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OnePlus CEO Reveals Why the Company Abandoned Its Smartwatch Plans

OnePlus CEO Reveals Why the Company Abandoned Its Smartwatch Plans

By Tasneem Akolawala | Updated: 6 June 2016 16:10 IST

Highlights

CEO Pete Lau wants company to focus on smartphones.
He didn't want OnePlus to get exposed to the 'cruel market'.
OnePlus 3 is set to launch on June 14.

OnePlus is gearing up for its VR event on June 14. The OnePlus 3 is set for an unveil, but now we have new information that the company even had plans to unveil a smartwatch alongside. However, it scrapped plans after it realised a smartwatch wasn't a 'smart' move.

At the Converge conference in Hong Kong, CEO Pete Lau said (via WSJ) that in an overcrowded Chinese market, staying hyperfocused was the key to surviving. He confirmed that OnePlus even had the smartwatch design ready, but decided to not let the company be exposed to the 'cruel market'. "We had completed the design but we still decided to scrap it. We have to be focused."

He said that almost all major OEMs out there have released a smartwatch in different markets, and adding one more would just weaken the otherwise strong lineup of OnePlus. Lau says that the company is focusing on the large number of smartphone followers it has managed to attain, and expand those, rather than broaden its focus to include a technology that still is maturing.

"There is no bottom line at all. To use a Chinese saying, it's like Chinese smartphone makers are competing to see who can take their pants off first," Lau said.

While the idea of a OnePlus smartwatch is endearing to say the least, Lau's arguments are valid and hold enough weight. In any case, the OnePlus 3 is being unveiled for sure, and the smartphone has been subjected to infinite leaks. So far, we've seen what the smartphone looks like, the price, and the possible specs of the device as well. The price is said to be around $369, and the OnePlus 3 will come in four memory/ inbuilt storage variants. Rumoured specifications include a 5.5-inch full-HD display, a Snapdragon 820 SoC, 4GB or 6GB RAM, 32GB and 64GB storage options, Android Marshmallow-based OxygenOS, a 16-megapixel rear camera, and an 8-megapixel front camera.

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