We learned late in 2014 that the dual-screened YotaPhone 2 would be making its way to the US, which was exciting news since the original YotaPhone never appeared on US shores. However, after launching an Indiegogo campaign that earned nearly $300,000, Yota Devices has announced that its phone will not end up coming stateside.
In an email sent to Indiegogo backers, Yota Devices says that its canceling the US launch of the YotaPhone 2. The company explains that “unforeseen delays” related to the production and the delivery of the YotaPhone 2 in the US are to blame for the cancellation. These delays would’ve conflicted with Yota Device’s international 2016 device roadmap, meaning that US consumers would be getting their YotaPhone 2 while international consumers would be getting “a newer, cheaper, and better YotaPhone.”
So now anyone that’s backed the YotaPhone 2 on Indiegogo have two options. The first is that they can accept an international YotaPhone 2 model in black. However, this device isn’t capable of accessing AT&T or T-Mobile LTE, so it will be stuck on HSPA+ connectivity.
Backers can also opt to get a refund, though Yota Devices isn’t yet sure how that money will be refunded. The company says that the refund won’t go back onto your credit card, but will instead be reimbursed directly from Yota Devices to the backers.
Finally, Yota Devices says that it’s lined up another manufacturing partner that’s capable of the scale that’ll let Yota Devices bring future YotaPhone hardware to North America and other regions around the globe.
So yeah, this news is definitely a bit of a bummer. The YotaPhone 2 is an interesting device, and when we reviewed it earlier this year, we found it to be a solid phone with smooth performance and good battery life. Plus, it’s still uncommon to see international phones like the YotaPhone 2 make their way to the US, so it was exciting to see that the YotaPhone 2 would be coming stateside after the original YotaPhone skipped over the US. Unfortunately, that’s no longer going to be the case.