KcKelex News: See OnePlus 2 Android smartphone? You no longer need to buy one

From Saturday, December 5, fans of the well-specced $389 OnePlus 2 can buy the Android phone unlocked without an invite.Chinese smartphone maker OnePlus is permanently shuttering its maligned invite system for the OnePlus 2, some five months after releasing its second Android handset.Until now, would-be buyers of the OnePlus 2 first needed an invite, which they could acquire by registering and then waiting weeks or months. Alternatively, they could obtain one from someone with spare invites.

OnePlus has used the system to reduce inventory costs and maintain profitability on razor-thin margins. But fans have nonetheless grown weary of the system, which has not been helped by production and shipping hiccups along the way.

Still, it took a year for OnePlus to lift the invite system for its first phone, by which time the so-called 'flagship killer' was being eclipsed by more powerful alternatives. So at least this time fans can get it while its features are still current.

However, there is one catch to the arrival of invite-free system: the $329 16GB storage model with 3GB of RAM is out of stock, meaning that if buyers want a OnePlus 2, they'll have to fork out $389 for the 64GB model with 4GB RAM.

That price puts it in the same range as Google's $379 Nexus 5X, which comes with a maximum 32GB storage.

The OnePlus 2 features an eight-core 1.8GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 system on chip, a 5.5-inch full HD display, 13-megapixel/five-megapixel cameras, and USB Type C port. To boot, OnePlus has just rolled out its Android 6.0 Marshmallow update.

On the other hand, if consumers want a cheaper device, the $249 OnePlus X will also be available without an invite between December 5 and December 7.

If buyers want either device before the holidays, OnePlus guarantees delivery provided the order is placed by Monday December 7.