OnePlus may not be quite the household name it many of us expected it to be by this point, but the company has proven in 2025 that it is still capable of producing some rather impressive phones.
With two major flagship launches in North America, it seemingly pushed battery technology to new heights, offering the largest batteries in a smartphone in North America. The company has also managed to keep up on the software and AI fronts, which are becoming increasingly important as companies race to offer the best integration and most robust feature set.
Don’t fall behind
With the Pixel 10 series sporting built-in Qi2 magnets, we’ve come to appreciate the convenience of magnetic charging, including the various accessories you can pair with your phone. While we always recommend a smartphone case, it’s also nice not to have to rely on one to use the latest MagSafe accessories.
But perhaps the biggest change we’d love to see (aside from the return of the alert slider) is a better camera system. While the OnePlus 15 is impressive and technically better than the OnePlus 13, its sensors are inconsistent and fall behind the competition, such as the Vivo X300, making it tough for the company to compete in markets like Asia, where we often see some of the best smartphone cameras.
OnePlus should bring the Nord series back to the U.S.
Outside the U.S., OnePlus offers a wide selection of models, including its flagships and more affordable Nord series. However, in the U.S., the company has only focused on its highest-end model and slightly cheaper R-series, opting for a dual phone launch strategy.
However, the price point makes OnePlus a bit hard to reach for many consumers. This is where the Nord series comes in; its absence has been felt, as budget Android phones seem to be dominated solely by Motorola and Samsung.
OnePlus has proven that it can make a compelling budget phone, but the absence of the Nord series in the U.S. in recent years has been a curious omission to me. After all, a good-looking phone like last year’s OnePlus Nord 4, with decent specs, a larger battery, and faster than a flagship like the Galaxy S25 but at half the price, sounds like a phone many consumers would like to buy.
That sentiment also extends to OnePlus watches like the new OnePlus Watch Lite. If OnePlus can bring a watch like this to the States, running Wear OS, I imagine it would be an instant hit at a time when smartwatch prices keep going up.
OnePlus is still lacking in market share and consumer mindshare
Part of the problem with OnePlus only selling flagship phones is that they’re beyond the reach of many consumers. But an even bigger problem OnePlus needs to address in 2026 is more or less the same one I was hoping it would overcome in 2025: its lack of carrier presence.
As capable of a company as OnePlus is, it still strikes me as odd that it no longer works with carriers in the U.S. to sell its phones. The U.S. is an important market, ruled mostly by carriers, and without presence in brick-and-mortar stores or even on their online storefronts, OnePlus continues to risk fading into irrelevance.
I would love to see OnePlus return to the U.S. in a big way that doesn’t require well-informed consumers to visit a OnePlus website or Amazon. Having its phones available with carriers, rather than just supporting them, will help attract more eyes, which could ultimately lead to more sales.
It also makes it more appealing to consumers who may be deterred by the high price of a flagship phone, which OnePlus seems insistent on focusing its efforts on in the U.S. Buying through a carrier allows consumers to break up that high cost, which makes it easier to purchase expensive phones since you’re not fronting the entire $899 at once.
That said, this would mean working with more than just one company. Carrier exclusives are mostly a thing of the past and severely limit the reach of an otherwise great phone. No one is switching carriers just to get their hands on a phone, so OnePlus needs to get all major U.S. carriers on board to get its phones in more consumer hands in 2026 and beyond.
Give us the OnePlus Open 2
As IDC points out, foldable phones are having their moment, especially as companies make them thinner and add more folds. However, the U.S. market is still quite small, with only three major players: Samsung and Google with book-style foldables, and Motorola with flip phones (alongside Samsung).
We’ve been hoping for a OnePlus Open 2 for some time, especially after the highly praised OnePlus Open. It would be the perfect time to return to the foldable space in 2026, and not just with a OnePlus Open 2, but also with a flip phone.
Oppo has proven that it can offer a thin and compelling foldable, and I also loved its last flip phone. Given their close relationship, it shouldn’t be difficult for OnePlus to take another stab at the foldable market to show U.S. consumers what they’ve been missing out on.
