Category: OnePlus 2

When the OnePlus 2 was publicly announced online on July 27th, it was branded as the 2016 Flagship Killer.  Apparently a lot of people are believers.  Just days after the launch, OnePlus announced they had hit the 1 million reservations mark and today they have posted on Twitter & Google+ that they have reached the 2 million mark.  That’s two million people willing to buy just 10 days after launch.  For a start up – for really any device manufacture – that’s an impressive clip.

Over 2 MILLION reservations for the #OnePlus2. Thank you for your overwhelming support! http://t.co/7CBjiXrOgp pic.twitter.com/F7nSSwwyRK

— OnePlus (@oneplus) August 6, 2015

The OnePlus 2 will start being available here in the United States on August 11th, next Tuesday, with those reservations starting to be filled.  While there are a few of the devices out and about, there are not a huge number available yet and the reservation system is how OnePlus will be fulfilling orders.

Just 72 hours after an impressive Virtual Reality launch, OnePlus has posted on their Google+ page that they have received 1 million reservations for their new “flagship killer” OnePlus 2.  While the OnePlus 2 and the Moto X and Moto G from Motorola have been all the talk this week, it is pretty clear that OnePlus has garnered their fair share of interest with their second phone and there are a few who already have their hands on the new phone.  So far the reviews have been pretty positive.

OnePlus has said that they will have more initial stock of the OnePlus 2 than they did of their first phone, the OnePlus One, simply because they know they will be able to sell them.  As I put in my article on why the OnePlus 2 has to be a success, the company doesn’t have the capital to go into mass production so they are using an invite system.  Clearly, it seems, things are going in the right direction.

Unquestionably, one of the most anticipated device launches of 2015 happens today.  At 10:00 PM EDT (7:00 PM PDT) the all new OnePlus 2 from OnePlus will be launched in a virtual reality event that will be streamed from Hong Kong.  The good news is even if you did not get your hands on the seemingly rare OnePlus VR cardboard glasses, you can still watch the event on your current Android phone with the OnePlus 2 Launch app in the Play Store.

Product launches tend to be the same. An auditorium, a keynote, and a seated audience. For the OnePlus 2 launch, we didn’t want a barrier between us and our community; we want to invite you into our world, because you’re a major part of it. That is why we will be unveiling the OnePlus 2 in a VR experience. Starting July 27 at 7:00pm PST, everyone around the world can stream our launch

Clearly OnePlus is wanting anyone and everyone to watch the event and considering it and the app are free, why not?

OnePlus 2 Launch for Android – Free – Download Now

If there was one thing that really tripped people up on the OnePlus One it was the invitation system at the launch of the new “flagship killer” last year.  Many people struggled to get an invite mostly because OnePlus themselves simply did not make a lot of the devices.  As they clearly and openly state,  we didn’t know how people would react to it. We had no clue how many people would actually want to buy it and had the challenge of managing our cash flow and inventory risk.  The hope of course is that with the OnePlus 2, things are better.

Fast forward a year and we are just days away from the launch of the OnePlus 2.  While the company expects to have 30-50 times the amount of inventory on the OnePlus 2 over what they had with the One, an invitation system will still be used.  As I put in my article on why the OnePlus 2 must be a success for the company, the invitation system isn’t the greatest but I get why they do it.  It’s better to have higher demand and low supply than the other way around.

For what we know so far about the OnePlus 2, be sure to check out my article outlining it to date.

In a post on the OnePlus blog, the company outlines some key changes they have made to the invitation system in an effort to avoid some of the challenges they had previous.  Clearly the company is listening to fans, readers and tech writers and I for one think that the changes will certainly help smooth things out a bit.

I’ll start this post with both a confession and admission for the sake of full disclosure.  I’m a big fan of OnePlus.  I have been carrying the OnePlus One now as my primary phone for over a month and it is without question one of the best smartphones I have ever used or reviewed in my 15 years of writing such pieces.  The design works. The OS works.  The camera is awesome.  It is overall just a great device.  So I write this from a slight fanboy perspective but I also write it from a business professional.  My day job has me continually reviewing business plans, product roadmaps and talking to companies who what to have an alliance with mine.  It’s a full time job, trust me.

So it is with this dual vision that I write this post about the critical need by OnePlus of having their follow up device, the OnePlus 2, be a success.  The Chinese company can’t simply have a “similar success” nor can they have some of the distractions they had with the release of the OnePlus One – namely the much maligned invitation system. No, to be considered a top player in the Android phone space, the OnePlus 2 has to be a critical and public success with a capital BIG. It’s easier said that done and clearly the OnePlus team is very much focused on making sure their second release is does not suffer from a Sophomore Jinx.

There are three reasons in my view why the OnePlus 2 has to be a big winner for the company: Proving the success of the OnePlus One was not a “one-hit wonder”, long term financial viability of the company and third, to be considered a major and serious player in an already crowded Android market.  Can they pull it off?  If the OnePlus One is any indicator then the answer is a resounding yes.  But history does not always repeat – in fact, rarely does it.