The OnePlus Nord is a new mid-range smartphone from OnePlus that aims to offer a flagship-like experience in a world where $1,000 flagships are the norm. Find out how it stacks up in our review.
OnePlus started its journey with a flagship killer, the OnePlus One, that was available at one-third the price of other flagships in the market at that time. Over the years though, as the company has added more features to its devices, their prices have also shot up. The OnePlus 8 Pro starts from $899 in the United States making it nearly as expensive as Samsung’s Galaxy S20. This price increase might not matter much to consumers in the United States, but in markets like India — where OnePlus has a huge fanbase — it puts the company’s devices out of reach for many. In comes the OnePlus Nord, the company’s second mid-range phone since its inception and five years after the release of the OnePlus X. The Nord is meant to sit below the OnePlus 8 series and yet offer a similar experience to customers who are not willing to spend a fortune on a smartphone. It is meant for customers who don’t want the absolute best display or camera on their phone or are not upset at missing convenience features like wireless charging or water-resistance. Add in a slightly weaker chipset, a less capable camera setup, and a few other compromises in exchange for a very attractive price tag of €399 and you’ve got the Nord. For comparison, the OnePlus 8 Pro starts from €899, while the OnePlus 8 can be purchased for €699. But has OnePlus ended up cutting too many corners to reach this attractive price point? Read the review below to find out. Bluetooth 5.1 NFC Wi-Fi 802.11ac GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, Beidou, NavIC, A-GPS USB-C Dual-4G support Networks: GSM: GSM850, GSM900, GSM1800, GSM1900 WCDMA: B1, B2, B4, B5, B8, B9, B19 LTE-FDD: B1,2,3,4,5,7,8,12,17,18,19,20,26,28,32,66 LTE-TDD: B34,38,39,40,41 5G: N1, N3, N7, N28, N78 MIMO: LTE: B1,3,4,7,38,41 NR: N1, N3, N7, N78 Rs 24,999 / €399 The OnePlus Nord comes in a very attractive retail box. The box itself has highlights of blue but OnePlus includes a red USB cable with the device which does not go well with the overall theme. Inside the box, you get a Warp Charge 30 adapter, a USB-C cable, regulatory papers, some stickers, and a case. No earbuds are bundled in the box, though OnePlus does pre-apply a plastic screen protector on the Nord’s display. The design of the OnePlus Nord is not exactly unique or iconic. It is similar to what we have seen in so many other budget and mid-range phones nowadays — Gorilla Glass panels at the front and back, a vertical placement for a quad-camera setup at the rear, and a punch-hole display. However, OnePlus offers the Nord in some attractive colors and finish to spice things up a bit. The gray color option might sound boring on paper but it looks very attractive yet understated in real-life. This is primarily because of how it reflects light which gives the rear a metallic sheen. For a mid-range phone, the Nord has an impressive build quality. When you first pick the device up, you could be fooled into thinking that the phone is more expensive than what its price tag would suggest. The phone has a plastic chassis but there’s a metallic coating on top of it which ends up masking the cheap feeling that’s usually associated with plastic devices. This is a smart move by OnePlus as it allows it to reduce the manufacturing cost while still retaining the premium in-hand feel. There’s no IP certification here, meaning the OnePlus Nord is not dust or water-resistant. Additionally, the Nord also misses out on wireless charging but that should be understandable given its price.
