OnePlus Nord
OnePlus made its name undercutting flagship phones, but over time the brand slowly became exactly what it had originally set its stall against. I loved the OnePlus 8 Pro, but – like many others – noted that it is a flagship through and through, with the price to match.
Enter the OnePlus Nord. Much has been made of the company’s return to the mid-range market – even Apple couldn’t generate this much hype around an affordable phone when it launched the iPhone SE – and it’s fair to say that expectations were high.
So has OnePlus done it again? Well let’s put it this way: I moved from the OnePlus 8 Pro to the Nord for this review, and even though that phone costs more than twice as much, I’m in no rush to go back. The notorious flagship killer has killed again.
DESIGN
The best thing I can say about the design of the Nord is that absolutely everybody I’ve shown it to has been shocked when I tell them it costs just £379.
The Nord looks and feels just like any other OnePlus phone – which is saying something, given that OnePlus’s flagships are among the best designed out there. It runs a little smaller, but not by much – I actually wish they’d shrunk it down further, but OnePlus doesn’t really make small phones.
Available in two finishes – Blue Marble and Grey Onyx – the Nord looks different to the flagships, but no less polished. There’s a shinier finish, rather than the matte frosted glass of its big brothers, but that makes it look different – not worse. Expect fingerprints though.
The rear camera module has moved to the corner, but otherwise things look much like the company’s flagships. You get the same controls: power button, volume rocker and the always‑ welcome notification toggle, still rare on Android phones.
OnePlus has essentially made two concessions to price here. The first is the frame, which is plastic rather than the metal of the flagships. I’ll be honest, I didn’t even notice this until it was pointed out to me, and if I hadn’t just told you I suspect you wouldn’t have noticed either. It may have some impact on the phone’s durability of course, but the Gorilla Glass 5 finish on the rear and screen should help somewhat.
The bigger change is the move to a flat display. This is really a matter of taste, and I know plenty of people who prefer a flat screen to a curved one, so it’s hard to chalk this up as much of a downgrade either.
There’s also no official waterproof rating for the phone, but OnePlus does claim that it will survive being submerged for up to 30 seconds in 30cm of water, which is longer than I ever intend to keep