OnePlus has confirmed plans to change the production timeline for its cases and screen protectors, offering them for smartphone models up to a year after they have been discontinued.
The announcement should reassure customers worried about the fast turnaround of OnePlus flagship phones.
For the last two years, OnePlus has launched an iterative update to its flagship smartphone some six months after the latter launched.
The OnePlus 5T, which debuted back in November, brought an expansive 6.01-inch AMOELD display, rear-mounted fingerprint scanner, and improved dual-camera system to the six-month-old design.
In a statement to Trusted Reviews, OnePlus confirmed plans to continue manufacturing cases and screen protectors for smartphones up to a year after they’re pulled from its shelves.
The first handset to be given this treatment is the OnePlus 5.
“We’ve received feedback from our customers praising the quality and longevity of our products,” a spokesperson for the company told Trusted Reviews.
“However, some have been surprised that they cannot buy a new case or screen protector after their phone is no longer on sale.
“So, starting from the OnePlus 5, we want to let you know that we will now continue producing and stocking a range of cases and screen protectors up to one year after a phone goes off-sale.”
Earlier this month, OnePlus added Face Unlock – one of the flagship features of its OnePlus 5T upgrade – to its predecessor, OnePlus 5, via a free software update.
The news comes as OnePlus CEO Pete Lau confirmed the Chinese smartphone start-up will launch its next flagship smartphone before June 30th.
Presumably named OnePlus 6, the all-new smartphone will be unveiled late in Q2 2018, OnePlus’ Lau revealed.
The Chinese smartphone start-up’s second financial quarter runs from April 1st to June 30th.
If the company is targeting the end of that quarter, we can expect the OnePlus 6 to launch in a similar timeframe to the OnePlus 5 last year.
Elsewhere, OnePlus CEO Pete Lau also confirmed the processor that will power the next-generation handset.
Like the much-rumoured Samsung Galaxy S9, the OnePlus 6 will be powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 845.
“Of course, there’s no other choice,” Pete Lau told CNET during the CES tradeshow in Las Vegas earlier this month.
The OnePlus 6 could also represent a real watershed moment for the Chinese company.
OnePlus wants to nail down distribution deals with the major US carriers, enabling customers to buy the smartphone in-store on monthly contracts.
In the UK, OnePlus uses O2 as its exclusive mobile carrier.
“If the right opportunity and right timing come along, we’ll be very happy to experiment,” Pete Lau told CNET.
It’s unclear how the hugely enthusiastic OnePlus fanbase will react to a broadening of the availability of the exclusive handsets.