OnePlus Nord launch event to take place in augmented reality on July 21

By Andy Boxall July 7, 2020

The anticipated OnePlus Nord smartphone will launch on July 21, the company has announced. In a press release, OnePlus says the brand new smartphone range will be shown off during a special augmented reality (AR) event to be held at 3 p.m. BST, which is 7 a.m. PT or 10 a.m. ET on the same day.

OnePlus has experimented with different platforms for its phone launches before. When the OnePlus 2 was revealed, the company utilized virtual reality, and even designed its own OnePlus VR headset at the time based on Google Cardboard. For the OnePlus Nord AR launch, it has turned to an app.

If you head over to the Google Play or Apple App Store now, you can download the OnePlus Nord AR App, which will be your portal to the launch event on July 21. Fire it up today and you’ll see a preview of the phone’s fascia, along with a countdown to the event itself, all in augmented reality. OnePlus says you’ll need a good data connection and plenty of battery power to run the app on the day.

OnePlus has also added another opportunity to pre-order the OnePlus Nord, if you’re both keen and fast. Head over to the official OnePlus Nord website on Wednesday, July 8, and slap down just 20 British pounds to secure your phone in advance, and receive an unspecified surprise gift for doing so. A quick dig through the Nord website says the pack will include a sticker pack and a “random lifestyle product,” which appears to be either a water bottle or a T-shirt. If you miss out on pre-ordering on July 8, OnePlus will also hold another pre-order session on July 15. However, at this time you’re placing that pre-order based on rumored specifications and not much else.

Sadly for U.S. OnePlus fans, this pre-order is not open to you, as the Nord will first be sold in the United Kingdom and a variety of European countries. The company has said the Nord will be available in the United States at some point in limited numbers, and that there are other plans to bring an affordable OnePlus phone to North America too.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics

Senior Mobile Writer

Andy is a Senior Writer at Digital Trends, where he concentrates on mobile technology, a subject he has written about for…

Mobile

The OnePlus 11 Concept steals the Nothing Phone’s best trick

OnePlus shows off a OnePlus 11 with rear LED lighting.

OnePlus has teased a new special concept phone based on the OnePlus 11. The Oppo subbrand highlighted a slew of LEDs around the back of the phone as a standout feature. The LEDs were reminiscent of the approach used by Nothing, another phone brand built by former OnePlus CEO Pete Lau.

The company sent out a teaser of its concept phone showing off what appeared to be LED lightning around the back in a very striking image. “The images show the engineering breakthroughs of the OnePlus 11 Concept by highlighting the icy blue pipelines which run through the entire back of the phone, almost like OnePlus 11 Concept has its own series of blood vessels. OnePlus 11 Concept’s pipelines are housed inside a bold and futuristic unibody glass design inspired by the calm stillness and vast power of a glacial lake,” OnePlus said, as reported by The Verge.

Mobile

How I learned to love the OnePlus 11’s controversial software

The OnePlus 11's screen.

When I picked up the OnePlus 10 Pro, I missed the old OxygenOS immediately. Gone was the fluid and feature-light software that made OnePlus phones such a great experience, replaced by the heavy, slower, and more annoying ColorOS-inspired software few liked as much. I liked it even less on the OnePlus 10T, and I wasn’t the only one.

I really like the OnePlus 11, but I wasn’t expecting to like OxygenOS 13 much. My early impression of ColorOS 13 was good, but I didn’t trust the newly Oppo-ified OnePlus enough to think it would carry over. But after using, and loving, the OnePlus 11 for several weeks, I no longer feel any animosity towards OxygenOS. Have I simply become used to it, or has the software actually got better?
What’s the problem with OxygenOS?

Mobile

This is the cheaper (and cooler) OnePlus 11 you wish you could buy

OnePlus 11R, a cheaper OnePlus 11, at the Cloud 11 event in India.

The OnePlus 11, in many ways, attempts to do over the shortcomings of the previous OnePlus flagships. While the OnePlus 11 feels closer to OnePlus's once-revered form, the company's strategy to launch flagship killers in niche markets such as India and China still keeps older OnePlus users attracted to the brand, despite its evolution in recent years. The OnePlus 11R — a $200 cheaper OnePlus 11 — is the latest phone that fits the picture that OnePlus purists long for.

OnePlus has spent the last few years facing the odds. By pivoting into the budget segment with its Nord series, OnePlus has been able to sell more units but at the cost of losing its grip on the "never settle" identity. OnePlus, which once enjoyed a cultdom for its clean software and hardware portraying parsimony, has attempted to keep fans in price-conscious markets (especially in Asia) with its R suffix series.