ONEPLUS NORD: A REAL GAME-CHANGER

The newest entrant in the list of mid-range smartphones is the OnePlus Nord which has the maximum 6 cameras in the OnePlus device and can be called a ‘flagship camera setup’.

CAMERA

There are a total six cameras on the handset, four at the rear and two at the front. The main camera on the rear is the same as the flagship phone — the OnePlus 8. It’s a 48 megapixels Sony IMX586 sensor (with EIS and OIS image stabilisation) teamed with a f/1.57 lens, which can take 48MP images, although 12MP is its default setting.

The smartphone comprises a 5MP depth sensor, 2MP macro-camera, and an 8MP, 119-degree ultra wide angle for landscape shots. The main 32MP, f/2.45 snapper at the front is accompanied by an 8MP, 105- degree ultra wide camera. Shooting modes which are available on the device include portrait, nightscape, super macro and pro, plus Full HD, slow-motion video capture at 240fps and 4K recording at 30fps.

BATTERY

OnePlus Nord comes with a 4,115mAh power pack with support for Warp Charge 30 charging, which should get you from 0% to 70% in 30 minutes using the bundled cable and power adapter in the box. There is no wireless charging support.

LOOKS AND DESIGN

 The Nord comes with a premium design which has a 6.44-inch AMOLED display, 20:9 aspect ratio, full HD+(2400×1080 resolution), 90Hz refresh rate for fluid scrolling with a metal frame and gorilla glass both at the front and rear.

 It is a bit smaller than the OnePlus 8 making it a good one-hand use device. It measures 158.3 x 73.3 x 8.2mm and weighs 184g. The power/lock key is placed on the right, the volume rocker sits on the opposite side, while on the base you’ll find a centralized USB-C port and the dual SIM card port. There’s no headphone jack on the OnePlus Nord and the phone is available in two colours– Gray Onyx and Blue Marble. We get a good screen on the handset with minimal bezel, with just a punch-hole and the dual selfie camera that it houses. Nord is of course not a curvy device like the OnePlus 8, but it still doesn’t feel chunky. It gets a clear and bright display. Nord supports face unlock, and it can combine both biometric security features for faster unlocking.

 THE USP

The phone comes with 5G support and a Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 765G processor with 8GB/128GB and 12GB/256GB storage options You get Google’s Android 10 operating system, overlaid with OnePlus Oxygen OS 10.5.

 PRICE

The OnePlus Nord starts at Rs 24,999 for the base 6GB RAM/64GB variant, which will be made available in September. The 8GB RAM/128GB storage and 12GB RAM/256GB storage variants are priced at Rs 27,999 and Rs 29,999, respectively. They will be made available from 4 August via Amazon and the company’s own website.

FINAL VERDICT

The first impression of OnePlus Nord has been positive. Device gets a great camera setup, flagship styling and design and above all competitive pricing. Real test will only happen when we do a full review; however , with its first look, the device leaves us impressed.