OnePlus 5 Pop-up event in NYC: Magnum, Phones, Lines, & More

To celebrate the announcement of its latest flagship killer, OnePlus held a number of pop-up events around the world to give anxious buyers the chance to purchase the freshly minted OnePlus 5. This, of course, isn’t a new strategy by any means, but they’re credited as being the one to popularize this particular method of getting devices into the hands of consumers – rather than having to buy online, and then proceeding to wait. With a killer price point attached to the OnePlus 5, especially when you consider the kind of specs it’s bringing to the table, you know that its pop-up events are sure to be interesting.

We managed to check out the festivities that took place over at the New York City pop-up event, which was held at an ice cream shop of all places, and that proceeded to draw crowds that stretched the line all the way around the block. The first person in line, a native New Yorker named Christopher, actually told us that he got to the location at 9:00 AM, which is a pretty extensive wait time given that the event officially started at 7:00 PM later in the day.

It’s pretty intriguing how OnePlus was able to amass such a crowd at its New York City event, and at other popups held around the world, especially when other Android flagships are released, but don’t generate nearly as many people at stores. Then again, since OnePlus’ strategy has been mainly online sales, it makes perfect sense to see the huge turnout when phones are actually available in “stores”.

Once the doors opened to the Magnum ice cream store, the same Magnum ice cream bars you would’ve seen see in commercials, buyers managed to pick up their phones and were given backpacks as a bonus. In addition, they were also able to create their own custom Magnum ice cream bar – choosing the flavors, coatings, and toppings. Inside the store as well, people got the opportunity to check out the phone before buying one.

These pop-events in major cities around the world definitely help to inform the uninformed about the OnePlus name, but also to expose the wider world to something worth lining up for that’s not an iPhone. People passing by the store kept on asking us what was going on and why there was such a huge line, but after telling them the reason, most of them were just puzzled by the name. But then again, that’s the unintended result from having these events, since it gives OnePlus the opportunity to broaden their brand to consumers – outside the hardcore fandom and following.

Don’t forget to check out what happened at the event in our video. You can see for yourself how long the line went around the block!