Pro in the market, this seemed like a shock move. And while many people looked at the China-only release of the X6 Pro and thought of this as a precursor to this news, turns out that's not the case.
Just received this from OPPO and OnePlus. pic.twitter.com/iyCFkm2n5MMarch 27, 2023
So... What happened?
Oppo has been in a rather fierce patent lawsuit with Nokia (one of many the company is pursuing), which ended with them having to stop selling in Germany.
Initially, this seemed to have been extended across the UK, France and The Netherlands. But the confirmed statement proves otherwise. So, we're not 100% sure of the source of this rumor beyond Max Jambor, but as far as we know, there's no truth to it.
I can confirm: OPPO and OnePlus are pulling out of Europe. First to leave are Germany, UK, France and Netherlands.March 27, 2023
Outlook
And that's a good thing, because if this turned out to be reality, it would be a damned shame.
Competition moves the industry forward, and to lose this key player in that innovation field would prove problematic — not just for value phones but premium flagships too.
Without other companies chomping at the bit to take market share away from the likes of Apple and Samsung, the smartphone market won’t feel forced to innovate and progress. Once we know more, we’ll update this story.
