OnePlus and Microsoft are a perfect example of the rivalry between China and the United States these days: on the one hand, they are constantly refining cheap products. On the other, they are adding gadgets to raise prices. Who do you think will win?
This fall, OnePlus and Microsoft have a similar goal: to break into the lucrative mobile enterprise and worker market.
OneWho? OnePlus is a Chinese company that, for several years, has surfed on its ability to produce high-performance smartphones at very low prices. Then, OnePlus was bought by another Chinese company, Oppo, which is absent from the North American market. So much so that OnePlus products sold in Canada these days have almost the same design and the same characteristics as Oppo products sold in China.
Expect to hear more and more about OnePlus. Governments fear the arrival of Chinese-branded electric cars, but since the end of the Huawei saga, the field is clear on the side of computing mobility devices. The Oppo/OnePlus pair, to name just one, has a lot of ambition.
By raising the level of finish of its devices, OnePlus is aiming for the top of the market occupied by Samsung and Apple.
Android on the big screen
OnePlus launched the Pad, its first Android tablet, in spring 2023. This summer, it’s back with a vengeance with the Pad 2, a 12-inch tablet with significantly improved specs that’s specifically targeted at people who use a tablet for work. As is the trend, it can be equipped with a case that includes a kickstand and keyboard, transforming the device into a workstation. OnePlus also offers a stylus, for quick note-taking or doodling on the screen.
There are a few clever details about this device. The first is its keyboard case, which splits in two, and whose keyboard works even when it is detached from the tablet. It was about time we thought of this detail: no longer need to have the tablet next to you to type text. A Bluetooth link connects the device to its peripheral.
In all other respects, the mechanics of this tablet are comparable to those of a phone, except for its battery, which has twice the capacity of a typical phone battery. As for Android, which has always looked bad on a large tablet screen, OnePlus has learned from its past experience. The brand is one of the few currently selling a phone with a folding screen. It has modified Android to make multitasking easier. You can display more than one window at a time.
The Pad 2 is no match for a Samsung tablet. Android doesn’t have the flexibility of Windows, but it comes close. This software, mainly designed for phones, doesn’t have all the apps that tablets need. In short, the Pad 2 doesn’t yet have everything it needs to go toe-to-toe with Apple’s iPad Pro, but it comes close. At nearly $700, it’s expensive, but less than the competition.
AI to the rescue of Microsoft
The American justice system, as we saw last week, is considering breaking up Google. We can’t wait to see where its Pixel electronics division will end up, as it is struggling to carve out a lasting place for itself in mobile computing. Microsoft no longer has to fear accusations of acting like a monopoly, but its Surface range is in roughly the same position as the Pixels: despite its obvious qualities, it has not yet ensured its sustainability.
The latest Surface pair is a tablet, Surface Pro 9, and a laptop, Surface Laptop, which leverage generative AI to earn a place in the briefcases of office workers everywhere.
In a sign of the times, the best version of these two Surfaces is the one powered by a Snapdragon X processor from Qualcomm. This ARM-based system-on-a-chip further distances Microsoft from Intel, which is struggling to keep up in the emerging market of “AI PCs.”
This processor makes AI applications, such as Copilot, included in Windows 11, more fluid. And this is what Microsoft is insisting on. There is now a Copilot button integrated into the keyboard of its Surfaces. This gives access to a digital assistant more advanced than Cortana, but whose reliability remains variable, since its sources of information must constantly be checked.
The 19 hours of battery life and 5G connectivity probably make the Surface Pro 9 the most portable Windows device right now, but also one of the most expensive: it starts at $1,450, but you’ll need to budget more than $2,000 for a well-equipped model.
For Microsoft, it is difficult to launch such a product when firms like Gartner, Opus Research and others are (already!) beginning to talk about the beginning of the end of the craze for generative AI.
Businesses and consumers alike may be missing the days when manufacturers vied with each other to produce PCs under $1,000, then under $500, and for a moment, under $100…
American manufacturers seem in no hurry to return to this trend. Chinese brands, meanwhile, continue to move forward…