The "Nord 3" might launch as the first-gen OnePlus Ace instead

Remember the OPPO Ace series?...probably not, right, as this line of smartphones never really made it outside China (which, given its specs and pricing, was more than a little bit of a shame).

It started out as an off-shoot of the Reno line of mid-rangers, then briefly became its own thing as a vehicle for its OEM's breakthroughs in mobile charging tech: for example, it can be credited with the introduction of AirVOOC, a fast and powerful form of wireless charging that currently lives on in the Find X5 Pro.

Despite these promising beginnings, it faded away shortly after that, only briefly making it back into the media-sphere as a rumor of re-animation via a port to Realme, OPPO's sister brand. 

That never panned out; however, it seems the resurrection of Ace is back on after all, through the medium of OnePlus this time. According to the ever-knowledgable tipster Digital Chat Station, it will carry the fast-charging legacy of its name by launching as this brand's first-gen 150W smartphone.

The "OnePlus Ace" is also now tipped to rock the Dimensity 8100 processor, have a Sony IMX766 sensor as a main camera and to come with one of the OEM's textured glass rear panels. This is all well and good - except for the fact that these are specs also associated with the rumored successor to the Nord 2.

Therefore, it may be that this "Ace" will supplant the putative Nord 3 - or, perhaps, emerge as the Chinese-market version of this phone for the international market. Either way, it now seems a product name once associated with mobile power and speed might be on the way back in 2022.

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