OnePlus bets on Nord to take premium phone experience to small towns

In less than three years of its inception, OnePlus said the Nord category has become a community favourite. This is crucial as India is the largest smartphone market after China

OnePlus, the premium phone maker, is fast expanding to tier-2 and tier-3 cities and towns in the country. The firm is concentrating on making the premium OnePlus experience more accessible to a wider set of audiences and diversifying the product portfolio through Nord, the firm’s mid-range device category.

For instance, the Nord category was introduced in 2020 when OnePlus decided that diversifying the product portfolio and expanding the offerings will be one of the key focus areas going forward. The aim was to share OnePlus’ leading technology at a greater range of price points with a wider community around the world.

In less than three years of its inception, OnePlus said the Nord category has become a community favourite. This is crucial as India is the second-largest smartphone market after China. Also, India's digital transformation opportunity and anticipated 850 million smartphone users by 2025 have made the country a very attractive market for phone companies such as Samsung, Xiaomi, Apple and various domestic brands. OnePlus competes with these players.

“Owing to the success of the Nord series, OnePlus emerged as the market leader in the affordable premium smartphone segment (Rs 30,000-Rs 45,000) in India in 2021,” said Navnit Nakra, India CEO and Head of India Region, OnePlus India, referring to the Counterpoint Research India Monthly Smartphone Tracker December 2021.

According to Counterpoint Research, Nord 2 5G was the best-selling online 5G smartphone model in 2021 and 5G Android device in 2021, in terms of overall shipments. The OnePlus Nord Series crossed 4.4 million cumulative units in 2021, since its launch in India, driving up the OnePlus share in Rs 20,000 - Rs 30,000 price segment positively.

“This is  a remarkable achievement for a product line that was only introduced in July 2020,” said Nakra. “As part of our latest launch, we are excited to bring in the OnePlus Nord CE 2 Lite 5G, which serves as one of the most dependable all-day endurance drivers in its segment from OnePlus, at an even more affordable price.”

Building on the success and extensive reach of the existing OnePlus audio devices,  the firm said it is expanding OnePlus Nord offerings into the hearable segment for the first time. The company has launched the OnePlus Nord Buds in the entry-level segment.

Nakra said the community continues to be at the heart of all our efforts at OnePlus. The company’s OnePlus Red Cable Club (RCC) membership program was launched in Dec 2019 to provide our community with exclusive benefits. Since its launch, RCC has also seen rapid growth and today has an active user-base of over 14 million members in India. The programme has also been expanded to North America and Europe as of December 2021.

For capturing the mid-range segment, Nakra said the firm has expanded the OnePlus Nord product line to include the Nord number series and CE (core edition) series. These cater to the varied needs of the Indian community.

“The number series allows us to combine many next-level including flagship-level features into a great accessible product,” said Nakra. “On the other hand, the Nord CE series is aimed at delivering a great everyday smartphone experience in the mid-range category.”

Originally introduced in June 2021, the OnePlus Nord CE (core edition) line takes all the core features from OnePlus smartphones–fast and smooth performance, fast charging, a high refresh rate display, and software updates–and makes them accessible to more people.

The OnePlus audio product portfolio has also witnessed success. OnePlus Bud Z was among the top 3 bestselling TWS (true wireless earbuds) products in India and the OnePlus Buds Pro was among the top 3 bestselling TWS products in India in the 5,000-10,000 price segment in 2021, according to Counterpoint Research India.

Building on the success and reach of the existing OnePlus audio devices, the company is expanding its Nord offerings into the audio device segment with the launch of the OnePlus Nord Buds in the entry-level segment. OnePlus Nord Buds come with Dolby’s patented spatial audio technology, 12.4 MM bass drivers – largest in the segment for an enhanced bass experience, 5 hours’ worth of battery back up in just 10 mins, improved ergonomic design, along with IP55 water and dust resistance.

“We will continue our efforts to expand the Nord product portfolio to introduce more products with 5G capabilities across an even greater price spectrum,” said Nakra.

In line with its vision of being committed to Make in India, Nakra said OnePlus will continue to manufacture its products in India. Both the new launches--OnePlus Nord CE 2 Lite and OnePlus 10R--are being manufactured in India for the India Market. Apart from the smartphones, the company’s smart TVs are also being manufactured in India. OnePlus grew over 350 per cent Year-over-Year from 2020 to 2021 in the India smart TV segment, with the OnePlus TV Y Series serving as a major volume driver as per the Counterpoint Research report. 

OnePlus had a hugely successful 2021, shipping 11 million smartphones globally which is the highest annual shipment in its history. Specifically in India, it also expanded the flagship product portfolio by introducing the R series. Owing to these additions, the brand grew 59 per cent year-over-year to record its highest-ever shipments for the first time in a year, by crossing 5 million shipments.

OnePlus shipments have crossed over 13 million cumulative units in 2021, since its inception in India, registering a 94 per cent Cumulative Average Growth Rate (CAGR), according to Counterpoint Research report. OnePlus emerged as the market leader in the affordable premium smartphone segment (Rs 30,000- 45,000) in India in overall 2021. This achievement was led by the OnePlus 9R.

OnePlus’ research and development facility in Hyderabad is playing a key role in not only building tech innovations for the Indian region but also global markets. This is particularly crucial from a software development perspective. The team has worked hard towards building software capabilities for the recent flagship series as well as the recently launched Nord CE 2, Nord CE 2 Lite and OnePlus 10R and will continue to contribute significantly to the company’s efforts toward providing a superior product experience.

“In line with our plans to further strengthen our offline presence, we are expanding our overall retail footprint and plan to have over 15,000 offline stores, including partnered stores this year,” said Nakra.