OnePlus One invite system finally abolished, with sales opened to all
But it’ll return for the OnePlus 2, so don’t get too excited just yet
How much do you love the OnePlus One, dear readers? Well, you voted it 2014’s gadget of the year, so we’d guess: quite a bit. But if you haven’t had a chance to check out the so-called “budget flagship” smartphone, now’s the chance.
That’s because OnePlus has finally killed the invite system that defined the phone’s availability up ’til today, requiring prospective buyers to obtain them through contests or other means. It had been in place for the majority of the last year since the One became available in April 2014.
True, OnePlus had occasionally opened up orders during small windows of time here and there, but had never committed to the kind of open availability seen with the vast majority of other phones. But now, the company apparently feels like it can finally keep up with demand after all this time. Still, that doesn’t mean the system is completely gone for good.
“Yes, the [OnePlus] 2 will initially launch with invites,” reads the blog post on today’s news. “We’re committed to maintaining razor-thin margins in order to give as much value as possible back to our users, and this drastically increases our risk. The OnePlus 2 will bring the challenges that come along with a brand new product, and initially, our invite system will help us to manage that risk.”
Well, you win some and you lose some. The OnePlus One is available now for £229 for the 16GB model and £269 for the 64GB version, while the OnePlus 2 had previously been projected for a mid-year release. Stay tuned for more as we hear it.
[Source: OnePlus]
Andrew Hayward
Freelance Writer 
