OnePlus's first venture onto the shelves of America's largest carrier isn't going well, but strong sales at T-Mobile might make up for that, according to a new report from Wave7 Research, which tracks US smartphone sales based on surveys of retail dealers.
Verizon launched the OnePlus 8 in April, but three Verizon dealers that Wave7 talked to said they either haven't been stocking the phone or no one's buying it, according to the report. Four Sprint reps said the same.
Unlocked OnePlus phones have officially worked on Verizon since the OnePlus 6T generation, but the $799.99 OnePlus 8 5G UW is the first OnePlus to (theoretically) be sold on Verizon shelves. Supply issues may have something to do with lackluster sales. While OnePlus hasn't said anything about short supplies of the Verizon OnePlus 8, it had supply problems in May with its flagship OnePlus 8 Pro, which isn't sold at any US carrier.
Supply issues may also help explain why the lower-cost OnePlus Nord isn't coming to the US. The $300-$500 phone range isn't a hot market in the US, as Android Authority reports. But if OnePlus is having trouble getting parts in general, I can see the company not wanting to direct any of that limited supply to a country where the Nord isn't likely to be a best-seller.
Before the OnePlus 8 launch, the company had been doing well with its presence at T-Mobile and Sprint, according to figures from Counterpoint Research. OnePlus was the only major phone maker with growing sales in the US during the first quarter of 2020, which ended on March 31, Counterpoint says. The OnePlus 8 launched in April.
T-Mobile now sells three OnePlus phones, with the OnePlus 7T at $499.99, the OnePlus 8 at $699.99, and the OnePlus 7T Pro 5G McLaren at $899.99, according to Wave7, and they were up to a 5 percent market share at the carrier in June. That makes OnePlus T-Mobile's fourth-biggest-selling manufacturer, after Apple, Samsung, and LG. T-Mobile reps have been pushing the OnePlus 8 and stores have been showing the new phone prominently, Wave7 says.
Sales at Sprint, of course, would be affected by Sprint's continued cratering, which I expect only to have accelerated after the company got absorbed into T-Mobile and T-Mobile began to turn down Sprint's 2.5GHz LTE network. T-Mobile said Sprint lost 348,000 postpaid subscribers in the first quarter of 2020, although second-quarter numbers aren't out yet.
OnePlus declined to comment on this report.
Further Reading
- Report: Samsung's 2021 Phones Won't Include a Charger
- Samsung's Next Galaxy Unpacked Is on Aug. 5
- OnePlus Sets July 21 Date for 'Nord' Launch
- Moto G 5G Plus Joins Motorola's Budget Lineup
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