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OnePlus, the company that previously only allowed customers to buy its smartphones if they had an invite from someone else, has now dropped the invite-only sales requirement for its earlier OnePlus 2 smartphones. That means that anyone who wants a OnePlus 2 phone (pictured) can now simply order one for purchase.
In addition, through Dec. 7, the company is also temporarily suspending the invite-only purchasing requirement for its latest smartphone, the midmarket OnePlus X, which will revert back to invite-only purchases as of Dec. 8.
The no-invite-needed policy for the OnePlus 2 phone was announced Dec. 3 in a post on the company’s product forum.
“The invite system has been crucial to letting us scale our operations and has given our fans a unique way to share OnePlus with the people in their lives,” the post states. “But we are always trying to enhance the OnePlus experience for you and taking risks to push ourselves and show real improvements. That’s why we’re making the OnePlus 2 invite-free … forever!”
A OnePlus 2 smartphone with 64GB of internal storage and 4GB of memory sells for $389 from the company’s Website. A $329 model with 16GB of internal storage and 3GB of memory is presently out of stock.
A OnePlus X phone with 16GB of internal storage sells for $249.
OnePlus has also placed its accessory product line for the phones on sale through Dec. 7 on its Website, including OnePlus 2 StyleSwap phone covers for 50 percent off, select OnePlus One accessories at 90 percent off and all other accessories for 10 percent off.
Orders received by Dec. 7 are guaranteed for delivery before the holidays, according to the company.
The next-generation flagship OnePlus 2 handset, which went on sale by invitation in August, is built around an aluminum-magnesium alloy frame that features jewelry-grade stainless steel accents. It includes a Full HD 5.5-inch In-Plane Switching (IPS) LCD display, a 64-bit octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 processor, an Adreno 430 graphics processor, up to 4GB of LPDDR4 RAM and up to 64GB of on-board eMMC 5.0 flash storage. The smartphone’s display can be read in direct sunlight and offers 178-degree viewing angles so it can be read from many positions.
The OnePlus 2 also features 4G LTE capabilities, a SwiftKey keyboard that learns words that are chosen often by users, a fingerprint scanner for security, a 3,300mAh lithium polymer battery, a USB Type-C charging port and dual SIM card slots that support two Nano SIM cards.
A 13-megapixel rear-facing digital camera is also built into the OneTouch 2, which includes six physical lenses, dual LED flash, an advanced Optical Image Stabilization system and an f/2.0 aperture for great images, even in low-light conditions. Also built-in is a wide-angle 5MP front-facing camera for selfies.
The OnePlus 2 runs on OnePlus’ own operating system, OxygenOS, which is based on Android 5.1. OxygenOS allows users to customize on-screen gestures, buttons, quick settings and more.
The OnePlus X midmarket smartphone was unveiled in October and also runs on OxygenOS, which differentiates it from the many Android and Apple iOS models on the market. The OnePlus X features a 5-inch Full HD display, a Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 processor, 3GB of memory, 16GB of on-board storage which is expandable with a memory card up to 128GB, and a 2,525mAh lithium battery. It also includes a 13-megapixel rear-facing camera, an 8MP front-facing camera and a dual SIM card option.
The OnePlus 2, which has smooth curves and clean lines, is available in Sandstone Black while customers can also purchase a variety of covers made from wood, including bamboo, black apricot or rosewood.
OnePlus’ original OnePlus One smartphone went on sale in April 2014 and sold more than one million units, according to the company. The phones are built to take on Apple’s iPhones, Samsung’s Galaxy S6 devices and other premium phones from the world’s top manufacturers.