OnePlus Nord Series Announced

[Dhalucario]

 

Summary

OnePlus launched their new Nord smartphone model just a couple hours ago. The release presentation featured the smartphone itself in an AR environment which you could view with an app you could download before the presentation. The smartphone releases in 14 days.

Quotes

Quote

- A 48 MP powerhouse that we’ve pulled directly from the OnePlus 8.

- Our highest resolution front camera paired with our first ultra wide selfie lens.

- Smooth. Snappy. Responsive. Strangely hypnotic. 90 Hz is all of those things.

- A chip wasn’t enough. So we turned to a dragon. Naturally, it’s fast as hell.

- With download speeds up to 3.38* Gbps, Nord puts broadband to shame.
- All-day power in half an hour*. Wave goodbye to battery anxiety.

 

 

My thoughts

OnePlus has been an interesting brand for me. I only recently got aware of them when a school friend of mine gave me his OnePlus 3T. So far my experience with the device has been super enjoyable. The relatively low price seems to be really cool for what the smartphone brings to the table. I really hope LTT makes a video on it. I didn't see a 3.5mm jack, so I am kind of disappointed. I kinda like having the choice to use headphones with cable in case the bluetooth ones are empty.

 

Sources

https://www.oneplus.com/nord

https://www.oneplus.com/nord-series

[imreloadin]

I love the "Never Settle" tagline is still being used...like if you're buying this instead of their flagship phone aren't you technically "settling" for the cheaper model

[Dhalucario]

2 minutes ago, imreloadin said:

I love the "Never Settle" tagline is still being used...like if you're buying this instead of their flagship phone aren't you technically "settling" for the cheaper model

If you can't pick one, just buy all of them. Never Settle.

[soldier_ph]

2 minutes ago, imreloadin said:

I love the "Never Settle" tagline is still being used...like if you're buying this instead of their flagship phone aren't you technically "settling" for the cheaper model

With Never Settle they just mean that there's always something better coming in the future. 

[zeusthemoose]

I heard about a week ago that they are default shipping with the google apps (store, messages, maps, etc.) was that addressed during the event?

[Br3tt96]

I found out about them when the OnePlus 7 Pro came out. Ended up getting one a couple months after release and it has not disappointed me yet

[Dhalucario]

5 minutes ago, zeusthemoose said:

I heard about a week ago that they are default shipping with the google apps (store, messages, maps, etc.) was that addressed during the event?

They didn't really say anything about it. I think if I get it I will throw Lineage or smth like that on it anyway.

[dizmo]

Not a terrible phone but it sounds like it's going to be solidly midrange in most regards. Still doesn't quite match their "flagship at a lower price" mentality.

I might still try one out, depends what the MKBHD review is like.

It's significantly cheaper in India. I wonder how hard it would be to import one of those to Canada

 

15 minutes ago, imreloadin said:

I love the "Never Settle" tagline is still being used...like if you're buying this instead of their flagship phone aren't you technically "settling" for the cheaper model

Well, you could look at it in quite a few different ways. Like, for instance, you're not setting for shortfalls within that price bracket.

6 minutes ago, zeusthemoose said:

I heard about a week ago that they are default shipping with the google apps (store, messages, maps, etc.) was that addressed during the event?

Why wouldn't it?

[zeusthemoose]

8 minutes ago, dizmo said:

Why wouldn't it?

I didn’t look into it too much, but the article made it seem like one plus devices used to ship with either their apps or ones other than googles and this was the first device they made that shipped with it.

[dizmo]

55 minutes ago, zeusthemoose said:

I didn’t look into it too much, but the article made it seem like one plus devices used to ship with either their apps or ones other than googles and this was the first device they made that shipped with it.

Nope.

[jiyeon]

I'd be intrigued to find out the longevity of the Nord in terms of software updates. It seems on paper like a phone that would match OnePlus' flagships on software support due to most of the components being inherited from previous OnePlus models.

[Guest]

4 minutes ago, sowon said:

I'd be intrigued to find out the longevity of the Nord in terms of software updates. It seems on paper like a phone that would match OnePlus' flagships on software support due to most of the components being inherited from previous OnePlus models.

It won't work with your Airpods Pro tho.

[LAwLz]

Far less competitive than I hoped it would be. Even Samsung offers similar price to performance/features with their A71. 

 

 

Also, lol at OnePlus showing prototypes and stuff for MKBHD during the interview. OnePlus doesn't design or manufacture their own devices. OPPO does. OnePlus doesn't really have much say in how their device looks so I don't get why they are showing prototypes going "here is what we designed but then settled on this design". 

[RejZoR]

3 hours ago, LAwLz said:

Far less competitive than I hoped it would be. Even Samsung offers similar price to performance/features with their A71. 

 

 

Also, lol at OnePlus showing prototypes and stuff for MKBHD during the interview. OnePlus doesn't design or manufacture their own devices. OPPO does. OnePlus doesn't really have much say in how their device looks so I don't get why they are showing prototypes going "here is what we designed but then settled on this design". 

That isn't necessarily true. VW Group for example uses same platforms across VW, Škoda and SEAT brands, but the stuff they put on top is up to the individual subsidiary and can vary quite significantly. Not saying phones are the same, but OPPO is the VW in this story and OnePlus is the Škoda/SEAT. They still talk to each other and aren't entirely disconnected between what each one is doing. Sharing platforms or designs is there just to cut costs. It's why cars share platforms, it's why iPhone SE 2020 uses mass produced old bits and pairs the with new bits and same is for Oppo/OnePlus. Maybe shell and base design is the same and then it's down to OnePlus to decide what cameras, displays and stuff they'll put into the given shell/case.

[LAwLz]

1 hour ago, RejZoR said:

That isn't necessarily true. VW Group for example uses same platforms across VW, Škoda and SEAT brands, but the stuff they put on top is up to the individual subsidiary and can vary quite significantly. Not saying phones are the same, but OPPO is the VW in this story and OnePlus is the Škoda/SEAT. They still talk to each other and aren't entirely disconnected between what each one is doing. Sharing platforms or designs is there just to cut costs. It's why cars share platforms, it's why iPhone SE 2020 uses mass produced old bits and pairs the with new bits and same is for Oppo/OnePlus. Maybe shell and base design is the same and then it's down to OnePlus to decide what cameras, displays and stuff they'll put into the given shell/case.

Yes but I'm not sure if you saw the MKBHD interview with the CEO of OnePlus. He talked about how they made prototypes of the phone with different layouts and such before they "came up" with the final design.

However, in reality they just used whatever OPPO gave them.

 

 

I get why they do it. You don't want to just go out and say "hey, our products aren't actually made by us" but I feel like that interview tried to push a narrative that OnePlus is a big company a bit too much.

"Look at all these prototypes we have!"

"Look, our team is working on different designs!"

I honestly wouldn't be surprised if those prototypes were just OPPO prototypes with a OnePlus sticker on them.

 

When in reality OPPO probably went "hey, we have this RealMi X50, wanna. Wanna rebrand that with your own software?" and OnePlus said "yes", then made some very small changes and started selling that as the OnePlus Nord. Same deal with the Oppo Find X2 Pro and OnePlus 8 Pro. OnePlus 7 was the Oppo Reno Zoom with some minor changes.

And there is nothing wrong with that. Like you said, they do it in the car industry (not to the same extent though) as well. If it means cheaper phones then I welcome it. I just don't like that they aren't very open about it and are trying to push a different image.

[fred82]

+1 @LAwLz

Furthermore i am a Oneplus fan from times but since i watched the video on their website i didn't like a lot the boss and its attitude.

I'm looking for a new brand phone to replace my oneplus. And as u said, they are not creative at all.

 

Yes in car industry i have a friend working in Hyundai:

they use in Kia the elements that worked fine on hyundai cars. the difference is mostly the design.

And any company needs different price ranges in order to have more clients.

[LAwLz]

1 hour ago, fred82 said:

Furthermore i am a Oneplus fan from times but since i watched the video on their website i didn't like a lot the boss and its attitude.

I'm looking for a new brand phone to replace my oneplus. And as u said, they are not creative at all.

Don't get me wrong. I think they make good phones. The OnePlus 8 Pro is one of the best phones on the market (even in the camera department), and the OnePlus Nord is a decent mid-range phone.

They aren't really special anymore, like when they released the OnePlus One which was half the price of the competitors with similar specs.

 

You can't really go wrong with either one of their current offerings, and their strong point is their software. I am just a bit bummed out that their strong point is no longer "really high end hardware for mid-range pricing". I guess if you want high price:performance then you have to go with Apple these days.

[Doobeedoo]

Overall solid, but competition ain't sleeping. The punchhole needs to die though. 

[Quadriplegic]

Taking a page right out of Apple's book. Very underwhelming device.

 

[maartendc]

15 hours ago, sowon said:

I'd be intrigued to find out the longevity of the Nord in terms of software updates. It seems on paper like a phone that would match OnePlus' flagships on software support due to most of the components being inherited from previous OnePlus models.

They claim 2 years of software updates and 3 years of security updates.

 

From my limited research seems like Oneplus does OK on software updates.

 

This might be my next phone, seeing as how a Pixel 4a doesnt seem to be showing up anytime soon. Seems like a solid phone, and 400 EUR is about what I would spend on a phone.

[Commodus]

1 hour ago, maartendc said:

They claim 2 years of software updates and 3 years of security updates.

 

From my limited research seems like Oneplus does OK on software updates.

 

This might be my next phone, seeing as how a Pixel 4a doesnt seem to be showing up anytime soon. Seems like a solid phone, and 400 EUR is about what I would spend on a phone.

The Pixel 4a is coming, but unless you really want Google's camera, the Nord will probably do the trick.

[Quadriplegic]

16 hours ago, maartendc said:

They claim 2 years of software updates and 3 years of security updates.

 

From my limited research seems like Oneplus does OK on software updates.

 

This might be my next phone, seeing as how a Pixel 4a doesnt seem to be showing up anytime soon. Seems like a solid phone, and 400 EUR is about what I would spend on a phone.

Does One+ have anything that makes you want it over a Poco,  Mi 10 or similar phones?

[suicidalfranco]

Just now, Quadriplegic said:

Does One+ have anything that makes you want it over a Poco,  Mi 10 or similar phones?

oxygenOS

[Quadriplegic]

7 minutes ago, suicidalfranco said:

oxygenOS

Laughs in unlocked bootloader and audio jack

[suicidalfranco]

51 minutes ago, Quadriplegic said:

Laughs in unlocked bootloader and audio jack

and then there's 1+, the one company that doesn't void your warranty if you unlock the bootloader, flash a custom rom and doesn't force you to wait days to get a bootloader unlock code