The OnePlus Nord will be a mid-range phone that can satisfy the demand of the market for a truly versatile smartphone that doesn’t break the bank.
OnePlus is no longer in the flagship category, but it will still ‘Never Settle.’ As such, the Shenzhen-based company is going to push the envelope further and move into the mid-range phone market. OnePlus long-time patrons have mixed feedback on this move, but the company is drumming up some excitement nonetheless.
OnePlus company CEO Pete Lau says that OnePlus Nord is not a reaction to ‘going back to the roots’ of the company. Instead, he says,
“our ‘roots’ are actually in creating the best flagship smartphones, I see this part of our strategy as an important extension of the OnePlus value proposition.”
OnePlus Nord is a troublemaker
As of the moment, the mid-range market is fragmented but is being largely led by the wide lineup of Samsung. On the other hand, Apple is also putting up a good fight with its successful iPhone SE. Unfortunately, none of these phones deliver a truly low price to value proposition.
At best, the mid-range phones from the two tech giants are just watered-down versions of their premium lineups. The closest phone that delivered a powerful mid-range experience was Google with its Pixel 3a lineup. However, the company just announced that it would discontinue selling the product in the Google Store. Also, Google Pixel 4a is still just a rumor.
The void that the Pixel lineup will leave is the gap that the OnePlus Nord will fill. Assistant Head of the OnePlus Nord Carl Pei said,
“We wanted to bring out a mid-range smartphone that really lives up to the OnePlus quality. “All the testing is done exactly to the flagship standard, so when consumers buy a OnePlus product at a more reasonable price point, they can expect the exact same rigorous quality testing that all our flagship phones undergo.”
OnePlus ecosystem?
Dave Lee thinks that the OnePlus Nord will be the company’s strategy to bring more users to its fold. Afterward, it will introduce cheap but powerful products that will complement the mid-range phone. OnePlus CEO Pete Lau admits that the strategy is indeed to have more users on the OnePlus platform. He said,
“We indeed have come from background and roots as a hardware company, but from what we see looking forward, building an ecosystem is a forward trend.”
The company has already launched the OnePlus Bullets earbuds and the OnePlus TV in India. They will look to further expand their products throughout the years.
Image from OnePlus/ YouTube thumbnail