OnePlus recently confirmed plans to increase the price of its flagship OnePlus 3 smartphone – and the £20 price hike has just gone into effect.
The OnePlus 3 just rose from its previous price of £309 to £329 as of this morning. The decision is in response to the fluctuating value of Sterling following the UK’s decision to leave the European Union.
In a statement posted online, a OnePlus spokesperson said: “
The spokesperson continued:
“Given the effects of the unstable market son our extremely thin margins, we’re reluctantly going to have to make some small changes to our pricing structure for the [OnePlus 3]. There’s still time to pick up the device at the current price of £309. We said that we’d give you as much notice as possible, and we’re committed to taking the hit over the next few days and absorbing the resulting losses.”
OnePlus also confirmed that the price increase only applies to the price of the OnePlus 3, and that accessories won’t be affected.
The OnePlus 3 is a smartphone made by Chinese manufacturer OnePlus, and was revealed on June 14, 2016. It’s the fourth phone built by the two-year-old firm and, despite being a high-end handset, is significantly cheaper than many of its rivals at just £309. That’s made possible by OnePlus selling its devices at close to manufacturing cost. These thin margins means that OnePlus is acutely affected by currency fluctuations.
OnePlus co-founder Carl Pei apologised to customers on Twitter shortly after the company confirmed the price hike:
https://twitter.com/statuses/750289837790408704
Pei also confirmed to one user that if the Pound rose significantly, OnePlus would consider reducing the price of the OnePlus 3 even beyond the launch price:
https://twitter.com/statuses/750290968226570240
Despite the bad news, customers seemed to support the decision to increase the price of the OnePlus 3 – on Twitter, anyway:
https://twitter.com/statuses/750290239722323968
https://twitter.com/statuses/750290328071135232
https://twitter.com/statuses/750291944077660160
On the OnePlus forums, user ‘SeanPlus’ posted: “Anyway, tis’ a shame the price is going up, but understandable. Glad you have given UK customers/fans some notice.”
Another user called ‘Sinjan22’ posted: “We need to appreciate that OnePlus are still a company – they experience profits and losses like any company does. I’m glad that they’re giving their fans the opportunity to still buy the phone at the ordinary price though.”
The currency fluctuations are in response to the UK’s decision to leave the European Union after a majority voted for exit in last week’s referendum. Since then, the value of Sterling has sunk, with Sterling now at its lowest value against the American dollar in 31 years. Shaun Osborne, Chief Currency Strategist at Scotiabank, recently told Market Watch that the British pound could hit parity (equal value) with the US dollar by the end of the year.
Related: OnePlus 3 vs Nexus 6P
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
