Nothing was founded on a simple premise: phones are boring. This wasn’t always the case, of course. There was a time before the smartphone became a commodity when the tech world waited with bated breath for the latest device from Apple and Samsung.
Ultimately, however, these companies painted themselves into a corner. Phones got too good. For years, new devices have felt incremental, people have started holding onto their phones longer and sales began to plateau and eventually decrease.
In late 2020, Carl Pei announced his exit from OnePlus, the handset company he co-founded in late 2013. He promised the world something new: a tall order in a field that’s felt oversaturated for so long.
