OnePlus has revealed a first look at the OnePlus Nord, giving a quick preview to Marques Brownlee during an interview about the phone’s design process. The Nord, which is supposed to be OnePlus’ return to midrange phones, is set to be formally announced next week — though, per usual, OnePlus has been teasing out details ahead of the launch.
In the latest MKBHD video, Brownlee displays a brief look at what the Nord will look like. It bears a strong resemblance to the OnePlus 8, released earlier this year, with a glossy back, curved edges, a central logo, and a camera strip. The big difference is that the camera strip is now located at the upper-left corner of the phone, whereas recent OnePlus phones have positioned it in the center.
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Another shot shows off the front of the phone, revealing a dual selfie camera that’s cut out in the upper-left corner of the screen. The phone has thick and seemingly even bezels running all around the display — it looks similar to the bezels on the iPhone XR or 11 (though without the upper notch). There appears to be a USB-C port and SIM tray on the bottom of the phone.
The design was settled on “really late in the process,” OnePlus co-founder Carl Pei told Brownlee. Pei said OnePlus delayed the launch by a month in order to adjust the design so that the phone would look more consistent with other OnePlus devices. Early prototypes, which he shows off in the interview (around 13:40 in the video), had the cameras arranged in an L-shape in the upper corner and different finishes on the back of the phone.
OnePlus plans to fully unveil the Nord on July 21st. The phone is supposed to sell for less than $500 and launch first in India and Europe. OnePlus has confirmed it’ll have 5G, shipping with the Snapdragon 765G processor. Leaks point to the phone having a 6.55-inch OLED display with a 90Hz refresh rate, 6GB of RAM, 128GB of storage, and a 4,300mAh battery.
Naturally, Pei teases a second unannounced OnePlus product in the interview: the OnePlus Buds. He appears to be wearing a light blue model. They’re also supposed to be announced on July 21st.
Brownlee has Pei dive deep into component costs for smartphones in the interview, breaking down the costs of features like NFC and an IP rating. It’s an interesting discussion and worth checking out in full if you’ve ever wondered how phones get so expensive.
