Last year, OnePlus carved out a niche in the mid-range phone market with the excellent OnePlus North, which we gave top marks in our review, so we have high hopes for the next sequel. of the company, the North. the week.
After months of rumors, OnePlus has finally confirmed that the Nord 2 is officially on its way, with a launch taking place this Thursday.
Since then, the company has also confirmed choice details about its chipset, display, camera and more – but thanks to the leaks, we think we know a lot more about the phone.
Here’s everything we know about the Nord 2 so far, including its release date, cost, and just about all the specs you need.
When will the OnePlus Nord 2 be available?
The OnePlus Nord 2 5G will launch on July 22 with an online event starting at 3 p.m. BST / 4 p.m. CET / 7:30 p.m. IST.
In the blog post announcing the launch event, OnePlus co-founder Pete Lau promises to introduce the phone “to our users in Europe and India”, so it seems likely that the North 2 will not launch in North America.
That’s not too surprisingly, as was the original North when it launched in July 2020, before going on sale in Europe and India in August.
If you want to get your hands on the phone, you have a chance to win a Nord 2 via an official AR game, as long as you live in the UK, EU or India.
Head over to the OnePlus AR page from your phone (it doesn’t work in the web version) and try to complete the first challenge with a score of 90Hz.
A second challenge will be unlocked at the end of the phone launch event on July 22, and anyone who scores high enough in both rounds will be entered into a raffle to win the phone and other prizes.
Keep in mind that the North 2 is different from the North CE 5G, which arrived on June 10, and the even cheaper North N200, which landed exclusively in North America and Canada on June 25.
How much will the OnePlus Nord 2 cost?
The OnePlus Nord costs $ 369 if you choose 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage or $ 429 if you choose 12GB / 256GB, and the Nord SE should be a similar price, keeping it comfortably below the starting price of $ 549 for the company’s flagship phones, and above the price of the even cheaper Nord N10 and Nord N100.
If you can’t wait for the next iteration of OnePlus devices, you can check out our roundup of the best mid-range phones to see what’s on offer.
What are the specifications of the OnePlus Nord 2?
Let’s start with the things we know for sure about the Nord 2 5G, as confirmed by OnePlus itself.
First of all, the phone will be powered by the MediaTek Dimensity 1200-AI. This is the first time that OnePlus has used a chip that is not manufactured by Qualcomm and, interestingly, it is a custom chipset designed with MediaTek’s Dimensity Open Resource Architecture project.
In case you haven’t guessed it from the name, the additional features focus on artificial intelligence. OnePlus has previously announced scene recognition and video enhancement using AI in the camera app, as well as AI technology to boost social media content in Full HD and HDR. when it is not yet the case, and better adjust the brightness of the screen according to the ambient light.
The chipset will be powered by a 4,500mAh battery, along with a 65W wired charging, enough to give “a full day of power” in 15 minutes, according to the company.
The company’s Twitter accounts also confirmed the screen’s key specs – a smooth 6.43-inch 90Hz AMOLED display with HDR 10+ support. None of this is too surprising, and in fact, it’s almost an exact match with the original Nord screen (which was only slightly larger, at 6.44in), so it seems more the same in this regard.
# OnePlusNord2The 6.43-inch 90Hz Fluid AMOLED display is so smooth, you’ll feel like your fingers are dancing the ballet. And it is HDR 10+ certified.
In real people, that means the display is swimming with lifelike colors and visuals for all of your favorite content.
What’s not to like? pic.twitter.com/mpVJeJ4QlI
– OnePlus UK (@OnePlus_UK)
July 12, 2021
On the company’s blog, it was also confirmed that the phone will have a triple camera with a 50 MP main lens that uses the Sony IMX766 sensor with optical image stabilization (OIS).
This is important for several reasons: firstly, because it is the same sensor used for the ultra-wide cameras of the OnePlus 9 and 9 Pro, and as the main and ultra-wide sensor on the excellent Oppo Find X3. Pro.
It’s also impressive to see the OIS included – a definite rarity in price, and one that should help make the camera competitive for video and low-light photography. As for the latter, there is a new night mode dubbed Nightscape Ultra, which shows the confidence that OnePlus has in this regard.
OnePlus also used Twitter to confirm where the North 2 fits into its new upgrade promise. As it is logical, it is located at the intermediate level, next to the original North and the North CE. This means that it will receive two years of updates to the Android version – that is, Android 12 and 13 – as well as a third year of security patches.
Finally, the company gave us a slightly odd look on the back of the phone thanks to a promotional image inspired by a movie poster. This doesn’t reveal much that we didn’t already know, but it does confirm that the early leaks and renders were correct and that the Nord 2 draws heavily on designs from the 9 and 9 Pro.
Danger. Excitation. And a lot of North 2.
Tune in on July 22 for OnePlus Nord: Part Deux, a compelling blockbuster product launch experience featuring OnePlus Nord 2 5G.
7:30 p.m. IS.
Be notified – https://t.co/gXhknbFnwe pic.twitter.com/61AUnN7BzJ
– OnePlus India (@OnePlus_IN)
July 16, 2021
The design seems to be a happy medium between the recent Nord CE 5G series and OnePlus 9, using the flat back of the former with rounded edges and the characteristic camera layout of the latter.
We’re assuming the Nord 2 will use the upcoming Snapdragon 700 series processor (the continuation of the original Nord 765G), which we expected Qualcomm to announce in December alongside the new flagship 888, but it looks like we’ll have to. wait a little longer. Either way, that should keep 5G support going as well.
It would be great to see the screen go from 90Hz to 120Hz, as that super high refresh rate continues to trickle down to cheaper phones – you can get 120Hz for as little as $ 199 on the Poco X3, per example – although it is true It is LCD, not OLED.
An increase in refresh rate seems more likely than an increase in resolution, as OnePlus has so far limited the Quad HD to its Pro series phones.
Rumored specifications
Everything we think we know about the North 2 comes from rumors and leaks, so take everything with a grain of salt from here.
First, for a better look at the design, check out these high-quality renderings from Evan Blass, showing the phone in three of its colors: Gray Sierra, Blue Haze, and the limited edition Green Wood leather.
Interestingly, Blass also shared a render of a red model not mentioned by other sources, and for which he doesn’t provide a name – perhaps this is another limited edition finish, or it will be exclusive to some regions.
If you’d rather see the design in motion, in June OnLeaks and 91mobiles teamed up with high-quality renderings and 360-degree video of the so-called Nord 2 hardware “based on early CAD prototypes,” suggesting the product final may differ slightly. , although it roughly matches the illustrated render shared by OnePlus itself, not to mention the other renderings.
Enough about how the phone looks: what about inside?
An early leak from Weibo suggested that the Nord 2 might actually be a refurbished Realme X9 Pro (the Dimensity 1200 variant, rather than the Snapdragon 870 model), which in turn would straddle the Oppo Reno 6 Pro +:
Translation: There are two Realwo X9 Pro models, a Snapdragon 870 + 90Hz with a flexible and curved surface, and a Flexible Dimensity 1200 + 90Hz with a straight screen. The Dimensity model is reserved for overseas and is called OnePlus Nord2, it will be launched overseas next month.
Since all three brands are subsidiaries of BBK Electronics, it is very likely that they share parts and designs. GizChina supported Realme’s overlay theory, but also insisted that the Nord 2 would retain OnePlus-specific features, such as a physical alert slider.
StuffListings discovered the Nord 2 in the AI Benchmarking database at the end of June, with the SoC Dimensity 1200 already confirmed, with 8 GB of RAM and with Android 11.
On the other hand, OnLeaks and 91mobiles have teamed up to offer a more comprehensive spec sheet for the Nord 2, taking up some of the existing leaks and adding more details on the camera setup.
Here is the spec sheet of the OnePlus Nord 2 in its current state, based on everything that has been disclosed so far:
- 6.43-inch 90Hz Full HD + AMOLED display
- In-display fingerprint sensor
- MediaTek dimension 1200-AI
- 8GB RAM + 128GB storage / 12GB RAM + 256GB storage
- Rear cameras:
50 MP OIS main camera (Sony IMX766)
8 megapixel wide angle
2 MP mono - 32 MP front camera (Sony IMX616)
- Physical alert slider
- Android 11 with Oxygen OS
- 5G
- 4500mAh battery
- Warp Charge 65 (65W fast charge)
- 160mm x 73.8mm x 8.1mm
- Sierra gray, mist blue, forest green
And if you want to know which mobiles are currently available, it is worth checking out our guide to the best smartphones or the best cheap mobiles you can buy.
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