In the event you have been hoping to cop a OnePlus Watch 3, you’ll be able to lastly purchase one beginning right this moment. The issue is it’s now not the $329.99 worth that was initially supposed when OnePlus introduced the system a couple of months in the past. It’s now $499, a $170 or roughly 52 % markup.
The worth hike was noticed by a variety of Android blogs, however what makes this odd is a scarcity of official communication from OnePlus itself. Usually, firms will alert press and long-time clients as customers usually don’t react nicely to unexplained worth hikes. Nevertheless, no such trace got here from OnePlus earlier than the smartwatch went on sale. When requested in regards to the worth improve, OnePlus spokesperson Spenser Clean advised The Verge, “We don’t have any further remark to share presently.”
The plain rationalization, although unconfirmed by OnePlus, can be tariffs. Except you’ve been hibernating below a rock, you’ve in all probability seen headlines about President Trump’s ever-increasing tariffs towards merchandise shipped from China. (As of this writing, they’re at present sitting at 145 %.) Whereas most wearables and gadget makers I’ve spoken to have acknowledged tariffs will have an effect on pricing, some have opted to take a extra wait-and-see method. That is, nevertheless, one of many first examples of a smartwatch truly growing in worth, not to mention by such a dramatic quantity.
It’s additionally uncommon provided that many gadget makers tried to delay such worth hikes by growing stock forward of the tariffs taking impact — preserving customers from truly feeling the affect of tariffs on their pockets as quickly. Others, like Framework, quickly opted to halt some gross sales within the U.S.
However OnePlus could not have been capable of stockpile models within the US early due to an ironic mistake. The OnePlus Watch 3 was initially set to launch again in February however was delayed due to an unfixable typo engraved within the backplate.
That typo: ‘Meda in China.’
