OnePlus’ smartphones have proven popular alternatives to more expensive flagshipdevices such as the highest-end offerings from Apple, Samsung, HTC and LG, but even at relatively low prices — $349 for the OnePlus 2 and just $249 for the OnePlus X — not everyone can come up the scratch up front.
With the new installment program, customers need to pay only $99 up front using Paypal’s Paypal Credit service. Users then have monthly payments of $22.60 on a 24-month plan for the OnePlus 2, or $16.12 for 18 months for the OnePlus X. At any time during the payment period, the user can pay off the phone completely.
Mobile carriers have been using installment plans to sell mobile phones for years now, so this concept isn’t anything new, but OnePlus’ installment program does have one major advantage: Phones purchased through OnePlus on the installment plan are not restricted to any one carrier, so users are free to switch to a competing mobile service while still paying for the phone. This keeps you from being locked down, and with pre-paid mobile plans, it lets you jump to less expensive or more feature-rich services at any time.
