OnePlus X: When and how can you buy it?

OnePlus X: When and how can you buy it?

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OnePlus unveiled its third smartphone at a press event in London on 29 October. It's called the OnePlus X.

Sticking to its strategy of offering a flagship-like handset with premium materials and hardware at an affordable price, OnePlus has announced the OnePlus X will start at £199 in the UK. But it's not going to be easy to get your hands on the phone.

The Chinese mobile startup plans to initially sell the new phone through its infamous online invite system. In other words, you will need to sign up for and then recieve an invite from OnePlus in order to buy this beauty anytime soon. OnePlus relied on this very same method for selling its original OnePlus phone and the OnePlus 2, which released a few months ago.

The company insists that its frustrating invite system isn't about creating hype but rather managing its inventory, keeping risk low, and ensuring it doesn't make more smartphones than it can sell. Whatever the reason may be, the result is: you must pay close attention to OnePlus' every move over the coming months in order to be among the first to get the OnePlus X.

Confused? No worries. We've explained everything you need to know about the OnePlus X, including what it is, how much it costs, when it's launching, how to get an invite, etc. We even know workarounds that'll give you the opportunity to buy the OnePlus X without an invite.

OnePlus X: What is it?

As we said, the OnePlus X is OnePlus' latest - and third - smartphone.

It features a 5-inch Full HD display (1920x1080 resolution), 2.3 GHz Snapdragon 801 quad-core processor, 3GB of RAM, Qualcomm Adreno 330 graphics, 13-megapixel rear camera, 8-megapixel front camera, 16GB of internal storage (no other option available, but you can expand up to 128GB via microSD), and support for Bluetooth 4.0, GPS, dual-SIM, and 4G LTE.

It also has a 2,525 mAh battery and comes running Android 5.1.1, with the OnePlus operating system, OxygenOS over the top. Beyond all that, the OnePlus X will be available in two different colors: Onyx Black and Ceramic. Check out Pocket-lint's hands on for more details:

• Hands-on:OnePlus X: Quality craftsmanship now comes cheap

OnePlus X: How much does it cost?

• OnePlux X Onyx: £199/€269/$249
• OnePlux X Ceramic: €369 (US and UK pricing hasn't been confirmed yet)

OnePlus X: When will it be available?

The OnePlus X Onyx will first be available in Europe starting 5 November, followed by a US release on 19 November. The OnePlus X Ceramic is a limited-edition variant. Only 10,000 units will be avialable, starting from 24 November in Europe and India. There's no word yet on US availability.

OnePlux X: How does the invite system work?

Before you can buy the OnePlus X Onyx and OnePlus X Ceramic in Europe later this month, you need to recieve an invite.

Go to OnePlus website to enter your email and sign up for an invite. Throughout November, OnePlus said it will randomly roll out invites "on a regular basis". Ten thousand invites will be sent out today. These invites will become "more plentiful" as time goes by, and as OnePlus continues to ramp up production, though keep in mind all invites will be valid for only 24 hours.

Once you receive an invite from OnePlus and claim it, you will see how much time you have left to use it. You can also get an invite from friends who have purchased a OnePlus device already. So, when you finally buy the OnePlus X, you will also eventually recieve new invites over time via email, which you can give away to friends. The more invites you share, the more you get.

But you will only have a week to forward them to friends before they expire. To ensure you never miss an invite to either claim yourself or share with others, check your email regularly for messages from Oneplus.net. The invites could end up in your spam or hidden under Promotions.

You can read more about OnePlus' invite system here.

OnePlus X: Can you look at and buy it from a store?

The company plans to open pop-up stores across the world so people can go hands-on and hopefully by the OnePlus X.

You do not need an invite to buy a OnePlus X from a OnePlus pop-up store. The first pop-up will take place at the Colette store in Paris from 2 November until 4 November. There will be a limited number of phones to buy in-store however - so everything will be sold on a first-come, first-served basis. Similar pop-up stores will also come to Mumbai, London, and California.

Exact store locations haven't been announced yet, but keep checking OnePlus' Pop-up website for updates.

OnePlux X: Are there any other ways to get it?

Starting in December, OnePlus will kick off flash sales, in which you will have one hour each week to buy the OnePlus X.

OnePlus hasn't provided many details yet, but it suggested you sign up to its newsletter or follow its social media accounts for more information. It'll announce flash sales via those avenues. OnePlus said it also plans to dole out invites via social media promotions and competitions.

• OnePlus Facebook
• OnePlus Instagram
• OnePlus Twitter
• OnePlus Google+