OnePlus Is Leaving America. Maybe Motorola Can Fill the Hole.

I've never really been a Samsung or Apple guy.

There's nothing wrong with either one. They make great phones. They're just the obvious phones, and I've always liked the other stuff.

That's a big reason I've been a OnePlus fan.

OnePlus made the kind of phone I like: high-end hardware, ridiculous performance, and just enough personality that it didn't feel like I was carrying the same phone as everybody else.

So yeah, I'm pretty bummed that OnePlus is leaving the North American market.

The company has officially announced that it's ending new product rollouts in North America and Europe. If you already own a OnePlus, it isn't suddenly becoming a paperweight. OnePlus says existing devices will continue getting software updates, security patches, warranty coverage and after-sales support. But as far as new OnePlus phones here go, that's basically it. OnePlus has the details here.

And that leaves a weird little hole in the Android market.

Especially for people like me who want a premium phone but don't automatically walk into a store and ask, “So which Galaxy should I buy?”

Motorola, you have my attention.

Motorola is obviously not some tiny, unknown phone company. But in the U.S., the brand has spent a lot of time competing in the affordable end of the market, along with the Razr line.

The new Motorola Signature 27 looks like something different.

Motorola says it's bringing the phone to the U.S. in November and calls it its most advanced smartphone yet. It's powered by Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6 platform, with Motorola also promising a high-end camera system and new AI features. Motorola's U.S. preview is here.

In other markets, Motorola has already shown off some of the crazier hardware: a 200MP periscope telephoto camera, up to 100x AI-assisted zoom, a 50MP Sony LYTIA main sensor, diamond-infused thermal gel with a 3D vapor chamber, aerospace-grade aluminum and Bang & Olufsen audio.

In other words, this doesn't sound like Motorola trying to make another pretty good midrange phone.

They're taking a swing.

And that's what makes this interesting to me.

I don't necessarily want Motorola to make a Samsung Galaxy with an M on the back.

I want Motorola to be Motorola and build a genuinely great flagship phone.

Give me the ridiculous processor. Give me the great cameras. Give me premium materials and long software support. But also give me some personality. Give me a reason to pick this thing instead of one of the two or three phones everybody already knows about.

OnePlus used to scratch that itch for me.

Maybe Motorola can now.

I'm not declaring the Signature 27 my next phone. We still need to see the full U.S. story, including what Motorola decides to charge for it.

But for the first time in a while, I'm genuinely interested in seeing Motorola take a swing at the high end of the U.S. Android market.

OnePlus leaving sucks.

Motorola stepping into the space it leaves behind?

That could get interesting.

The news that got me thinking about this was CNET's report on the Signature 27 coming to the U.S.