OnePlus removes the invite system from its OnePlus X smartphone, 3 months after launch

Three months after unveiling its third smartphone, OnePlus has announced that the $250 OnePlus X is now available to buy without an invite.

The OnePlus X was introduced just a few months after the China-based smartphone maker unveiled the OnePlus 2, its flagship follow-up to 2014’s OnePlus One. The OnePlus X, which comes in two variants, is all about the design, which we called premium-looking that ‘comes close to flagship’.

The one thing all OnePlus phones have had in common is that they have gone to market with a controversial invite system in place, meaning it’s not always been easy to get ahold of the devices. Invites are generally given out through competitions and promotions, while buyers are also given a set number of invites to hand out to friends.

OnePlus took about a year to remove the invite system from its first phone, and about four months to remove the invite system from the OnePlus 2. With the OnePlus X, the company has taken a mere three months to open sales to everyone, so it’s clear the company is listening to fans and taking steps to ensure that those who want a phone aren’t waiting forever.

“With every device we release, we grow more mature and more adept at handling the demands and expectations of our community,” explained OnePlus cofounder Carl Pei on the company’s forum. “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.”

OnePlus has been accused of using the invite system to create hype, but the company has explained that the real reason it limits orders initially is so that it can manage its inventory more effectively. Creating too much supply for a demand that doesn’t exist could kill the company.

“The risk in this industry is still pretty high,” explained Pei in an interview with VentureBeat last year. “A lot [of phone makers] are bleeding money or leaving the market. A lot of the choices are disappearing. Sony might get out of the smartphone industry, HTC too, while BlackBerry is also struggling. There’s not a lot of players left. People need to understand why certain decisions are made. It’s easy to criticize, but in the end do they want OnePlus to be around or not? Do they want more choice?”