The OnePlus Nord is one of the most exciting phones of the year for everything it includes in a phone for under $ 500. (The phone starts at £ 379 in the UK). You get a big screen that embarrasses the iPhone SE, six amazing cameras, 5G connectivity, and overall pretty stellar specs for the money.
But the OnePlus Nord is not perfect, starting with the fact that you can’t buy it in the US.If you are thinking of getting the OnePlus Nord, or importing one, these are the main reasons to buy and skip this high-end Android phone half .
OnePlus Nord reasons to buy
These are the main reasons to get the OnePlus Nord when it goes on sale.
Large, smooth 90Hz display
The OnePlus Nord features a 6.44-inch AMOLED screen with a fairly fast refresh rate of 90Hz. This allows for smoother scrolling, as well as better games and video playback. Additionally, OnePlus increased the touch sampling rate from 135Hz on OnePlus 7T to 180Hz on OnePlus Nord, which should also result in more responsive gaming performance.
Another plus is that the Nord’s display is rated for 1,000 nits of brightness. This means that you should have no problem reading the screen outdoors on a sunny day. Lastly, OnePlus says the Nord’s display has 2,048 levels of auto brightness, which should help both eye comfort and battery life.
Six cameras for maximum versatility.
The OnePlus Nord breaks the mold for mid-range phones by packing six cameras: four on the back and two on the front. The rear cameras include a 48MP primary sensor with optical image stabilization, an 8MP ultra-wide-angle lens with a 119-degree field of view, a 5MP depth camera, and a 2MP macro camera.
Another highlight is the Nighscape mode. OnePlus Nord takes up to nine different images with different exposures and ties them together in one software. Up front, there’s a 32MP main sensor and 8MP ultra-wide camera for taking group selfies at a 105-degree angle.
Very good specs including 5G
OnePlus did not skimp on specs for the Nord. It is powered by a Snapdragon 765G chip that offers faster CPU speeds and 10% faster graphics than the previous Snapdragon 765. The Nord starts with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage, but the high-end configuration includes 12GB and 256GB.
The 5G part of the Snapdragon 765G name means OnePlus Nord is compatible with 5G networks, which means you can expect faster download speeds when coverage is available.
Robust battery with fast charge
The OnePlus Nord should have plenty of staying power, thanks to a fairly large 4,115 mAh battery. Even better, OnePlus includes a Warp Charge 30T charger in the box, which promises to take you from 0 to 70% in just 30 minutes.
In comparison, the OnePus 8 Pro has a 4,510 mAh battery, which boosted the phone to 11 hours and 5 stellar minutes in our battery test. Anything over 11 hours is usually good enough to make our best list of phone battery life. With its less powerful CPU, we expect a longer longevity from the Nord.
An aggressive price
The OnePlus Nord costs just £ 379 in the UK and € 399 in Europe, and OnePlus says the Nord costs less than $ 500 when converting prices. In comparison, the iPhone SE sells for £ 419, which is not only more expensive, but includes just 64GB of storage. The Nord starts with 128 GB.
OnePlus Nord reasons to skip
As good as the OnePlus Nord is, there are a few reasons to think twice before buying this phone.
You can’t buy it in the US, at least not yet
The OnePlus Nord will be sold in the UK, Europe and India, but the company has not announced any plans to launch the phone in the US In an interview, the head of OnePlus European Strategy said Europe and India will be used as a form of test area for the Nord phone. Then OnePlus will decide what the “next correct step” is.
In the meantime, you can get your hands on the OnePlus Nord in the United States, but you need to volunteer to do an “unbiased” review of the device, and the group is very limited. Maybe you better try to import the Nord.
Without optical zoom
As impressive as the camera suite on the OnePlus Nord, you don’t get a telephoto lens. That means you will have to rely on 2x “sensor” zoom. This is not a huge concession for such an affordable phone, but we are curious to see how well digital zoom works.
Lacks wireless charging
This is another understandable omission given the OnePlus Nord’s price. The phone does not support wireless charging, which means you will have to follow the USB-C route if you want to deplete the phone.
It’s a bit of a hassle, as there are plenty of great wireless chargers that make it easy to drop your phone on a dock or mat to turn it on. But it’s hard to complain too much when you get a quick 30W charge from the get-go.
Bottom line
The OnePlus Nord raises the bar for what you can expect from a mid-range phone. The design, specs, and cameras should offer the kind of experience you’d expect from a more premium phone. The biggest blow to the North is its limited availability, but hopefully OnePlus will open things up to the United States over time.
