Leak hints at simple and familiar design for rumored OnePlus Nord 2

By Michael Allison June 29, 2021

OnePlus is getting ready to release the OnePlus Nord 2, its affordable budget flagship for 2021. New leaked renders from a reliable source shared today now show us the design that this phone is likely to ship with. If these renders are accurate, the upcoming Nord 2 would look a lot like a refined Nord 2020, albeit with plenty of changes and tweaks to make it a better overall phone.

Leaked Rrndered images of the OnePlus Nord 2 phone showing the front and rear panels. The image is watermarked by the leaker.
Looking at the renders, from the all-screen front, the logo placement, and the camera hump, the company has settled on a clear design language for its most recent phones. It is said to have a 6.43-inch FHD+ AMOLED display paired with a 90Hz refresh rate and an in-display fingerprint sensor for security. There’s a hole punch at the top left housing a pair of 32-megapixel and 8MP front-facing cameras. The rear has a triple camera layout with a 50MP main camera, an 8MP ultra-wide, and a 2MP depth sensor, but the rest of the phone is minimal and nondescript.

Earlier reports claimed that the Nord 2 would be shipping with a MediaTek Dimensity 1200 SoC, putting its performance more in the flagship class and returning the OnePlus brand to its affordable flagship roots. Newer rumors flesh it out a bit with reports of up to 12GB of RAM, 256GB of storage, and a 4, 500 mAh battery with either 33W or 65W fast charging. The MediaTek chip brings in support for Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.2, so we may see those present on this handset alongside standard connectivity options as 5G, NFC, and so on.

OnePlus recently launched the OnePlus Nord CE and the OnePlus Nord N200. If this report is accurate, these phones will pale in comparison to the newer one. OnePlus appears to be improving on its older Nord, rather than simply modernizing its specs as the choice of processor shows. While some bad habits do stick around (the nigh-vestigial 2MP depth sensor comes to mind), the Nord 2 appears to be a phone that could compete with the base Samsung Galaxy S21— on paper at least.

OnePlus has not officially announced the Nord 2, and even if the device is coming soon, the phone’s final specification may be different from the leaks.

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