OnePlus says it’s building a smart TV that may come next year

Will OnePlus attract a loyal following with TVs like the company did with smartphones?

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OnePlus CEO was vice president at Oppo before he created OnePlus in late 2013. (Picture: AFP)

Xinmei Shen

Published: 6:39pm, 17 Sep 2018Updated: 8:39am, 20 Sep 2019

This article originally appeared on ABACUS

For the first time, OnePlus is expanding beyond smartphones.

The Chinese smartphone maker said that it will build a new product -- a OnePlus TV -- “a huge step in the OnePlus journey,” the CEO Pete Lau said.

OnePlus didn’t reveal specs or any details about the upcoming smart TV, but claimed that it will have “premium flagship design, image quality and audio experience”.

The Chinese smartphone maker OnePlus is not nearly as big as Apple or its siblings Oppo and Vivo, who are among the world’s five biggest smartphone vendors, but it appears to have gained a loyal following that’s rare among Android device makers: People traveled across cities and lined up for hours to buy a phone, and its latest handset (the OnePlus 6) sold 1 million models in just over three months.

It’s done so by focusing on making flagship smartphones that pack power and sleek designs at a friendly price, carving out a niche from its bigger competitors. But now with the TV promise, it’s apparently joining others in expanding their product lines.