The OnePlus 3, one of the most highly anticipated smartphones launching this year rumored to be hitting the market in the second quarter, will feature an overhauled design compared to its predecessors. Concept images featuring the smartphone show just that, which will complement the powerful Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 chipset that it will be packing.
In anticipation of its upcoming new flagship smartphone, OnePlus has made it easier for customers to acquire the OnePlus 2 and the OnePlus X with the launch of an installment option for purchasing the devices.
"For a long time, carriers have been masking the true price of their smartphones through subsidies, and more recently installments," wrote OnePlus co-founder Carl Pei in a thread in the official OnePlus forums.
According to Pei, to provide consumers with a fair comparison on the amount that they would pay for a smartphone purchased through a carrier versus what they would pay for a OnePlus smartphone, the United States store of the smartphone company will now be allowing orders worth more than $99 to be paid in installments.
Pei noted that, compared to purchasing smartphones from carriers through installments that comes with restrictive contracts, purchasing smartphones directly from OnePlus through installments will still allow users to switch between carriers as often as they want.
The OnePlus installment plan also features great flexibility, as customers that choose to purchase a OnePlus device on installment at first and then find the capability to pay the remaining amount due in bulk can do so.
To purchase a OnePlus smartphone on installment, customers will have to select the PayPal Credit option upon completion of their order on the website. The checkout page will calculate the monthly installment amount that the customer will need to pay.
Pei gave the 18-month installment plan as examples. Customers looking to purchase the OnePlus 2 will need to pay $22.60 per month, while those looking to buy the OnePlus X will have to pay $16.12 per month.
For now, the installment option is only available in the United States store of OnePlus. There is no indication on whether the payment plan will be expanded to be availed by customers from other countries.
