OnePlus brand builder Carl Pei has left the smartphone company - The Verge

It’s been tough to talk about OnePlus as a scrappy smartphone startup ever since its close ties with Oppo, Vivo, and electronics giant BBK came to light, but it’s still hard to overstate the impact of Carl Pei, the longtime public face of the company, who confirmed his departure today.

In a blog post on the OnePlus forums, Pei says he’s “looking forward to taking some time to decompress and catch up with my family,” without addressing why he’s doing so now.

Either way, it seems abrupt: Android Central and Android Police reported that he had already left the company as of four days ago, and OnePlus wasn’t prepared to answer questions about where he had gone and why.

After nearly 7 years at OnePlus, I’ve made the difficult decision to say goodbye.

Fast forward to today, and OnePlus is a strong force to be reckoned when it comes to flagship smartphones.

Having just turned 24 when OnePlus started, it’s where I spent most of my 20s, and also where I grew up.

These past years, OnePlus has been my singular focus, and everything else has had to take a backseat.

I’m looking forward to taking some time off to decompress and catch up with my family and friends