OnePlus Nord will be available in India on Aug 4 starting from ₹24,999, faces tough competition from Realme X50, Find X2 Neo, and others; OnePlus Buds launched too

The OnePlus Nord has been a much talked about device in the past weeks and now, the company has finally unveiled it in a very unconventional manner. OnePlus originally started out as a company that makes flagship killers but of late, the company has started making proper flagship-grade phones such as the OnePlus 8 and 8 Pro. The launch of Nord is an indication that the company wants to go back to its roots of producing affordable devices with flagship features.

OnePlus chose to launch Nord using augmented reality (AR) making it the first such smartphone launch in the world. The OnePlus Nord is powered by the Snapdragon 765G 5G SoC accompanied by up to 12 GB of LPDDR4x RAM and up to 256 GB of UFS 2.1 storage. The phone sports a 6.44-inch FHD+ AMOLED display with a 90 Hz refresh rate. The display also houses an in-display fingerprint sensor.

OnePlus has also endowed the Nord with decent photography capabilities. It uses the same 48 MP Sony IMX586 sensor as the OnePlus 8 with an f/1.75 aperture and allows for optical image stabiilization (OIS). Additionally, we get an 8 MP wide-angle lens, a 2 MP macro lens, and a 5 MP depth sensor. Nord is also the first OnePlus device to sport a dual-selfie camera setup comprised of a 32 MP main sensor and an 8 MP ultra-wide angle lens. Powering the Nord is a 4,115 mAh battery that supports Warp Charge 30T.

OnePlus Nord will be available in two colors — Blue Marble and Gray Onyx. The phone will be available in India from August 4 at prices starting from ₹24,999 for the 6 GB/64 GB variant, ₹27,999 (€399, £379) for the 8 GB/128 GB variant, and ₹29,999 (€499, £469) for the 12 GB/256 GB model. The 6 GB/64 GB version will be available only in India and that too, only in September. The other two variants are slated for both India and Europe (sadly no USA for the moment).

The Nord is not without competition, though. Competing phones include the Vivo X50 and X50 Pro, Redmi K30 5G, Nokia 8.3 5G, Motorola Moto Edge, Realme X50 5G, Oppo Reno3 Pro 5G, Oppo Find X2 Neo, and even the upcoming Google Pixel 5 to name a few. Then there's also the Nubia Play 5G with a 144 Hz refresh rate display and a much bigger battery. Despite the competition, OnePlus can still expect good traction for the Nord as many of the above phones aren't available in India (yet) or are priced higher.

OnePlus Buds launched as well

Alongside the Nord, OnePlus also announced the new OnePlus Buds true wireless earphones. The Buds aim to deliver an all-day long listening experience and can offer up to 10 hours of music playback after a 10-minute charge with a full charge in the case delivering nearly 30 hours of music playback. The OnePlus Buds feature three microphones in each bud along with 13.4 mm dynamic drivers that support Dolby Atmos and Bass Boost. The Buds sport an ergonomic half in-ear design for comfort over extended periods of wearing and also come with an IPX4 water resistance rating.

The OnePlus Buds are priced at ₹4,990 (US$67) and come in Gray, White, and Nord Blue color options. The White and Nord Blue variants can be availed in an early access sale on July 31 on oneplus.in and will be available widely from August 4 online on oneplus.in, Amazon, and Flipkart, and across exclusive OnePlus offline stores, Croma, and Reliance Digital outlets. The Gray variant will be available at a later date.