OnePlus
If you’re sick and tired of gimmicky features on phones (and of paying extra for them), then look out for OnePlus’ newest offering: the OnePlus Nord Core Edition.
The Chinese company announced this stripped-down version of its best-selling OnePlus Nord, at a launch event on Thursday. It’s called the Nord Core Edition (CE), presumably because it’s focused on the original’s “core” features (plus a few more), and aims to truly elevate your day-to-day experience.
Those features include a big battery (4,500 mAh), a smooth AMOLED display (90Hz), a Snapdragon 750G 5G processor fast charging, which OnePlus claims juices the battery from 0 to 70% in just 30 minutes. This is the same charging time as the earlier Nord, but this battery is larger.
The original Nord, released last summer, was a big deal for OnePlus. Thanks to a mix of affordable pricing backed by popular features like 5G and fast charging, it became the best-selling OnePlus device in Europe, and has since sold over a million Nord units in the region, according to the company.
OnePlus
Other noteworthy Nord CE features include the humble headphone jack, a popular feature especially at its “budget” price range. The camera is a triple-lens module, consisting of a main 64-megapixel shooter, an 8-megapixel wide angle and a monochrome sensor. To save on costs, the OnePlus used polycarbonate (or plastic) for the sides and glass for the back. Not Gorilla Glass, the gold standard for smartphones.
The Nord CE is set for a release in the UK, wider Europe and India, where it will start at £299 (roughly $420, AU$550) for the base variant, and bump up to £399 ($560, AU$730) for the higher-storage variant. Pricing for India will likely be lower.
Key specs
- Display: 6.43-inch AMOLED, full HD, 90Hz
- Software: Oxygen 11 (built on Android 11)
- Updates: two years software updates; three years of security updates
- RAM/Storage: 8/128GB; 12/256GB
- Thickness: 7.9mm
- Price: £299 ($420, AU$550); £399 ($560, AU$730) *USD and AUD prices have been converted from USD