OnePlus aims to popularize latest flagship phones

Chinese smartphone vendor OnePlus unveiled its latest handset Ace 2 on Tuesday, its latest push to grab a bigger share of the world's largest smartphone market amid intensified competition.

Priced from 2,799 yuan ($413) in China, the new phones are designed to popularize their affordable flagship handsets, OnePlus said.

Li Jie, president of OnePlus China, said the company hopes that Ace 2 series can help more people access cutting-edge performance on smartphones.

The parent company Oppo said it would invest 10 billion yuan ($1.43 billion) into OnePlus by 2025 to grow its presence in online sales of smartphones.

Smartphone sales in China fell 11.9 percent year-on-year to 71.13 million units in the third quarter of 2022, according to market research firm International Data Corp. The decline was narrower than the previous two quarters despite the continued weak demand.