After the increase in demand for tablets observed in 2020, new players seem interested in this market. And among these, there is OnePlus. So far, OnePlus does not offer tablets. However, according to an article published recently by the Android Authority site, the arrival of a OnePlus tablet called the OnePlus Pad could be imminent.
Indeed, according to this article, OnePlus would have recently applied for the registered trademark OnePlus Pad in Europe. The documents were reportedly released on July 1.
Unfortunately, these documents do not provide any details about this possible new product from OnePlus. And of course, while waiting for an official announcement, caution remains in order.
Nevertheless, it should be noted that this coincides with the closer ties between OnePlus, Oppo as well as BBK. As you probably already know, OnePlus has recently moved closer to these two entities. And besides, the OxygenOS (OnePlus) and ColorOS (Oppo) operating systems will also come closer. In other words, OnePlus is less independent today than it was a year ago.
However, for a while, rumors have been circulating about the group’s ambitions in the tablet market. Indeed, rumors are also circulating about a possible entry of Realme (another brand associated with the BBK group) on the tablet market. Rumors about future Vivo and Oppo tablets are also circulating on the web.
An opportunity to seize?
The fact that BBK is interested in tablets makes a lot of sense. As explained above, in 2020, the massive use of teleworking boosted sales of this product category. According to IDC estimates, shipments rose 13.6%.
Apple was still the market leader. Nevertheless, the strongest growth was seen at Samsung, which saw its shipments jump 44.4% (which shows that there is a strong demand for Android tablets).
“The company shipped 10.1 million units in the quarter and 31.3 million units for 2020. It remains the largest supplier of Android tablets with successful products such as the Galaxy Tab A and the Galaxy Tab S6 Lite “, IDC said in a report.
In addition, this year, Xiaomi could also launch competitors of the iPad. Indeed, rumors are circulating about future tablets of the Chinese brand that could be equipped with premium processors (whereas Xiaomi tablets usually use mid-range processors).