OnePlus Nord Malaysia: Everything you need to know

OnePlus certainly made some waves with their latest mid-range smartphone to hit the market: the OnePlus Nord. While the global launch of the Nord was held via a unique AR-based virtual event, the Malaysian announcement was made in a more conventional, albeit virtual setting.

Now, we’ve already heard about the global specs and pricing, and Malaysian details have been hotly-anticipated ever since. Ready? Let’s get right into it.

Price and availability

Two colour options are available: Blue Marble and Gray Onyx, along with RAM options of up to 12GB and storage of up to 256GB storage. Availability for the base model begins on the 18th of August 2020 (1pm, today) on Shopee, with offline sales to start on the 22nd of August 2020. As for the range-topping “Infinite Joy bundle”, you’ll have to wait for the 25th of August 2020 to purchase the range-topping OnePlus Nord (12GB+256GB) on Shopee, with the OnePlus Buds included as well.

Official Malaysian pricing is as follows:

OnePlus Nord (12GB RAM, 256GB storage) + OnePlus Buds – RM2,399
OnePlus Nord (8GB RAM, 128GB storage) – RM1,799

Specs

Besides the memory configurations available, the OnePlus Nord’s specs were already revealed at the global event. To recap, you’re looking at a mid-range Qualcomm Snapdragon 765G under the hood, while 5G connectivity is available across the range as well. Up to 12GB of RAM is available, and you can opt for up to 256GB of storage.

Typical to OnePlus phones, the Nord’s 4,100mAh battery can be fast-charged with Warp Charge 30T—0–70 percent in just half an hour is OnePlus’ promise—along with up to 10 hours of screen-on-time. A lack of wireless charging isn’t much of a surprise, with the range-topping OnePlus 8 Pro the first to receive the feature (the regular OnePlus 8 misses out on this, too).

Camera-wise, the OnePlus Nord has a four rear cameras: a 48MP main shooter (OIS), an 8MP ultra-wide angle shooter, a 5MP depth sensor, and a 2MP macro lens. At long last, the company has finally ditched the pop-up selfie camera, and a hole-punch cutout houses two selfie cameras: a 32MP Sony IMX616 and an 8MP ultra-wide angle shooter that offers a 105-degree FOV. According to OnePlus, intelligent optimisation will help to provide the best results when taking selfies, while the ultra-wide shooter has been included for some versatility with group shots.

The company’s slightly controversial Android 11-based OxygenOS 11 hasn’t seen a public release just yet, which means that the OnePlus Nord will ship with Android 10 out of the box. However, the latest device will be on the compatible list for OxygenOS 11 at some point in the future. You’ll have some of Google’s native apps preinstalled for Messages, Google Duo, and so on, so it’s pretty much the stock Android-like experience that OnePlus is famous for.

And of course, the highlight of the OnePlus Nord is the 6.44″ Fluid AMOLED FHD+ display, which features a high 90Hz refresh rate. This is the same refresh rate that the previous generation flagship, the OnePlus 7T Pro, uses—at a significantly cheaper price.

Overall, the OnePlus Nord appears to be OnePlus’ attempt to penetrate the Malaysian mid-range market, with pricing pitting the midranger against some rather interesting devices, including the iPhone SE 2020. So, what do you think? Is the OnePlus Nord a winner at this price? Let us know in the comments section below.

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