OnePlus and Oppo merge hardware R&D teams

Damien Wilde | Jan 21 2021 - 2:38 am PT

According to a brand-new report, OnePlus and Oppo have merged their respective hardware R&D departments, with Oppo taking charge of the entire recruitment process.

For those unaware, OnePlus and Oppo all fall under the jurisdiction of BBK Electronics — along with Realme and Vivo. Over the past few years, we’ve seen a major shift in the side-brand with the “Oppo-ification” of OnePlus becoming more and more apparent. Late last year, Carl Pei left OnePlus, with his cofounder Pete Lau moving into a new role overseeing “brand synergy” between OnePlus, Oppo, and Realme.

This leads us to a new report from DoNews (via Android Authority) that claims the Oppo and OnePlus R&D departments have officially merged. Insiders also told the outlet that this effectively occurred in late December 2020, but is only now that the process has been completed.

This probably won’t come as a shock in many ways, as we have seen the brand shift to aim for wider mainstream appeal, which does risk alienating the rabid hardcore OnePlus fanbase. However, DoNews claims that OnePlus and Oppo are now part of the “Oga Group,” which aims to better integrate the OnePlus, Oppo, and Realme brands through R&D efforts.

It’s similar to the relationship between Xiaomi and Redmi, sharing the same R&D system.

R&D systems between Oppo and OnePlus would work like those of “Xiaomi and Redmi” according to a DoNews insider — with OxygenOS and ColorOS remaining separate and retaining respective differences. Whether or not this is the case in the long term, we’re not entirely sure.

A OnePlus spokesperson confirmed to 9to5Google that the merge has indeed occurred or is in the process of happening, with the firm continuing to working and “operating independently” moving forward:

To better maximize resources and further position OnePlus for growth, we are in the process of further integrating some R&D capabilities within OPLUS, our long-term investor. OnePlus will continue operating independently and working to deliver the best possible user experience for existing and future OnePlus users.
— OnePlus spokesperson

You can already see the influences exerted by Oppo — and the firm’s R&D efforts — in recent years with the OnePlus 8 Pro, which bears a striking resemblance to the Find X2 Pro. The most obvious would be the recent Nord N10 and N100 devices, which are effectively replicas of other Realme and Oppo hardware.