India’s premium smartphone market will be twice its current size in coming years, says OnePlus Product Lead Szymon Kopec

The mystery has been revealed. The much-awaited OnePlus 7 and OnePlus 7 Pro are finally here, and the phone is better than before. The OnePlus 7 Pro is priced at Rs 48,999, Rs 52,999, and Rs 57,999 while the One Plus 7 is priced at Rs 37,999 and Rs 39,999.

This was the first time the Chinese company held a launch event at three different locations across the world, with Bengaluru being one of them. 

The event kickstarted with Carl Pei, Founder, OnePlus, delivering the open note, followed by a keynote address by Szymon Kopec, Product Lead, OnePlus, who explained the specifications of the products. The event also had several other announcements like OnePlus’ partnership with Netflix and Fnatic to amplify the user experience in verticals such as entertainment and gaming.

Staying true to its motto of “Never Settle”, OnePlus tried to push the envelope by introducing features like pop-up motorised camera, wide angle lens, warp charging, and brought back some of its widely loved features like the telephoto lens.

In an exclusive interaction with YourStory, Szymon Kopec speaks about the new products, the importance of India as a market, and OnePlus’ plans to introduce various other products.

Edited excerpts from the interview:

YourStory (YS): What are your expectations from OnePlus 7?

Szymon Kopec (SK): To be honest, I am hoping everyone will love OnePlus 7. And this time, we have two variants so we can target a broader audience. I hope India will like our product. 

Also read: India is going to be our most successful market: OnePlus India GM

YS: What are your expectations from India as a market, considering it accounts for 33 percent of your revenues? 

SK: India has been a great market, and we are steadily maintaining our top position in the premium (smartphone) segment. It is a great place to be since the premium segment has been growing, and we expect it to be twice its size in the coming years. And we hope to continue being the leaders in this segment (in India).

Our competitors are also doing great products. So, we have to be humble and keep trying and working hard to keep our position. 

YS: What other strategic values can OnePlus derive from India?

SK: There is so much to say about India. The one thing that stands out for us is the crowd, and the Indian community, which gives us a lot of opportunities to learn from and improve our products. This is the one unique factor of the technology community here, which is helping us grow. 

YS: Can you tell us more about the India features rolled out by OnePlus? 

(OnePlus said that next month, in open Beta Build, users can test new features, which will help users travel, revamp their SMS experience, and even check World Cup cricket scores.)

SK: Most of them are still under wraps, but we can reveal what we spoke about at the keynote. It will help you maintain proper work-life balance, help you with travel, and revamp the SMS experience.

YS: Are you looking to launch other products, apart from smartphones, in India? We have heard you speaking about OnePlus TV.

SK: Yes, we are working on the OnePlus TV, which should be coming in soon. 

YS: When is it (OnePlus TV) expected to launch?

SK: Sorry, we won’t be able to comment on it at present.

Also read: OnePlus plans to open its biggest global store in Hyderabad

Bengaluru is our biggest launch ever: Carl Pei, Founder of OnePlus