Will OnePlus ditch the invitation route for its upcoming flagship OnePlus 3?

As the launch for Chinese handset maker OnePlus's upcoming flagship OnePlus 3 nears, loyal fans of the brand can't wait to get hold of the phone which essentially means they will need an invite like all OnePus phones in the past. However, tipsters now indicate that the OnePlus 3 may not follow the invitation system like its predecessors.

OnePlus co-founder Carl Pei tweeted a few days ago: "Who's looking forward to invites making a comeback?" While the question asked to eagerly awaiting consumers seems like just another build- up to the launch, tipsters seem to have read too much into it and think the invite system may actually be a no show this time.

The primary reason for this speculation dates back to January when Pei had indicated that with the OnePlus 3, users would be treated to a "better buying process."

Unlike the OnePlus One which had almost a month's waiting time to get hold of an invite, the OnePlus 2 and the latest OnePlus X invites were relatively easy to acquire. All OnePlus phones have had the invite system until now but the waiting period has shortened each time, indicating that this time the company may be ready with enough stocks to handle the demand for the OnePlus 3 and do away with the invite system.

The OnePlus 3 is expected to come in two variants - a 32GB model with 3GB RAM and a 64GB model with 4GB RAM. Both models are also slated to feature a 5.5-inch 1080p display panel. It will be powered by a Snapdragon 820 chipset. It will have a 16MP camera on the rear side, an 8MP front shooter, and run Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow based Hydrogen OS 2.0 for the Chinese market and Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow based Oxygen OS 3.0 for rest of the regions. Price speculation puts the high-end 64GB model at around CN¥2499 ($384, £266), and the 32GB one around $314.