UPDATE: Thanks to TechnoBuffalo, who reached out to OnePlus to confirm the fact. A OnePlus spokesperson confirmed that the OnePlus 5 will not require any invites to purchase.
“That is referring to an invite to our Indian launch event. The OnePlus 5 will be available to all, invite free.”
Although the wording on the site did suggest the recommencement of the invite system, we are glad that it would not return.
It was a matter of relief for many OnePlus fans when the company announced to drop the invite system with the launch of OnePlus 3 last year. We were expecting the same to happen with the soon-to-be-launched OnePlus 5, but the company doesn’t seem to have done with it. OnePlus 5 will be launched with an invite system in place, at least OnePlus website says so.
As we have already reported that the OnePlus 5 will go on sale in India on June 22, just a couple of days after its international launch. The event will take place in Mumbai and besides the media, OnePlus also wants the fans to be a part of the launch. However, the tickets to the launch event are paid and cost Rs. 999 for an individual.
The OnePlus Invite Box will fetch you a OnePlus 5 T-shirt along with the invite to the event and a Welcome Pack that is worth Rs. 10,000. The OnePlus India website mentions that the fans attending the event will also be given OnePlus 5 invite code and a discount voucher of Rs. 999 for purchasing OnePlus 5.
It is definitely a great deal for the ones who have already decided to go with the OnePlus 5 once it is launched.
But the thing that is worth noting is the presence of an invite code. Until OnePlus 2, the interested buyers were able to purchase a OnePlus phone only if an invite code was entered. If the system makes a comeback, it would make it quite a hassle for the prospective buyers, and can even affect their purchase decision.
Such purchase systems, including the flash sales and invite based, are quite popular among the Asian markets especially in countries like China and India. Besides generating more hype among the users, such systems also help the company manage their stocks better.
At this stage, it is hard to figure out why the company chose to go back with the invite system and will be known when OnePlus gives an official word over the whole thing. The international launch of the phone be on June 20th and that’s when OnePlus is expected to throw some light on the said OnePlus 5 invite.
We also exclusively reported the price of the OnePlus 5 yesterday and it is expected to start from Rs. 32,999 for the base model with 6GB RAM and 64GB internal storage and go all the way up to Rs. 37,999 for the variant with 8GB RAM and 128Gb internal storage.
