OnePlus debuts latest (camera)phone
OnePlus has made a name for itself by winning the hearts of tech enthusiasts with its uniquely marketed high-end smartphones, easing its way into the U.S. carriers lineups starting with T-Mobile in 2018, followed by Sprint (2019) and Verizon (2020). The OEM, last week, took the wraps off its newest flagship, the OnePlus 9 series. The new phone, like the predecessor 8 series, comes in two variants: the high-end flagship OnePlus 9 Pro and the budget version, OnePlus 9. Both phones are powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 888 chipset and have 5G support. The OnePlus 9 is a sub-6 MHz 5G device, while the OnePlus 9 Pro boasts 5G mmWave antennas, despite the lack of commitment at debut from Verizon, who is the primary proponent of mmWave 5G in the US. The OnePlus 9 houses a 6.5-inch FHD+ display with 120 Hz refresh rates, while the Pro version has a slightly bigger and brighter QHD+ display, which also clocks in at 120 Hz for refresh rate. OnePlus’ new phones’ most tangible marketing aspect is the Hasselblad software that powers and improves the imaging capabilities on the Sony-branded camera optics featured on the phone (48-MP main lens on the OnePlus 9 and a 50-MP main lens with 3x optical zooming on the OnePlus 9 Pro). The phones will carry a $729 (OnePlus 9) and $969 (OnePlus 9 Pro), and be available for purchase beginning April 2 through T-Mobile as well as the top unlocked channels including Amazon.com and Best Buy.
The NPD Take:
- Imaging continues to be one of the top drivers impacting consumers’ (especially Android users’) new smartphone purchase decisions, and OnePlus’ partnership with Hasselblad, one of the most supreme brands in imaging, give it a tremendous marketing opportunity to keep winning the hearts of tech enthusiasts.
- The OnePlus 9 Pro is a solid flagship that will go up against Samsung’s S21 series, but we are particularly excited about the relatively affordable OnePlus 9, which should give all the postpaid carriers a firm option to fill in their portfolio gaps in the upper mid-tier range as LG (perhaps) withdraws from the market.
- It’s important to remember that OnePlus’s ability in winning the hearts of tech enthusiasts with top-spec phones at competitive price points has yet to land OnePlus the status it desires. OnePlus’ brand awareness rate is around 15% (versus established brands like Motorola and Nokia, which enjoy 50%+ awareness rates) and less than 3% of US smartphone owners add OnePlus to their list of brands they would consider for their next smartphone purchase (versus Motorola, which enjoys a 13% brand consideration rate).
Tuesday is my favorite day
T-Mobile last week announced that it has extended “T-Mobile Tuesdays”, its popular rewards/loyalty program that gives customers free products or special discounts on products/ services from various brands (i.e. discount on fast-food restaurants or gas), to its prepaid customers under the Metro by T-Mobile brand. The carrier is kickstarting the extension of the promotion with a special offer giving customers a free season-long subscription to MLB.TV (a $130 value) starting this Tuesday.
The NPD Take:
- The extension of the Tuesdays loyalty program to Metro by T-Mobile prepaid customers follows T-Mobile’s recent announcement on the launch of new retail stores selling both postpaid Magenta and prepaid Metro services. Such efforts should further facilitate the migration of good-credit prepaid Metro customers over to the postpaid side.
- Despite the pandemic-driven improvement in churn levels, T-Mobile’s prepaid business still suffers from relatively high churn rates (compared to postpaid). The loyalty program, which offers concrete savings (e.g. not everyone may opt for the free MLB subscription, but the carrier, almost on a bi-weekly basis, offers discounts or free meals at restaurants) should help the carrier suppress churn at a time when prepaid rivals such as Boost Mobile and Tracfone are getting more aggressive with their service prices.