After selling its phones direct to consumers for several years, OnePlus has been expanding its partnerships with U.S. carriers recently, releasing the OnePlus 6T and OnePlus 7 Pro on T-Mobile and the OnePlus 7 Pro 5G on Sprint. Now it looks like OnePlus phones will soon have a spot on another carrier's roster.
Verizon has struck a deal with OnePlus that'll see the big red carrier begin selling OnePlus phones, according to a report from Android Police. The exact launch timing and models that Verizon will carry aren't know, but today's report suggests that Verizon could release its first OnePlus phone in 2020, based on the timeline of previous deals.
Separately, a report from PhoneArena claims that Verizon will exclusively sell the upcoming OnePlus 7T Pro 5G McLaren Edition.
While still unconfirmed right now, getting a device on Verizon's shelves would be big for OnePlus. Verizon is considerably larger than Sprint and T-Mobile, and so OnePlus's devices would be exposed to many more customers on a Verizon shelf because many consumers buy their phone from their carrier. Being able to buy from Verizon could also make OnePlus phones more attractive to consumers because they'd be able to finance them through Verizon.
Also of note is that the OnePlus 6T and OnePlus 7 Pro both already work on Verizon, you just need to buy them unlocked and bring them onto Verizon's network. That doesn't necessarily make a Verizon-OnePlus partnership a lock, but it would make things a bit easier for both parties.
What do you think, Verizon customers? Would you buy a OnePlus phone if they were available direct from your carrier?
