OnePlus said Thursday that Black Friday is just “mind games” and took a highly critical stance of one of the largest shopping holidays on the planet, having opted to illustrate its point by discounting the newly released OnePlus 5T by a single penny. The $0.01 price drop is meant to reflect the company’s stance that its products are already fairly priced and allow consumers to save money while simultaneously receiving a high-end experience. The Chinese original equipment manufacturer still opted to slash the price of its Dash Power bundle by 50 percent for the next 24 hours, saying it’s able to “do that much” but stressing that the main motivation for consumers to buy its new smartphone and other offerings shouldn’t be a seemingly deep discount that suggests the product they’re purchasing was overpriced to begin with but the sole act of recognizing that they’re supporting a company that’s seeking to save them money in the long run while still delivering premium devices.
The firm’s Thursday remarks are the latest step in its product strategy that generally shies away from major discounts and doesn’t even allow handsets a long enough shelf life to receive significant price cuts, with its smartphones traditionally being discontinued within half a year of launching in order to make way for their immediate successors. That’s what’s currently happening with the OnePlus 5 that only released in June but isn’t being manufactured any longer, with the BBK Electronics-owned OEM now placing all of its focus on the OnePlus 5T.
According to recent remarks from one company official, OnePlus may not necessarily release two smartphones next year, with its co-founder Carl Pei recently revealing that the T-Branded revisions of its last two major flagship releases were only made because the firm concluded it can deliver enough technological advancements to convince consumers that an upgrade is worth the money. With the Shenzhen, Guangdong-based phone maker planning on continuing that product strategy going forward, there are still no guarantees that the OnePlus 6T will be released in the second half of 2018, Mr. Pei suggested. The OnePlus 5T started selling in North America and Europe earlier this week, starting at $499. The bezel-free Android flagship will officially release in India next Tuesday following two flash sales in the South Asian country, whereas its commercial debut in China is scheduled for December 1st.