Whereas Samsung and Google have dominated the high-end smartphone market in some type or one other, firms like Motorola and OnePlus are sometimes seen because the underdogs. That stated, 2024 has confirmed that each firms nonetheless have what it takes to make a splash within the North American smartphone market, and 2025 might be the time when each firms shine.
Motorola and OnePlus took very totally different approaches with their launches this yr, with various levels of success. On the one hand, there was a way of focus and restraint, with merchandise providing enhancements that lastly give us the impression that Motorola and OnePlus are lastly heading in the right direction. However, each firms fell quick in ways in which would make them actually stand out amongst juggernauts like Samsung and Chinese language OEMs.
In the event that they wish to reach 2025, neither can relaxation on their laurels and should preserve their momentum to get extra units in additional arms.
Motorola’s Razr sharp focus
In recent times, Motorola has been seen as little greater than a price range possibility for shoppers, launching low-cost telephones that compete with Samsung’s A-series units on each specs and worth. Given how outstanding smartphone carriers are in North America, shoppers will usually gravitate towards iPhones, Galaxy telephones, and even Pixels.
Nonetheless, that provider relationship has been fairly vital for Motorola, and it has helped the corporate safe a stable spot as a prime OEM in North America, amongst different areas around the globe, as famous by Neil Shah, vice chairman of analysis at Counterpoint Analysis.
“Moto has been focusing closely on pay as you go channels with some good traction for G & Edge sequence [and] some good promos for Razr 2024 [series] in postpaid at T-Cellular and AT&T,” Shah defined in an interview, noting that Latin America has been a stronghold for the corporate, particularly with its price range fashions.
A Motorola telephone is a protected wager for anybody on the lookout for a low cost Android telephone, and so they have confirmed that they’ll deliver loads of worth at decrease costs.
“What has labored for Moto in markets outdoors USA (particularly India) has been targeted on CMF (Colours, Supplies and End) in partnership with Pantone serving to it differentiate among the many sea of blacks and bought the positioning and partnerships proper. That’s key as nicely in North America,” Shah notes.
Nonetheless, Shah factors out that the corporate nonetheless struggles within the higher-end and premium segments the place Samsung guidelines. That is the place the Razr sequence is available in. I reviewed the Razr Plus 2024 earlier this yr and got here away extraordinarily impressed with it, even after I pitted it in opposition to the extra highly effective Galaxy Z Flip 6.
There’s little doubt that Motorola will focus its efforts on the Razr sequence in 2025, particularly after Lenovo introduced that its cell enterprise is about to double by 2026, because of its flagship lineups. Motorola’s advertising efforts for the Razr sequence have additionally paid off, with the corporate concentrating on the youthful Gen Z and the older millennials who yearn for the nostalgia of a flip telephone and one thing aside from an iPhone.
The query is whether or not or not Motorola can stick with it in 2025.
Motorola can’t rely solely on the Razr sequence, significantly within the U.S., the place there’s a swathe of high-end Samsung telephones to select from and when shoppers are not sure about foldable telephones. Motorola’s closest premium non-foldable telephone is the Edge 2024, which was a bit of underwhelming in comparison with the Edge Plus 2023. And whereas the Edge 50 Extremely was among the many extra spectacular telephones to launch this yr, it by no means arrived within the U.S., leaving loads of room for the Galaxy S24 sequence to eat up loads of the premium market share.
Shah notes that Motorola “is especially nonetheless fairly weak in [the] $500+ wholesale premium phase,” and with the rising reputation of the Razr sequence, Motorola can use the momentum round its title to launch a premium Edge mannequin in North America to problem Samsung’s dominance, particularly if it may possibly get the telephone on provider cabinets.
After all, if Motorola desires a preventing likelihood, it’ll need to do greater than put a pleasant new telephone on the cabinets, in response to Jitesh Ubrani, analysis supervisor for IDC’s Worldwide Cellular System Trackers.
Whereas Ubrani agrees that Motorola has well-rounded telephones with unimaginable worth, he notes that “the fact is that they don’t have any notable standout options or factors of differentiation and infrequently fall under different manufacturers on the subject of some smartphone fundamentals comparable to pictures.”
Ubrani means that Motorola ought to supply improved photograph and video seize on its telephones, one thing the corporate hasn’t significantly excelled in. Maybe the corporate ought to take into account a partnership like what we have seen with different Android OEMs. OnePlus’s partnership with Hasselblad has resulted in spectacular digicam high quality on its current units, and Motorola may gain advantage from an identical collaboration.
AI might additionally play an enormous function for Motorola in 2025. The corporate is already beta-testing its Moto AI suite with options that summarize notifications, transcribe recordings, and recall saved content material. It additionally confirmed off its Giant Motion Mannequin, which performs actions in apps on the person’s behalf, comparable to ordering a espresso or Uber. Motorola hasn’t stated when this can arrive on telephones, however with the lately introduced Gemini 2.0, this may’t be too far off, and I might think about this launching in 2025.
After all, that is all contingent on whether or not Motorola can keep away from having its telephones banned within the U.S. The corporate is at present in a patent infringement dispute with Ericsson that would ban its units in a number of international locations, so hopefully, Lenovo can work issues out to keep away from a transfer that might be fairly detrimental to the market.
OnePlus has the {hardware}, but it surely must play the sport
Not like Motorola, which has seen an uptick within the adoption of its flagship telephones, OnePlus has struggled to get its telephones into client arms. The corporate launched the quite spectacular OnePlus 12 earlier this yr, which I lately had the pleasure of utilizing.
Due to the multi-year partnership with Hasselblad, OnePlus has managed to develop a digicam system that would rival Samsung and even Google, and the corporate was even among the many first to deliver Android 15 to its smartphones in 2024, one thing even Samsung hasn’t managed to do.
Nonetheless, none of that issues if nobody’s shopping for the telephone, and OnePlus has been absent from the rankings for prime OEM shipments for 2024.
That stated, each Shah and Ubrani agree that there’s an general constructive notion of the corporate. So why is that not translating into gross sales, particularly in North America, which is a significant market? Ubrani tells me that the difficulty isn’t with OnePlus.
“The problem is the state of the U.S. smartphone market and the truth that telcos act as gatekeepers. When OnePlus first began, they eschewed the telcos by going direct-to-consumer, and although it labored nicely, they have been nonetheless a really tiny participant. They finally started to work with American telcos, however this proved to be too costly, and so they finally backed away.
The truth is that the unlocked piece of the U.S. smartphone market is tiny (sub 10%), and until manufacturers are keen to spend giant sums of cash to work with telcos, they don’t stand an opportunity. I doubt we’ll see a lot of OnePlus within the U.S. on account of this.”
OnePlus might take a web page from Motorola’s ebook relating to provider partnerships in 2025. The final main OnePlus telephone to be bought by a U.S. provider was the OnePlus 10 Professional, and even that was restricted to T-Cellular. Since then, anybody who needed a OnePlus telephone had to purchase it straight from the corporate or unlocked from a retailer. Within the U.S., this makes it extremely troublesome to maneuver a big variety of items, even with the cheaper and extra accessible OnePlus 12R.
Shah additionally factors out that regardless of OnePlus’s enticing portfolio, the $300-$600 worth level that it targets within the U.S. “is barely 5% of the overall market, which reduces its Whole Addressable Marketplace for OnePlus to compete.”
That stated, with the upcoming launch of the OnePlus 13, there’s some hope. The world launch is on January 7, and the telephone ought to show fairly spectacular primarily based on what we’ve seen from the Chinese language variant. It’s unclear if OnePlus’s provider relationships will get higher, however Anshel Sag, principal analyst for Moor Insights & Technique, appears optimistic.
“I believe OnePlus is doing about in addition to they count on to within the U.S. market with out in-store provider help. That stated, I do imagine that the subsequent technology of units are actually good, and I have been shocked by the standard of the merchandise throughout the model and I believe they need to do a greater job of exposing themselves to shoppers with their equipment just like the OnePlus Buds Professional 3 that are amongst my favourite earbuds.
The OnePlus 13 units the stage for the subsequent technology and I believe we’ll see some attention-grabbing issues from them subsequent month.”
Moreover, OnePlus has accomplished job increasing its product portfolio, launching the mighty spectacular OnePlus Watch 2 and Watch 2R together with the OnePlus Pad 2. That is one thing we want to see Motorola do extra of in 2025, as the corporate doesn’t at present have a branded Android pill or a Put on OS smartwatch. OnePlus might not have an enormous U.S. presence, however Motorola’s rising reputation may gain advantage from an expanded portfolio and a extra realized household of units à la Samsung’s Galaxy lineup.
One product we hope to see in 2025 is the OnePlus Open 2, particularly after we got here away so impressed by the unique OnePlus Open. The corporate skipped a launch in 2024, so this might be the yr OnePlus actually challenges Samsung and Google, however that is determined by its capability to get it into client’s arms.
Except for OnePlus and Motorola, different smaller firms like TCL, HMD International, and Nothing are nonetheless clawing for market share within the U.S., with TCL having the very best prospects amongst them. That stated, regardless of launching distinctive and reasonably priced merchandise in 2024, the dearth of sturdy provider relationships will possible make it onerous to develop in 2025.
Motorola’s willingness to play the sport with carriers has solidified its place as a top-selling participant, teetering between the price range and premium segments the place it may possibly compete with each the smaller and larger gamers. Due to this, 2025 might be an enormous yr for Motorola if it continues to play its playing cards proper, however others, like OnePlus, will possible battle to make any vital headway.
