OnePlus emerged as a startup company that introduced the original flagship killer in the form of OnePlus One. That device was quite cheap and brought amazing specifications that were on par on that year’s flagships. The years have passed, and OnePlus slowly changed into a company that produces premium flagships. This year, the company introduced the most expensive OnePlus phones to the date – OnePlus 8 and OnePlus 8 Pro. The company announced that focusing just on the premium market wouldn’t be enough to ensure long-term growth. A few months ago, the company revealed its plans of bringing mid-range smartphones thus increasing its portfolio of smartphones. That gives birth to the OnePlus Nord 5G, that after many leaks, is finally official.
Today, July 21, OnePlus decided to reveal its next big thing for the premium mid-range market in the form of OnePlus Nord. The Chinese firm made use of Augmented Reality to bring an immersive event. This is the first time that a smartphone maker use AR to reveal new products. OnePlus revealed that the Nord was made with three main focus – Cameras, User Experience, and Performance. According to the Chinese OEM, these three points represent user’s biggest demand. The user’s demand was north for the Nord creation.
OnePlus Nord specifications
Under the hood, the OnePlus Nord boasts the Snapdragon 765G SoC. This chipset is amazing on a mid-range perspective, but it’s not on par with current flagships, not even last year’s Snapdragon 855+. It’s a power-efficient 7nm with enough performance for running the big majority of Google Play apps and games. More importantly, this chipset ensures seamless 5G connectivity. This chipset will be paired with 6GB, 8GB, and even 12GB of RAM. But take in mind that the variant with 6GB is a cheaper version that will be exclusive to the Indian market.
The Nord flaunts a gorgeous 6.44-inch AMOLED display covered with Gorilla Glass 5 coating. It’s an FHD+ panel with a 90Hz refresh rate. This panel has sRGB and P3 but unfortunately does not include HDR support. Due to its OLED nature, the in-display fingerprint scanner is ensured. Despite this, OnePlus still offers face unlock as an option.
In counterpart to previous leaks, the OnePlus Nord does not have a single punch-hole selfie, but a pill-shaped combo. It combines a 32MP sensor (Sony IMX616) with an 8MP ultra-wide-angle camera with a 105-degrees lens. For a quick comparison, the OnePlus 8 family has 16MP sensors with 1.0um pixels. The company is pretty confident of its ultra-wide sensor and it is teasing its customers with the fact that they will not need a selfie stick to take selfies with a group of friends.
Cameras
The OnePlus Nord boasts a left-aligned horizontal camera array comprising four cameras. Since the first teasers, the company has been teasing this camera setup can deliver flagship-esque experience. The main camera is a 48MP sensor with f/1.75 aperture, OIS, and EIS. It’s rare to see OIS on mid-range phones, in this aspect, OnePlus Nord is ahead of the competition. The setup is completed with an 8MP ultra-wide module with a 119º lens. Moreover, we have a 2MP macro module and 5MP for depth sensing. Unfortunately, there’s no dedicated camera for zooms. Despite this, this combo supports 4K@30fps video recording.
The company even provides a cine mode allowing users to record 21:9 videos in 4K. Last but not least, OnePlus slow-motion mode is available, but don’t expect the 960fps videos here. Instead, you’ll get the FHD resolution with 240fps.
OnePlus Nord 5G – Other aspects
The OnePlus Nord draws power from a 4,115mAh battery. That’s on par with current flagships, and the company even provides a Warp Charge 30T charger. This technology can ensure a 70% charge in just 30 minutes. The phone has a USB-C port, and unfortunately, it does not come with a 3.5mm headphone jack. You can always use the USB-C for wired headphones. However, the biggest trend is for TWS earphones, and OnePlus even introduced its first TWS headset today.
Unfortunately, the handset doesn’t come with water resistance. However, the company mentions that a team of over 300 engineers has put the phone through rigorous tests to ensure its resistance to drops and sweat. The phone is available in two finishes – Blue Marble and matter Gray Onyx. For OnePlus standards, that’s too few. We believe that more colors will come eventually. Despite the limited colors, you can choose one of six cases featuring a nice design. There’s even one that makes it look like the phone has a transparent back.
Although this is a 5G smartphone, OnePlus will keep supporting markets that still not have a working 5G network, like India. The company will provide two major OS updates and three years of security patches. The phone runs Android 10 based OxygenOS and should be updated to Android shortly after its release.
Pricing and Availability
The company will launch the Nord is two regions first – Asia and Europe. The phone will cost €399 in Europe and £380 in the UK. As usual for OnePlus phones, the Nord will be notably cheaper in India – INR 28,000 (nearly 330 Euros). Interestingly enough, India has the cheapest OnePlus 8 phones.
This price spectrum comprises the base version with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of Storage. If that isn’t enough for you, the company provides a variant with 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage, but that will set you back €500/£470 on the Old Continent and INR 30,000 in India.
Amazon India lists a third variant with 6GB of RAM and 64GB of Storage for just INR 25,000 ($335 / €291). Unfortunately, this cheaper variant won’t be available until September.
