If you had been hoping to cop a OnePlus Watch 3, you possibly can lastly purchase one beginning as we speak. The drawback is it’s now not the $329.99 value that was initially supposed when OnePlus introduced the gadget a number of months in the past. It’s now $499, a $170 or roughly 52 % markup.
The value hike was noticed by quite a few Android blogs, however what makes this odd is an absence of official communication from OnePlus itself. Normally, corporations will alert press and long-time clients as shoppers usually don’t react effectively to unexplained value hikes. However, no such trace got here from OnePlus earlier than the smartwatch went on sale. When requested concerning the value improve, OnePlus spokesperson Spenser Blank instructed The Verge, “We don’t have any further remark to share presently.”
The apparent rationalization, although unconfirmed by OnePlus, can be tariffs. Unless you’ve been hibernating below a rock, you’ve most likely seen headlines about President Trump’s ever-increasing tariffs in opposition to merchandise shipped from China. (As of this writing, they’re presently sitting at 145 %.) While 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. This is, nonetheless, one of many first examples of a smartwatch really 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 — conserving shoppers from really feeling the impression of tariffs on their pockets as quickly. Others, like Framework, quickly opted to halt some gross sales within the U.S.
But OnePlus might not have been in a position to 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.’
