The OnePlus Nord was a bombastic return to the mid-range market for OnePlus in mid-2020 and it didn’t take long for the company to expand on the original’s formula. Now, it seems, one of the first members of the Nord’s 2021 family is on its way, in the Nord N1 5G (or is it the Nord CE 5G?).
The original Nord proved to be a formidable mid-range offering from OnePlus, cementing itself as our ‘Mid-range Phone of the Year‘ by 2020’s end. The company then proceeded to expand on the line to appeal to a broader range of consumers and enter into new markets; with the more affordable Nord N10 5G and the budget Nord N100.
Tipster Max Jambor opened the can of worms on a potential follow-up in early February, when he offered up a name for the next entry in the Nord family, with the OnePlus Nord “N1 5G”.
On the one hand, it was exciting to hear about a new Nord device so soon into 2021, on the other, the use of the ‘N1′ naming convention, paired with the phone’s intended position as the N10’s follow-up raised some questions about how easy consumers would find following OnePlus’ brand strategy with the Nord name.
To add to the confusion, on 16 May – contradicting his original leak – Jambor suggested that the device originally branded as the N1 5G might now be operating under the name “Nord CE 5G”.
https://twitter.com/MaxJmb/status/1393871879744757760?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw” rel=”nofollow noopener” target=”_blank
If the original Nord currently stands as the best if the bunch and the four-character Nord N100 operates at the other end, does the N1 slip in between the OG Nord and the N10 5G? Or if it is now destined to be called the CE 5G, does it correlate with the existing Nord devices at all?
How much will the OnePlus Nord N1/CE 5G cost?
The Nord N10 5G touched down in late 2020 with an opening price of £329 in the UK and €349 in Europe (and later $299.99 in the US). OnePlus has since dropped the price of the N10 in the UK and Europe but if the Nord N1 5G/CE 5G is set to be the N10’s direct successor then there’s every chance it’ll cost around the same.
If, however, the N1/CE is intended to slot in between the price points established by the N10 and the original Nord – which cost (from) £379 at launch – then the phone could fall between £339 and £369 (approximately $470 to $510).
When does the OnePlus Nord N1/CE 5G launch?
The original Nord made its debut on 21 July 2020 and became available for purchase in Europe on 4 August 2020, while the Nord N10 wasn’t unveiled until late October 2020 and went on sale in Europe on 27 November 2020.
As rumours continue to emerge concerning the Nord N1/CE 5G, there’s every chance that the phone could make its debut around the same time as the original Nord did last year, in June or July; although no leaks have corroborated this theory yet.
What features will the OnePlus Nord N1/CE 5G have?
After the discovery of a new Nord device – codenamed ‘Ebba’ – first emerged, it was OnLeaks that suggested it was a follow-up to the Nord N10, rather than a successor to the original Nord. Not only that, but he shared renders and a few key specs of the device via his Voice page.
According to OnLeaks, the device sports a flat 6.49in panel with a punch-hole camera on the front and a triple camera on the rear. The phone is 8.4mm thick and includes a 3.5mm headphone jack. It will feature a metal frame with a side-mounted fingerprint sensor, but the phone’s rear is ‘glossy plastic’.
‘Ebba’ – thought to be the Nord N1/CE 5G – has since been spotted on India’s IMDA certification too.
The name confirms that 5G is part of the equation, which may narrow down the potential chipsets it could leverage – likely from Qualcomm, OnePlus’ long-term chip maker of choice – although the Nord 2 is reportedly switching to MediaTek’s Dimensity 1200, so non-Snapdragon internals aren’t completely out of the question on this device too.
As for everything, beyond running the company’s skinned take on Android – Oxygen OS – there’s little else that we can say with certainty until more details emerge from the woodwork.
For reference, here’s the OnePlus Nord N10 5G’s spec sheet:
- 6.49in 20:9 Full HD+ 90Hz IPS LCD w/ Gorilla Glass 3
- Qualcomm Snapdragon 690 processor
- 6GB RAM
- 128GB storage
- microSD expandability up to 512GB
- Rear cameras:
- 64Mp main sensor
- 8Mp ultrawide w/ 119° FoV
- 2Mp macro sensor
- 2Mp monochrome sensor
- 16Mp front-facing hole-punch camera
- Android 10 w/ OxygenOS 10.5
- Rear fingerprint sensor
- Dual stereo speakers
- 4300mAh battery
- Warp Charge 30T (30W fast charging)
- 5G
- Bluetooth 5.1
- NFC
- USB-C
- 3.5mm headphone jack
- 163 x 74.7 x 8.95mm
- 190 grams
- Colours: Midnight Ice