OnePlus announced a more affordable smartphone on 21 July in the form of the OnePlus Nord. The device sits alongside the company's premium line - the OnePlus 8 and OnePlus 8 Pro - but how does it compare?

Here's how the OnePlus Nord stacks up against the OnePlus 8.

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Price

  • OnePlus Nord: From £379
  • OnePlus 8: From £599/$699

The OnePlus Nord will start at £379 in the UK for the base model, with the top-end model costing £469.

The OnePlus 8 meanwhile, starts at £599/$699, making it around £200/$200 more expensive than the OnePlus Nord.

Design

  • OnePlus Nord: 158.3 x 73.3 x 8.2mm, 184g, glass and aluminium
  • OnePlus 8: 160.2 x 72.9 x 8mm, IP68, glass and aluminium

The OnePlus Nord features an aluminium chassis with a glass rear. There's a camera housing in the top left corner and the front display is flat rather than curved.

It doesn't come with an official IP rating - though it can survive 300mm for 30 seconds - and measures 158.3 x 73.3 x 8.2mm. The signature OnePlus alert slider is also present.

The OnePlus 8 meanwhile, also offers an aluminium chassis with a glass rear but the front display is curved, offering a more premium appearance. 

The camera housing also sits centrally on the rear and the IP rating is higher than the Nord at IP68. It is also slightly taller than the Nord, as well as slightly narrower and slimmer at 160.2 x 72.9 x 8mm. 

Display

  • OnePlus Nord: 6.4-inch, 2400 x 1080, 90Hz
  • OnePlus 8: 6.55-inch, 2400 x 1080, 90Hz

The OnePlus Nord offers a 6.4-inch Fluid AMOLED display with a 2400 x 1080 pixel resolution and an aspect ratio of 20:9. This puts its pixel density at 411ppi. 

A 90Hz refresh rate is present as expected - OnePlus' Carl Pei said on stage for the OnePlus 7T launch that the company wouldn't launch another phone with a slower refresh rate than 90Hz again so this comes as no surprise.

The OnePlus 8 has a slightly larger 6.55-inch Fluid AMOLED display that offers the same 2400 x 1080 resolution as the OnePlus Nord. This puts the OnePlus 8's pixel density at 401ppi, which is slightly lower than the Nord due to the increase in screen size - it isn't likely to be noticeable to the human eye though.

The OnePlus 8 also offers a 90Hz refresh rate, along with HDR10+ support.

Cameras

  • OnePlus Nord: 32MP front, Quad rear (main, ultra-wide, macro and depth)
  • OnePlus 8: 16MP front, triple rear (main, ultra-wide, macro)

The OnePlus Nord comes with a quad camera setup on the rear, made up of a main sensor, ultra-wide sensor, macro sensor and a depth sensor. 

The main sensor is 48-megapixels with an aperture of f/1.75, the ultra-wide is 8-megapixels with an aperture of f/2.25 and a field of view of 119-degrees, the depth sensor is 5-megapixels with an aperture of f/2.4 and the marco sensor is 2-megapixels with an aperture of f/2.4. The main sensor offers OIS and EIS.

The OnePlus 8 has a triple rear camera with a 48-megapixel main sensor, 16-megapixel ultra-wide sensor and a 2-megapixel macro sensor.

The OnePlus Nord also comes with a dual camera on the front made up of a 32-megapixel main sensor and an 8-megapixel ultra wide angle sensor, while the OnePlus 8 offers a 16-megapixel punch-hole front camera.

Hardware

  • OnePlus Nord: SD765G, 8/12GB RAM, 128/256GB, 4000mAh
  • OnePlus 8: SD865, 8/12GB RAM, 128/256GB, 4300mAh

The OnePlus Nord has the Qualcomm Snapdragon 765G under its hood, which offers 5G capabilities. There is a choice of 8 or 12GB of RAM on board the Nord, as well as 128GB or 256GB of storage.

The Nord offers an in-display fingerprint sensor and it has a battery capacity of 4115mAh. There is fast charging on board but no wireless charging.

The OnePlus 8 has a more powerful chipset in the Qualcomm Snapdragon 865, along with the X55 modem, making it 5G enabled. Like the Nord, the OnePlus 8 has 8GB and 12GB of RAM options, along with 128GB or 256GB storage. 

The OnePlus 8 has an in display fingerprint sensor too and there's a slightly larger 4300mAh battery.

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Conclusion

Based on the specs, the OnePlus Nord doesn't compromise too much compared to the OnePlus 8. 

While the design is a little less premium and less water resistant, the Nord offers a slightly smaller but sharper display than the OnePlus 8, the same RAM and storage options, a slightly smaller battery, a slightly less powerful chipset and an extra rear camera and extra front camera for about £200/$200 less.

We'll update this feature as soon as we have reviewed the OnePlus Nord in full. For now, you can read all about our first impressions with the OnePlus Nord in our initial review.