OnePlus 'Game Changer' Drone an April Fools' Day Prank, but Available to Buy

Last month, OnePlus started dropping hints for a "game changer" product, and later in the month revealed it would be a drone called DR-1. On April Fools' Day however, it was all revealed to be a prank. However the company, to mollify the public, has released a miniature drone instead - OnePlus DR-1.

The company on Wednesday announced the toy drone OnePlus DR-1 is a 'special edition product' and will only be available in 'limited quantities', priced at $19.99 (approximately Rs. 1,200). Revealing the joke, the firm said "Happy April Fool's Day from OnePlus! While we had some fun with this product pitch, we've also prepared a limited quantity of the DR-1 for you to buy."

With a wingspan of just 70mm (2.75-inches), OnePlus claims the DR-1 is the "smallest remote-controlled drone in the world." It weighs 12.5 grams, and sports a 100mAh battery that can fly the drone for 5 to 8 minutes with a 20-minute charge, adds OnePlus.

Last time around, the company even teased this so called "game changer" in a forum post along with images that tipped many that it might be a gaming device. The company had shared three images and said, "It's been a little over a year since OnePlus was founded, and while we launched with our flagship killer smartphone, we have, and always will be, a technology company. Innovation and revolutionary ideas that shake up the industry are what OnePlus has built itself upon."

On a serious note, OnePlus in India is selling the One '2014 Flagship Killer' smartphone without any invites in India on Wednesday. The open sale for the OnePlus One smartphone kicked off at 10am IST via Amazon India. The order quantity is limited to three units per customer.

An open sale for the One smartphone means that consumers will not require any invite to purchase the handset during the sale. The Chinese company as before has not revealed the number of units that will be up for sale on Wednesday; which means the handset will be available to purchase without invite till stocks last. At the time of writing, both the 64GB and 16GB OnePlus One smartphone variants were still available to purchase. In February, the OnePlus One smartphone went up for sale in its first open sale in the country.