- Amid ongoing Anti-China sentiment in the country, OnePlus 8 Pro sells withing a minute during the sale and it shows we are not ready for independence in Mobile World
When India’s rivalry with China worsens, a Bloomberg study has indicated that the mobile world is not yet able to operate independently of China.
The case in point has been the recent selling of the new smartphones from OnePlus. Recently, the popular electronics brand hosted the sale of its flagship smartphone, the OnePlus 8 Pro in India, and the sale ran out within minutes as most noted. Indeed, despite waiting for days, many Indian buyers even took to Twitter to complain about not being able to buy the smartphone.
This, notes Bloomberg, is tantamount to proof of how India might not be ready enough to reduce its dependence on Chinese brands, particularly in the smartphone space. According to the survey, China is leading the list of exporters to India, with a trade surplus amounting to a whopping Rs 3.8 lakh crore on China.
To China, a large portion of this surplus is adding to its excellence in technology, manufacturing, and related behavior. OnePlus for example is owned by BBK Electronics, a Chinese company. As is well established, BBK also owns Oppo, Vivo, Realme, and iQOO, which are all selling their smartphones in India.
Oppo, Vivo, and Realme also rank behind Xiaomi among India’s most selling smartphone brands, which is also a Chinese technology company.
While the recent boycott of China’s discourse has increased, underlined by patriotic sentiments and the call for vocal support for local and ‘aatmanirbhar’ initiatives by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, it remains to be seen how sustained an impact this has on Chinese firms that have almost become household names in India.
There have also been several discussions about the danger of data protection linked to the Chinese firms, all of which may drastically harm market prospects for those brands.
However, it appears as of now that brands like OnePlus are still pulling off their device sales in India with success. Most smartphone brands have been trying to cash in on the make initiatives in India. Going forward, it remains to be seen how India’s most famous Chinese brands are affected by the recent dispute with China, and how India manages to step up its local manufacturing initiatives.
You can find the whole details of Chinese smartphone penetration in India here.
