OnePlus 6 has crossed the mark of one million sales globally within 22 days of its launch that took place last month. With the fresh record, the latest model has become the fastest selling OnePlus smartphone since the inception of the company in December 2013. The Shenzhen-based company previously sold a million units of the OnePlus 5 and OnePlus 5T within three months of their launch. Notably, the new development emerges weeks after the company announced that in the first ten minutes of the OnePlus 6 sale in India, it managed to garner sales worth Rs. 100 crores. The smartphone debuted in the Indian market just a day after its global launch that was held in London and is available with a starting price of Rs. 34,999. Celebrating the success, OnePlus has announced a 'Community Celebration Season' that will bring offers over 12 days, starting from June 15.
As a sign of gratitude to the OnePlus community for the initial success of the OnePlus 6, OnePlus has kicked off the Community Celebration Season that will take place between June 15-26 and bring offers, including a Rs. 2,000 cashback on Citibank credit and debit cards, no-cost EMI options on all popular banks for three months. OnePlus customers will also receive an additional Rs. 1,000 on the exchange of any other device. There is also a referral programme on Amazon India that will allow customers to receive an extended warranty of three months by referring to a contact. Also, on the purchase of the OnePlus 6 through any official online or offline channel, two select customers will get a chance to win the flagship device. The company is also offering "free upgrades of software flashing and diagnosis without any labour charges". This is valid on 'Out of Warranty' cases. Furthermore, OnePlus users will receive a 10 percent additional discount on spare parts.
Specifications-wise, the OnePlus 6 is competing against a list of high-end smartphones, including Apple's iPhone 8 and iPhone X as well as the Samsung Galaxy S9 and LG G7 ThinQ. The dual-SIM (Nano) smartphone runs Android 8.1 Oreo-based OxygenOS 5.1, upgradable to Android P, and features a 6.28-inch full-HD+ (1080x2280) Full Optic AMOLED display with a 19:9 aspect ratio. Under the hood, it has a Snapdragon 845 SoC, coupled with up to 8GB RAM and 256GB of onboard storage. It also includes a dual rear camera setup with a 16-megapixel primary sensor and a 20-megapixel secondary sensor, and a 16-megapixel sensor is available on the front that supports a Face Unlock feature. Besides, there is a 3300mAh battery with a Dash Charge (5V 4A) fast charging technology.
Despite all this top-notch hardware mix, the OnePlus 6 comes with a starting price of Rs. 34,999 in India and $529 in the US. This is contrary to the price of the competing flagships that are available in the price segment of over $700 (approximately Rs. 48,000).
Unlike companies such as Apple, Samsung, and LG, OnePlus follows a "one flagship a year" strategy under which it brings all its efforts to bring one single model in a year instead of releasing multiple options. The company also partnered with carriers such as Elisa and O2 to widen its presence. However, as Business Insider points out, the OnePlus 6 isn't available on Verizon, which is dominating the telecom industry in the US.
Having said that, OnePlus uses a non-traditional, community-first approach to market its offerings in countries such as India, US, and Europe. The approach helped the company decide the product development and design the advertising campaign for the OnePlus 6. Moreover, OnePlus has over 5 million active OnePlus community members, with the OnePlus community forums averaging 10 million views per month.
"As always, our community has surpassed our expectations and we have them to thank for the overwhelming success of the OnePlus 6. We are touched by the trust that one million people have placed in us and are grateful for the loyalty they have displayed," said Pete Lau, Founder and CEO, OnePlus, in a press release while announcing the sales record.
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