Category: OnePlus

If you have been waiting for an invite to purchase the OnePlus X, your wait is over.  Actually, it is over for everyone.  In a post on the company’s forums, OnePlus co-founder Carl Pei announced that the mid-range phone has gone invite free for good, joining the ranks of their flagship device the OnePlus 2, and doing so in record time.

We’re extremely excited to be making the OnePlus X invite-free more quickly this time around. With every device we release, we grow more mature and more adept at handling the demands and expectations of our community. We largely owe our success to your unrelenting support, so we hope that this development will make the process of purchasing your very own OnePlus X as smooth and effortless as it can possibly be.

The news is certainly welcome and eliminates one of the biggest complaints about buying a OnePlus product.  As I put in post on why the OnePlus 2 had to be a success back in June 2015, the invite system had to be improved over the OnePlus One in 2014. It was but it was still not a great experience and that experience was mirrored with the OnePlus X.  It’s understandable to an extent.  The company is working off really thin margins and any over production of devices could have serious ramifications for the company.  But it appears they have got their hands on how to deal with demands and production which means consumers benefit from just simply being able to buy the device on demand.

When the OnePlus One was released last year, it came with the option of having a Cyanogen build of Android or an OxygenOS build of it.  The later is the OnePlus home grown version of Android and it is what is standard on the OnePlus 2.  The updates to the OxygenOS build have been woefully behind those of the Cyanogen build but today the Chinese manufacture has gone a long way in helping solve that problem.  Via a post in their forums they announced that version 2.1.4 of OxygenOS is now available and can be flashed to your OnePlus One.

Make no mistake: we have in no way forgotten about the device that sent OnePlus into orbit, which is why we’d like to take this opportunity to reaffirm our commitment to some of our brand’s most loyal supporters, many of whom have been with us from the word go: OnePlus One fans. The OxygenOS team has put the final touches to this custom release, and we’re delighted to be able to announce that development on OxygenOS 2.1.4. for OnePlus One has been completed and is now available to all.

The news is certainly welcome to OnePlus One owners, of which I am one, as it brings the latest offering from an OS perspective to the device.  While the platform still has room to grow, it is clear that this is the direction that OnePlus plans on taking with their devices going forward.  The even better news, they have setup detailed instructions on how to flash your device to this new OS.

For you blessed few who have actually got your hands on the OnePlus X, today is a good day for you.  OnePlus has announced in their user forums that a new update to OxygenOS is now available for your device.  The update is build 2.1.3 and it is primarily focused on solving some SD card issues that have plagued the new, budget friendly device.

We’ve heard your feedback and have spent some time focusing on improving the user experience for SD card. We are not done yet so please expect more updates and feature additions to come in the next couple of OTAs, but here’s what’s included in this one:

• SD card related improvements including:
  • UX improvements
  • exFAT SD card support
  • Ability to move apps to and from SD card
  • Fixed reboots caused by removing SD card in an active state

This is certainly good news and users of the OnePlus X should get this OTA update quickly.  It is recommended that you update to it as soon as possible.

If you have been craving a OnePlus 2 but haven’t got your hands on an invite, this week could be your week.  The Chinese manufacture has taken to Twitter to let everyone know that starting November 27th through the 30th you can order a OnePlus 2 without having an invitation.  They are terming it as “Unlimited” and fundamentally, it speaks volumes to the challenge that OnePlus has created for itself with their invitation system.

Like the OnePlus One, the company rolled out an invitation purchasing system for the OnePlus 2 announced this summer.  When I wrote a post outlining what the company needed to do to make this new flagship successful, I pointed out that a key to the success would be a smarter and far smoother roll out of this invitation system for this new device.  It has been anything but smooth and frankly, given the lack of some key features of the OnePlus 2, sales have not been exactly stellar. So to make up for it in a way, they are suspending the invite system for Black Friday so you can get your hands on one of these devices without having to wait for an invite.

No indication on how long you will have to wait for the device however.

OnePlus has announced that on October 22nd they will be closing down and locking the OnePlus 2 invite program.  If you want to get on the invite list, now is the time to do it.  The company stated that the reason for the closure was to try to tackle the some 5 million invite holders that are out there.  As they say, “While we appreciate all your support and enthusiasm all things must come to an end eventually. And so, it is time for us to sunset the reservation list, and start fulfilling it.”

The news will come as good news for those who are on the reservation list and still haven’t had their device ship while those who have been thinking of getting the latest flagship from the company have been given a timeline on when they can jump in on the action.  The bottom line is if you aren’t on the list come October 22nd, you will have to get invited from an existing OnePlus 2 owner.  Those already on the list will stay on the list & your position will be locked after the 22nd.

It looks like we will see OnePlus’ latest offering, the OnePlus X, in a few weeks time in London.  On the company’s twitter account, a teaser post was made with a image of a lit X as part of the post.

See you October 29, London. #PowerfullyBeautiful pic.twitter.com/JxS5YQviPX

— OnePlus (@oneplus) October 14, 2015

The post seems to confirm that the OnePlus X, the smaller sibling to the OnePlus 2, will be launched worldwide on the 29th.  While it is good to see OnePlus expanding their portfolio, the company is having some almighty challenges getting stock on their flagship phone.  The only hope is that they have sorted that out for the OnePlus X.