OnePlus 5 will be discontinued for OnePlus 5T

OnePlus's latest flagship OnePlus 5T will go on sale in India from tomorrow exclusively on Amazon. Ahead of that, OnePlus India's General Manager Vikas Aggarwal has given an overview of the company's future plans in an interview with Indianexpress.com.

Besides this, he also talked about the newly launched OnePlus 5T. Well, he said that the company would eventually discontinue the OnePlus 5 to ensure that OnePlus 5T would remain the only offering from the company. The GM also said that rather than a completely new product, OnePlus 5T should be considered as a variant of the OnePlus 5 as there are not many upgrades.

If you are a fan of OnePlus 5, don't get so upset already. We are pretty sure that the smartphone is not getting phased out right away. However, the decision taken by the company makes sense because if there is a better phone available at the same price, why would anyone go for OnePlus 5?

On a different note, the GM of OnePlus said that he is quite satisfied with the way the company has performed in the Indian market. Notably, according to IDC, the Chinese manufacturer emerged as the leading premium smartphone brand in the Indian market. Being just a three-year-old brand, its achievements are undoubtedly appreciable.

When asked if the company is planning to strengthen its offline presence in the country, OnePlus India's GM said that currently, their main focus in on the online segment as the strategy has proved to be successful for them. If you consider the price range, OnePlus devices fall into the premium mid-range category so, its target customers naturally have the internet access.

That being said, the company is apparently interested in building a partnership with Croma so more people get to experience their phones. Currently, OnePlus has experience stores in Bangalore and Delhi.

Talking about the future of the premium smartphone segment in India, Vikas Aggarwal thinks that more people are now opting for premium smartphones. Those who were earlier using mid-range devices are looking to upgrade to the more expensive smartphones. He was also very clear to point out that OnePlus will not launch mid-range smartphones just to expand its market share.

Lastly, he adds that OnePlus never had to face the perception of Indian people on Chinese products being inferior as it is not an entry-level brand. According to him, as long the company is offering quality products people won't care if it is a global or a Chinese brand.