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Samsung has launched its foldable smartphone. Huawei has done the same as well. The potential in such devices is great as it could be the game changer that the industry needs where it challenges not just what we think a phone should look like, but how it is used both physically and also in terms of software.
Despite such potential, some companies are holding off on it for now, and one of those companies is OnePlus. In an interview earlier this week with CNET, OnePlus CEO Pete Lau revealed that his company would be passing up on foldable phones for now. It’s not that Lau does not see the potential in such devices, but for a company that made a name for themselves by creating affordable phones, the costs of a foldable phone are simply too high. Lau was quoted as saying:
“With this technology, costs are high. But the value to the end user doesn’t seem to correlate.”
Lau also notes that OnePlus has been exploring foldable phones and see them as a “very much a different product” and that they are also “very interesting”. At the end of the day, it boils down to the dollars and cents, where it is simply too rich for the company’s tastes. With foldable devices priced (close to) $2,000 and higher, we imagine that it would be hard for OnePlus to justify such price tags to their customers used to paying around $500 for a smartphone.
OnePlus is also not alone in holding off on foldable phones for now. Previously LG had also decided to adopt a “wait and see” approach where they will assess the demand for such devices before committing more resources to it. Even OPPO, who shares the same parent company as OnePlus, has also stated that while they do have a foldable phone prototype, they too will be assessing the demand for such devices before jumping in with both feet.
Source: CNET
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