OnePlus looking to get off the invite system by October, but is that too late?
When OnePlus originally launched the OnePlus One, they mentioned they’d need to sell phones via an invite-only system over a traditional pre-sale / first come, first serve setup. Many people forgave them for this considering they were still a very new company and likely had no other choice than to resort to unorthodox tactics.
Many contests (controversial and otherwise) have already given tens of thousands of folks the opportunity to buy one, but there are still a ton of would-be buyers left in the dark. So when is it all going to end? Thankfully, we have a new answer — OnePlus hopes to wash their hands of this invite stuff at some point in October. That much was confirmed in an Ask Me Anything session over at the Android subreddit.
Unfortunately that doesn’t mean stock is going to be readily available at that point. Shortages will still be prominent. The only difference is you’ll be able to pre-purchase the device without an invite. You’re still subject to the first come, first serve rodeo, which means you could be pre-ordering a phone that you might not see for a couple of weeks to a month. In fact, some might argue that this is even less savory than the invite system — at least when you have an invite you know there’s a phone waiting for you.
It’s unfortunate that OnePlus is taking so long to wean off the invites. Some might wonder if October is much too late. IFA Berlin kicks off next week, and we’ll be seeing exciting new smartphones from Motorola, Samsung, Sony and other major players announced (many of which are due for worldwide launch the very next month). Granted, none of them are likely to be as powerful as the OnePlus One for a $300 price point, but at least folks would be able to buy those phones as soon as they’re available.
Only time can tell if OnePlus ended up missing their first boat, but for now all anyone can do if they truly have their hearts set to buy this phone is to more actively pursue invites or just wait for the circus to be over with. Let us know if you’ll still be looking to buy one of these things by the time October makes its way to the forefront of the calendar.