*This is not financial advice. All content should be considered opinionated. We are not responsible for any of your gains and losses. I am neither a licensed nor registered financial expert. Please see a financial advisor before making investment decisions.

*This is not financial advice. All content should be considered opinionated. We are not responsible for any of your gains and losses. I am neither a licensed nor registered financial expert. Please see a financial advisor before making investment decisions.

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In a crowded world of technology, having an ecosystem is what can help you stand out. Look at Apple, while many smartphones look like iPhones, the iOS software is what helps them stand out. For Google, being the owner of the Android software allows them to stand out in the smartphone market. Their smartphone sales might not be doing as well as other companies but being the provider of Andriod is what allows them to reap profits without being contested. 

But what if you're a smartphone maker looking to stand out? You might be using the same software as everyone else and your phones might function the same and have similar prices as your competitors. Finding a way to stand out is hard. 

Photo by Denny Ryanto on Unsplash

OnePlus is in that situation. OnePlus is a Chinese smartphone maker notable for producing and selling gadgets for a low price. Recently, they wanted to make cheaper smartphones. Besides making it more appealing and affordable to people, OnePlus has a strategy behind this plan.

To build an ecosystem, you'll need to make your network effect strong. Having more people in the ecosystem makes the ecosystem more valuable, according to the laws of the network effect. OnePlus plans on using cheaper smartphones to attract more people into their ecosystem. Once they get the people on their ecosystem, they'll be able to sell their smart TVs, wireless listening devices, etc. to their customers to build the OnePlus world to people. 

It's similar to how Apple has its Apple TV, iPad, iPhone, Apple Music, iCloud, iMac, Macbook Air, Apple Watch, Airpods, etc. 

But there is one problem with OnePlus's strategy: they need to obey the rules that their software provider provides them. For OnePlus, Andriod is its software provider. Meanwhile, because Apple created its own software, iOS, they have the freedom to anything on their ecosystem. But, it doesn't mean that it's the end of the world for OnePlus. OnePlus does plan on finding ways of creating a unique experience for its users when using its gadgets. By making the transition of usage among different devices seamless, OnePlus is looking to give people a wow factor for potential customers. 

Experts are wondering if OnePlus is looking to flood the market with smartphones. Interestingly, OnePlus isn't looking to do that. OnePlus is looking for sustainable growth. After learning from one of their competitors about the drawbacks of flooding the smartphone market, OnePlus is looking to reap the benefits of their progress for a long time. 

Overall, OnePlus looks to hook users into its ecosystem by using lower prices. Once they're in the ecosystem, OnePlus is looking for more ways of monetizing its ecosystem and in making the OnePlus experience unique compared to its competitors. 

It is hard to stand out when you look really similar among your peers. Using creativity and focusing on sustainable growth, OnePlus will be able to build a great smartphone business like Apple.