One Plus Nord — Technical Review
Brand: One Plus
Model: Nord or Z
Form Factor: Touch screen
Weight(gms) : 186gms
Dimensions (mm): 158 x 73x 08 mm
Battery Capacity(mAh): 4115
Removable Battery: No
Processor Core: Octa-core (2.4 GHz, Single core, Kryo 475 + 2.2 GHz, Single core, Kryo 475 + 1.8 GHz, Hexa Core, Kryo 475)
Processor Type: Qualcomm Snapdragon 765G
Operating System: Android 10
GPU: Qualcomm Adreno 620
Rear Camera: 48MP+8MP+5MP+2MP
Front Camera: 32MP+8MP dual camera
It’s been a few days since OnePlus officially launched the Nord, and it’s time to take a closer look at how it fits into today’s mid-tier smartphone segment. The OnePlus Nord starts at Rs. 24,999 for the 64GB Amazon-exclusive variant, but this is only going on sale in September. If you don’t want to wait, you have the option of the higher-priced variants which will be available starting from August 4. The good news is that even the top-end variant doesn’t breach Rs. 30,000, and this is the one we’ll be testing today.
The OnePlus Nord comes in at a very opportune time. Given the current global economic slowdown due to the pandemic, I get the sense that consumers are warier about splurging on a new phone. Budget or mid-range phones that offer some flagship-level features are the need of the hour. Secondly, at the time of this review, the OnePlus Nord is the only 5G-ready smartphone priced below Rs. 30,000. I think these factors together put the OnePlus Nord in a very advantageous position.
So is the Nord worth the hype that OnePlus has been generating for it? Can it deliver the same user experience?
I’ve talked at length about the OnePlus Nord’s design in my first impressions, and after using it for a longer period, not a lot has changed. OnePlus has intentionally used a different design on the Nord, to differentiate it from the OnePlus 8 (Review) and OnePlus 8 Pro (Review). I’m guessing that repurposing an older design the way Apple did with the iPhone SE (Review) wouldn’t have gone down well with the Android crowd.
Certain aspects of the OnePlus Nord’s design have some similarities with phones from Oppo and Realme, and I’m not surprised, considering they are all part of the same family. It’s still recognizable as a modern OnePlus phone since it has the alert slider, a similar layout for the buttons and ports, and no headphone jack.