The idea of Brexit might have sounded good in theory for around 52% of British voters last month, but in the short term at least, the repercussions of the country’s exit from the European Union are being felt widely, from the mining industry to aviation and from the telecom sector to the automakers. However, one other fallout that the average Brit now has to deal with is the devaluation of the Sterling, which now threatens to increase the day-to-day expenses of average folks in the country because of higher costs of import of just about everything raging from clothing to electronics. One early casualty of the weaker Pound now seems to be the OnePlus 3, which was launched globally earlier this year by Chinese startup, OnePlus.
While OnePlus had originally priced its third-generation flagship at £309 in the U.K., the company has now announced that the wild fluctuations in the value of the local currency is leaving it with no options but to raise the price of the device by £20. The new £329 price-tag will be effective from the 11th of July, 2016, so those thinking about picking up a brand new OnePlus 3 can still save a few quids by picking it up between now and next Sunday. OnePlus had earlier announced that such a move may well be on the cards, so while it’s not exactly a bolt from the blue, it is still something that buyers would have been hoping to avoid.
It remains to be seen how would-be customers react to the change, but given that most of these companies operate with razor-thin margins, it isn’t too difficult to see why every little dip in the value of the local currency would affect their profitability significantly. Either way, the company has also clarified that its accessories will continue to be sold at current prices, which would certainly be a welcome relief for those wanting to pick up earphones, cables, or power banks from the company’s webstore. Meanwhile, shortly after OnePlus officially announced the price rise, the company’s CEO, Mr. Carl Pei, apologized on Twitter for the company’s decision, saying that it was inevitable under the given circumstances.