From CNET: OnePlus is a seemingly impossible company: a smartphone maker that's made a name for itself in one of the most competitive markets around.
OnePlus is no Samsung, LG, Sony, Motorola or Apple, in terms of either brand recognition or sales volume. But alongside fellow Chinese manufacturers like Xiaomi, Huawei, ZTE and TCL's Alcatel OneTouch, it's showing that there may still be room for new contenders.
But how to stand out? For co-founder Carl Pei, the answer involves building a community of loyal followers and, ultimately, the kind of recognition held today just by the world's most valuable brand, Apple.
"I don't think it's healthy that there's nobody who competes with Apple in cultural significance," Pei said in an interview here at the Web Summit tech conference. "It's easier said than done, but we're trying."
OnePlus isn't a household brand, but with 900 employees, a vocal group of fans and a headquarters in the Chinese manufacturing hub of Shenzhen, it's got potential. Although it's only two years old, the company is determined to build a business that involves not just selling phones, but actually making some of the profits that few beyond Apple can claim today. In Apple's most recent quarter, iPhone sales were responsible for much of its $11.1 billion profit.
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