T-Mobile has announced that it will be backing the new smartphone from OnePlus. This will enable people to buy the phone directly from the carrier's storefront.
Months before the release of the highly anticipated phone, rumors surfaced that the Chinese manufacturing company is negotiating with the largest carrier in America. Considering that the phone functions on Verizon and Sprint, many have speculated that the partnership will either be AT&T or T-Mobile.
An Optimized OnePlus 6T
According to reports, T-Mobile stores and the website will not just be selling the regular OnePlus 6T, it will make a T-Mobile-specific variant. The said phone will possibly be optimized for the use of the carrier's customers. It will even support band 71.
Many phones that are compatible with 600MHzh have been released, however, an affordable flagship that works with 600MHzh will be T-Mobile's edge. Users of other carriers such as AT&T do not need to worry because OnePlus will still be selling an unlocked version of the phone that would work for other carriers.
The only challenge OnePlus might encounter with the partnership is the go signal from the carrier's technical teams. Now, the approval process is still ongoing and might even cause a delay if things do not go smoothly.
The partnership between a Chinese brand such as OnePlus and an American company such as T-Mobile also raises eyebrows because of the unstable relationship between the two countries. Because of this, political issues might be a hindrance to the product's successful launch.
Influence Of Carrier Partnership In Sales
Studies report that many Americans buy their phones directly from their carrier. In fact, almost 75 percent of smartphone sales are because of carriers. This indicates that partnering with a carrier is important if OnePlus wants to be a mainstream brand such as Apple and Samsung.
"Getting carrier shelf space is a prerequisite to volume sales in the US," said Avi Greengart, a Global Data analyst.
OnePlus will be using the partnership as an advantage to boost their sales as tons of new audiences are expected to be exposed to the product due to the partnership.
The new OnePlus smartphone is significantly cheaper at $550 than the new Samsung Galaxy Note 9 and new iPhone, which are both priced at $1,000 or more. Furthermore, the release also corresponds with the decrease of LG and HTC sales.
