OnePlus has had a lot of problems over the last twelve months, but the company has created a strong link with its customers, enjoying perhaps the closest relationship in the smartphone market. The Chinese brand showed that today by posting a blog that explained why prices for the European version of the OnePlus One smartphone are going up.

Sure, rising prices are never good news, but many companies would have simply made the change with no explanation. OnePlus says that it has to raise prices in European nations because it is "now selling devices at a loss" in Europe "due to the current value of the Euro". The new prices will come into effect from March 25th, and will see the entry level 16GB version of the “Flagship Killer” cost 299 Euros instead of 269 Euros as it was previously.

That means the OnePlus One 16GB that retails for 269 Euros will become 299 Euros from March 25th. As it is not covered by the Euro, the United Kingdom should see its prices remain the same despite being part of the European Union.

As you may know, the euro is quite unstable at the moment. Last year, many other companies insured themselves against this volatility by launching devices with higher prices in Europe than in other markets. This is something that we opted not to do, as we are committed to maintaining razor-thin margins in order to give the most value back to our fans.

Unfortunately, as the value of the euro continued to drop, our razor-thin margins began to turn into 0 margins. Due to the current value of the euro, we are now selling devices at a loss in the EU. In light of these exchange rate shifts and trends, we will be making some changes to our pricing structure for the One in markets that use the euro as currency. New prices will be as follows:

16GB Silk White - 299

64GB Sandstone Black - 349

We sincerely wish that we had an alternative option here. We explored all possible avenues in an attempt to avoid any changes, but as a startup with exceedingly-slim margins, our current euro prices simply aren't sustainable.

This new pricing structure will go into effect on March 25, which means that you can still buy the One in next Tuesday's open sales at the current price of ?269/?299. For the next 7 days, we will take the hit and absorb all of the loss from selling below cost. We think it's only fair to give you a week's notice and hope you can understand why we have to do this.

Note: Accessories will not be affected and will remain at current prices.

We are constantly searching for ways to give value back to our fans, so thank you for understanding that this change is unavoidable. We will continue to keep our margins as thin as possible.

Courtesy of OnePlus