If you happen to had been hoping to cop a OnePlus Watch 3, you’ll be able to lastly purchase one beginning as we speak. The issue is it’s not the $329.99 value that was initially meant when OnePlus introduced the machine just a few months in the past. It’s now $499, a $170 or roughly 52 p.c markup.
The worth hike was noticed by a number 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 shoppers usually don’t react effectively to unexplained value hikes. Nevertheless, no such trace got here from OnePlus earlier than the smartwatch went on sale. When requested concerning the value improve, OnePlus spokesperson Spenser Clean advised The Verge, “We don’t have any further remark to share at the moment.”
The apparent clarification, although unconfirmed by OnePlus, could be tariffs. Except you’ve been hibernating below a rock, you’ve most likely 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 percent.) 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 strategy. That is, nonetheless, one of many first examples of a smartwatch truly growing in value, not to mention by such a dramatic quantity.
It’s additionally uncommon on condition that many gadget makers tried to delay such value hikes by growing stock forward of the tariffs taking impact — preserving shoppers from truly feeling the affect of tariffs on their pockets as quickly. Others, like Framework, briefly opted to halt some gross sales within the U.S.
However OnePlus might not have been capable of stockpile items 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.’