OnePlus, the firm known for its '2014 flagship killer' smartphone, the One, claims to have shipped more than 500,000 handsets worldwide and aims to sell 500,000 more before the end of this year.
Carl Pei, OnePlus' Co-founder and Director of Global, in an interview with Forbes during the Web Summit conference in Dublin, added that the firm only makes 'single-figure' dollar profit on each handset sold. Notably, the smartphone with flagship handset specifications comes priced at $349 for the 64GB inbuilt storage variant, and will be launched at under Rs. 25,000 in India. The firm also saves a lot of cash by not advertising the One handset like others. The OnePlus One was launched in April this year with an invite-only system.
As for the 1 million sales mark, Pei stated, "It's going to be hard," but added that it can be possible. He also mentioned that the sales figure of a new handset is generally high in the first two months and cools down later. However, in OnePlus One handset's case "when you look at our internal metrics, our sales just keep growing."
Notably, the firm recently launched its pre-order system (which will certainly help the company achieve the numbers it is hoping for by the end of the year), making it available to users across the globe for an hour on October 27. Following some glitches during the short pre-order window, the firm later announced another window for November 17 and promised it would be a seamless affair for users.
The firm is also set to launch its One handset in India with a new country-specific invitation system. It also recently appointed Vikas Agarwal as a new General Manager of OnePlus India.
Also, to propel the revenue figures of the company Pei added that the firm will start focusing more towards other peripherals that complement the handset. "Accessories will be a big part of it. We've made a really social brand, that people are fans of. If we make lifestyle products or specialized accessories, I think those will do really well," said Pei.
Notably, the OnePlus will soon start selling its Silver Bullet earphones for $14.99 (roughly Rs. 920) (they are still listed as 'coming soon' on the company website) along with the recently launched premium JBL E1+ Earphones for $39.99 (roughly Rs. 2,400). Pei is also aiming to build a new "software and services layer for monetization" for increasing the revenue once the user base reaches a few millions.
OnePlus is probably aiming at the 'few millions' user base figure with the launch of its next handset, which is scheduled to launch in Q2 or Q3 of 2015. The successor to the OnePlus One is expected to be called the OnePlus 2, and feature a smaller display than the 5.5-inch one on the OnePlus, to cater to those customers not interested in a large-screen phone.
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