In less than two weeks, the whole world will see a glimpse of the new OnePlus 2 in a virtual reality event. Well, at least, those people who are getting the OnePlus Cardboard and are willing to sit and wear a pair of VR device for a few minutes. We’ve been anticipating for the next-gen OnePlus and we’re curious to know if this will indeed be that awesome smartphone the OnePlus team has been boasting about. Ever since their reaction about the early criticisms, we can’t wait to find out if this will really live up to our expectations and as hyped up.
After being spotted with a metal build, fingerprint scanner confirmed, popping up at Geekbench 3 and Bluetooth SIG, sketches surfacing, pricing confirmed, and OnePlus guys answering AMA questions on Reddit, we learned that there will be a new invite system to be introduced. In case you don’t know, OnePlus launched a different strategy to get the OnePlus One out last year. It was only early this year when the phone was made available in open sales and in more countries like Europe and India and with new pricing scheme and then later on without an invite.
Honestly, we were hoping OnePlus would do away with this invite-only system. We’re not sure how the OnePlus One is doing in the market but OnePlus already said the next device will be a bit more expensive than the One. And as for the invitation, we just found out there will be physical invite cards for the new OnePlus 2. So from digital to an actual invite, OnePlus seems to be making this harder than we thought but the company believes this will be good for the long-team health of the business.
The reason for the invite system was that OnePlus wanted to manage risk and user experience. They didn’t believe that pre-orders would be helpful. The company experienced some challenges in inventory risk and managing cash flow last year so it’s improving the system and purchase experience by–you guess it right–handing out physical invitations. OnePlus is also increasing the launch inventory to about 30 to 50 times compared to last year’s number. This means it will be easier to hand out and receive an invite after the official launch.
A reservation list will be prepared where you can just enter your email address too. OnePlus will send an official email invitation as soon as they are ready. Good news to OnePlus forum members, you will be prioritized by the company. Those who purchase the new phone will also receive invitations to share with friends. And also like last time, these invites will be sent as soon as available but OnePlus promised a faster delivery this year.
There you have it ladies and gentlemen, an improved invitation system from OnePlus–and whole lot more of confidence.
SOURCE: OnePlus