To those who have at least heard of OnePlus, it’s a phone brand that has always been known for stellar specs, performance, and quality for less (at least versus Apple, Samsung, LG, Google, etc.). Yet over the years, their phone prices, like everyone else’s, has seen price increases. Their newest OnePlus 9 runs $729 (and $1069 for the topped out OnePlus 9 Pro); though, that’s because they pimped out with overkill hardware and are still cheaper than the other big dogs. Then OnePlus launched Nord. Nord phones are cheaper, depending on how much hardware and software you’re willing to skimp on.
The current Nord N10 5G and N100 series in the US are 180 and 300, respectively. The newest Nord N200 (obviously the successor to the N100) runs under 240. So, what is it you’re losing out on with the Nords? For starters, you actually gain several things: a headphone jack, a MicroSD slot, and a bigger battery. What you lose out on is obviously specs. The less obvious is software. You only get one major Android update, but will still receive 3 years of security updates. The latest Android versions are rather future proofed and similar nowadays, so long as you get security updates, you’re really not going to miss out on too much (after all, it’s under $240).
What’s the difference between the N100 and N200 anyways? You get 5G, which the N100 lacks, alongside slightly beefed up specs. Since the N200 is new, you also get an OS that will be Android 12 (when it’s out). 5G for $240 already is dandy; but just because the specs are lesser doesn’t mean they’re bad. You still get 64GB of storage, 4GB RAM, a not to be underestimated Snapdragon 480, and plenty of features: a fingerprint scanner, Wi-Fi 5, Bluetooth 5.1 (with high quality audio codecs aptX HD & LDAC) and 18W fast charging, which would certainly be a huge upgrade from any outdated phone.