One of the biggest smartphone business shake-ups of 2026 just landed quietly on Weibo. Reliable Chinese tipster Digital Chat Station reports that OPPO has created a new internal “sub-product center” merging OnePlus and Realme under a single operational umbrella covering product planning, software strategy, marketing, and after-sales services for both brands in one go. Neither OnePlus nor Realme has issued a formal global statement yet, but multiple industry sources are pointing in the same direction.
The structure is significant. Li Jie, currently President of OnePlus China, leads the new combined division and reports directly to Pete Lau, one of the most important figures in the entire BBK ecosystem. Realme, which famously split from OPPO back in 2018 and built its own identity as an aggressive budget disruptor, appears to be completing a full circle back into OPPO’s orbit.
OnePlus isn’t disappearing. The company explicitly denied shutdown rumors earlier this year. What’s actually happening is quieter but arguably more consequential: fewer overlapping products, shared resources, tighter cost control, and less brand independence. The OnePlus that positioned itself as a “flagship killer” with a fiercely loyal community now shares a product planning table with Realme and OPPO simultaneously.
The Reddit reaction says that half the community is posting “OnePlus is dead” while the other half argues this is just formalizing what ColorOS, OxygenOS, and Realme UI already made obvious years ago.
The brands survive. The distinct identities that’s the part worth watching
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