OnePlus Banned in India!?

     In the bustling streets of India where the buzz of technology mingles with the aroma of chai, a smog of confusion has started with one iconic smartphone brand... OnePlus. It's like deja vu with a common cold, OnePlus has booked an appointment with the social media after its notorious green line issue.

Now... The BAN!?

Hold up dear readers, what you've been told is not entirely true. Let's dive right in...

Let me get this straight, OnePlus is NOT banned in India. There is a halt of sales ONLY in the OFFLINE retail stores, starting May 1, 2024.

Why? Here's the detailed explanation...

Let's roll back to 2014 when OnePlus started off ONLINE with its innovative "Invite only purchase" system, making waves in the online market with its debut smartphone, the OnePlus One. Fast forward to OnePlus 5, and the brand maintained its stronghold online, becoming a go-to choice for many smartphone enthusiasts. With the new successor, the OnePlus 6, the brand entered the OFFLINE market, to face a wide set of audience.

Drifting back to 2024, the plot thickens! An argument has emerged between third-party offline retailers and OnePlus. These retailers lament OnePlus' focus on online sales, citing issues with stock availability, warranty claims, and low-profit margins.
In a bold move, these retailers went against OnePlus under ORA [Organised Retailers Association] and AIMRA [All India Mobile Retailers Association], responsible for handling mobile stores over India, demanding OnePlus to address their issues by May 1, 2024, or face the consequences - a potential ban on OnePlus devices in offline stores... This is the whole scene.

As far as my knowledge goes [which doesn't go too far :")], OnePlus nailed its sales online but the efforts made by OnePlus to attract locals in the offline market are notably absent as compared to Vivo, Oppo, Redmi, and Samsung. These brands adorn shopfronts with their brand names, making flash billboards, attention-grabbing balloon men, etc. OnePlus sat silent.

Adding fuel to the fire, OnePlus started pricing their phones aggressively, competing with local kings like Vivo, Samsung, and Redmi. OnePlus offered comprehensive packages with clean software like the Nord CE 3 lite, all while keeping their profit margin intact. This move might have squeezed the profit margin of the local retailers, leaving them hungry.

Haa yes! This also might be the reason why the Nord CE 4 users started encountering ads on their devices :( After all, ads serve as a significant revenue stream for the company. This clearly explains how Vivo, Samsung, and Redmi maintain strong ties with offline retailers, ensuring a steady flow of profits.

But fear not OnePlus fans! The journey will continue, for sure. Official OnePlus stores and authorized retailers will continue to stock and sell OnePlus devices offline. The road may seem a tad bit bumpy for a person who prefers a tactile experience of shopping in an offline store as the stores are limited.

Stay tuned, a post on "AI vs JOBS" will be rolling out real soon. Ka-Chow!