OnePlus have made the headlines quite a lot this year and for good and bad reasons. The launch of their flagship device the One Plus One back in June was very big news offering top notch specs at a low price. At launch the One was released in only a number of markets primarily consisting of Europe and North America. However, it seemed to receive rather unexpected interest from India. As a result, OnePlus announced their intention to make the One available in India soon. Last month it was reported that the One is expected to go on sale in India before the year is out with the most recent reports suggesting this will be December. However, the big question was would OnePlus again employ the notorious invite system.
If you have never heard of the OnePlus invites then just to recap it is only possible to buy the One with an invite. To obtain an invite you need to be given one by someone you know or by winning of one the company’s various competitions. However, it was announced recently that this Monday (October 27th) the One will be available to purchase in the launch countries without an invite. Although it was also announced the availability is only for one hour. With such a dislike for the invite system it was largely expected that invites would not be used when the device launches in India. However it now seems that is not the case.
An announcement made yesterday in the OnePlus forums clearly states that invites will initially be in effect in India. The announcement also interestingly states that it wont be a traditional invite system but an “India specific invite” system. What this means exactly is unknown but what is clear is when the device launches in India customers will not be able to go out and purchase the device. The announcement explained (in spite of their general dislike) invites had been extremely helpful to the company allowing them “to control our inventory, scale our team and support services to grow along with demand“. Further adding “It will take us some time to learn and the invites are a great way for us to do that“. For the Indian readers who are immediately thinking ‘Oh no’. The announcement did advise availability of the invites will be much easier then it was for the launch markets. Even suggesting there will be some kind of retail partnership involved “We’ll also be working with a local partner for an even easier way to get your hands on the One“. Again adding “invites will also be available through our forums and social media channels“. Lastly, although not exactly helpful, the announcement concluded by suggesting that the invite system in India “may not stay in place forever“. So there you go, India will be getting the One but they will also certainly be getting an invite system too. Were you planning on buying the one when it launches in India? How do you feel about the news that you will now need an invite?