OnePlus Ace has been revealed after weeks of teasing. This is a mid-range Android phone with the headline feature for super-fast 150W charging, but with mid-range specifications in other areas.
Admittedly, it’s almost exactly the same phone as the Realme GT Neo 3 that was unveiled less than a month earlier by OnePlus’ sibling brand – but that’s not why we should not test this phone.
No, accessibility concerns mean we’ll probably never be able to play with this new OnePlus phone.
Can you buy OnePlus Ace?
OnePlus Ace was unveiled at a launch event in China, and when we see phones unveiled in the country, they rarely come out globally.
In fact, a spokesperson for OnePlus told us “We have no plans to share at the moment regarding a European launch. However, OnePlus is always keeping a close eye on the market and in close collaboration with our community this may change in the future.”
We requested comments in the US but did not hear anything there. So for now, at least it sounds like the OnePlus Ace will be pretty hard to buy outside of China.
Why Can’t You Buy OnePlus Ace Outside of China?
OnePlus is not the only company revealing phones that are exclusive to the huge Chinese market. Samsung, Xiaomi, Huawei, Honor, Vivo, Realme, Oppo and more have been known to do this in the past – it’s actually a pretty standard practice.
But why? Well, brands generally do not make such big statements about the market, but the reason is probably a cocktail of a number of factors, including preferences and market trends – all but one of the companies we mentioned above are based in the country. Keep in mind that outside the West, Apple’s iPhones have a dramatically lower market share, and other brands rule.
We see enough devices get China exclusivity (and sometimes India launches too) that this is the norm. But it’s a bit annoying in the case of the OnePlus Ace.
Why the OnePlus Ace exclusivity is a surprise
OnePlus Ace was first teased in February at MWC 2022 (an annual smartphone congress). At the end of Oppo’s keynote speech (Oppo and OnePlus merged in 2021), the company teased its 150W charging solution, which would debut in a OnePlus phone.
This apparently turned out to be OnePlus Ace. So why is exclusivity a surprise? Well, because MWC 2022 takes place in Barcelona. In Spain. Which certainly is not in China.
MWC is often used as a place for Chinese brands to launch phones in the West that already debuted in China. So when we hear about technology here, it is almost guaranteed that it will come to Europe, and sometimes the United States as well.
So for OnePlus Ace to launch only in China is a surprise that counteracts the trend.
A shame
The Chinese exclusivity that is common in the telephone industry is a shame because it is usually cool and interesting phones that remain locked in the country.
OnePlus Ace is a good example, as are foldable devices like Oppo Find N and Honor Magic V.
Hopefully OnePlus will change its mind about OnePlus Ace so we can test its super fast 150W charging in real life. Maybe Realme will light a fire of competition under OnePlus, as the aforementioned GT Neo 3 has a much better chance of eventually reaching Europe (since Neo 2 did).
One of the reasons Apple’s launches inspire so much excitement is because you know iPhones will go on sale in many regions around the world. This is not true for most other brands. You can only get excited about a Xiaomi launch so many times before you start realizing that most of their launches are for China only.
Hopefully we do not see too many launches exclusively for China. Otherwise, OnePlus buyers may lose interest in all the company’s launch events.