OnePlus has turned 2 today and is celebrating the second birthday with style. Carl Pei, Co-founder and head of Global Business at OnePlus has announced in his letter addressed to the well-wishers that on occasion of second birhday of OnePlus while ”the OnePlus staff will be popping bottles of champagne, we want to celebrate with you by officially launching the OnePlus X Champagne edition. We’ll be rolling out this white and gold version of the OnePlus X in Europe, with other markets to follow very soon. The Champagne edition will be sold during our weekly open sales on a first-come, first-served basis. However, those already with OnePlus X invites can use them for a Champagne device any day.
We reproduce below the contents of the letter of Carl Pei, which explains in details the journery of OnePlus and their future plans for 2016:
Friends,
Two years ago today, we started OnePlus because we weren’t satisfied with how things were. The market was littered with uninspiring products, with companies seemingly more concerned with market share than making great products. We decided to tackle the problem in our own way, by focusing on great products, but also by changing up the rules.
We cut out the middleman, and thanks to the advantages of e-commerce and digital marketing, we brought consumers premium products at a disruptive price. When we launched the OnePlus One in April 2014, we honestly didn’t expect the amount of support we saw. We were overwhelmed, and have been feverishly working behind the scenes to live up to the expectations that we’ve shouldered ever since then.
I think a lot of our success in 2014 was due to luck and timing. As we moved into 2015, we were worried that OnePlus, as a company, would be a one hit wonder. Those worries were alleviated when we launched the OnePlus 2 in July, which earned unprecedented attention. It featured the latest and fastest hardware, beautiful and premium design, as well as bleeding edge technologies such as USB Type C and Fingerprint Sensor.
In late October, we unveiled the OnePlus X, a smaller device that is as powerful as it is beautiful. This was a potent mix that hadn’t really been explored previously. We also announced a limited ceramic version of OnePlus X. No one had used ceramic at this scale before, and it was a huge step forward in terms of smartphone material choice and design.
We’ve also branched out just a little bit more in our second year. We launched our premium OnePlus Icons earphones, and even made a Sandstone cover for our fans to share with their friends and family who own, well, a different phone.
I think 2015 will be remembered as the year where we marked that OnePlus is here to stay. Ever since the beginning, we’ve been pursuing sustainable growth. We’ve been trying our best to do the right things at the right time, not taking unnecessary risks, and not letting noise or competition get in the way. Like with the often misunderstood invite system; sometimes you need to slow down before you can speed up.
Growing as fast as we have in two years, we have a lot of areas we need to improve. As we enter our third year, a lot of our shortcomings become inexcusable. In 2016, there is no excuse for any part of OnePlus to not live up to, if not exceed, industry standards. If OnePlus in the past two years was the naughty kid that came and stirred the smartphone industry pot, I hope that 2016 will be the year where people see this kid developing and maturing into a more responsible member of the community.
However, we will keep being unapologetically OnePlus. In our third year, we hope to continue to deliver excitement and surprise, while also becoming a company our fans can be even prouder of standing behind. It’s a defining year for us. So to kick things off, we’ve got some exciting news for you.
What better way is there to celebrate an anniversary than with some champagne? Well, we’re taking that both literally and figuratively. While the OnePlus staff will be popping bottles of champagne, we want to celebrate with you by officially launching the OnePlus X Champagne edition. We’ll be rolling out this white and gold version of the OnePlus X in Europe, with other markets to follow very soon. The Champagne edition will be sold during our weekly open sales on a first-come, first-served basis. However, those already with OnePlus X invites can use them for a Champagne device any day.
While we’re proud of what we’ve been able to accomplish over the past two years, we realize that none of this would have been possible without you, our fans. You’re what keeps us motivated to do better and Never Settle. We’re writing this story together. So there’s another surprise we want to tell you about today as well. In 2016, there will be a documentary released that tells the OnePlus story as it’s been written so far. It’s a look behind the scenes at what makes OnePlus what it is — the highs, the lows, and everything in between. This story is ours to celebrate together, so hopefully you’ll be as pumped to see it as we are. We’re releasing the teaser today.
We’re really excited about what lies ahead for OnePlus, and I hope you are too. Thanks to all of you who have stood by us and supported us along the way. We can’t wait to see what’s next.
Never Settle.
