If the Nord CE is the future of OnePlus, the future looks bleak

There is a new north. Called the OnePlus Nord Core Edition, the phone was launched with dubious claims aimed at bringing the quintessential OnePlus to a whole new audience. However, the less-than-outstanding spec sheet and lack of finesse mean the phone is easy to forget.

In our OnePlus Nord CE test, we struggled to find a reason for the existence of this phone within the OnePlus product range. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not a terrible phone in and of itself. But it lacks any unique value, and I just don’t see how it’s supposed to wow a new generation of OnePlus fans – and that’s a problem.

Continue reading: OnePlus Nord Buying Guide: Everything You Need To Know

There is no shortage of high quality, affordable, mid-range options on the market. From the Redmi Note 10 Pro to the Realme 8 Pro or the Google Pixel 4a, every single phone on the list stands out for bringing something unique to the table. The OnePlus Nord CE? Nada.

In fact, it makes it worse by failing what it is up to: democratizing the OnePlus experience.

You see, the phone is called the Core Edition because it is meant to channel the ethos and values ​​of OnePlus. Except it doesn’t.

OnePlus built its reputation on the pillars of performance and value. While the value quotient began to decline with the company’s predictable upward surge with the OnePlus 8 and OnePlus 9 hardware series, it still had performance and unique features. Meanwhile, the original OnePlus Nord attempted a return to form by delivering good enough specs for a reasonable price. The phone has done well enough for the company, especially in India, with sales growing 200% year over year in the region.

The OnePlus Nord CE, however, fizzles out this dynamic. The lukewarm release is just Rs. 3000, £ 29 or € 40 below the original OnePlus Nord. This relatively small price difference is associated with a significant reduction in the kit. Even compared to established competitors from Xiaomi and also BBK counterparts such as Realme, the mobile phone looks unrivaled.

Gone away potential

Whether design, fit and workmanship or the kit offered, there is no real redemption factor here. We’ve seen a homogenization of design on Oppo and OnePlus phones, but the Nord series takes it to the next level with their Realme-derived design.

And that’s before I get to the missing alert slider. It’s not that you can’t switch between profiles without a notification slider, but the ease of use is addicting and part of the reason I keep coming back to OnePlus phones. This isn’t the first OnePlus phone to have the slider dropped. The Nord N-series devices all did the same thing – but for a phone that was explicitly designed to get the most out of the OnePlus experience on a budget, the lack of a OnePlus marquee feature is a slap in the face of longtime fans, especially those who are aiming to make these affordable options their first OnePlus phone.

In the meantime, OnePlus is ignoring constant complaints about image optimization, delayed software updates, and desk inserts like support for 5G band in key areas like India.

In the absence of hardware essentials such as a loaded data sheet, the only redeeming factor is the software experience. Oxygen OS isn’t bad at all, in fact, it’s one of the better software skins out there, but it’s also a far cry from what has anchored millions of fans in the ecosystem. Year after year, the company picks up good and bad functions and develops the user interface a step further away from stock Android – despite the considerable outcry from long-time fans.

In the midst of Oxygen OS’s identity crisis, the bigger problem is that it’s not making any significant progress. This is despite the fact that the competition is quickly catching up to the top of OnePlus. Take MIUI for example. Xiaomi’s version of Android has traditionally been a feature powerhouse. The only real problem? Bloatware and inconsistency. However, if the last couple of releases can be verified, the company listens to user feedback and dramatically tones down bloatware. It has also publicly recognized the need for better software parity across its huge portfolio. You don’t see this kind of forward movement with OnePlus, least of all with OnePlus Nord CE. The cookie-cutter approach to Oxygen OS ensures that it is far from what system vendor OnePlus envisions, and it cannot save the Nord CE from mediocrity.

Additionally, the company’s patchy track record of timely updates to flagships doesn’t leave me confident that it will deliver on the promises it makes for budget hardware. In fact, the entry-level Nord N10 and Nord N100 are only promised one major Android update, while the Nord CE is getting two, despite being introduced on the cusp of the Android 12 rollout. You can expect Android 13 on the phone, and that’s it. Put simply, if a company promises a premium experience, that’s unacceptable, even more so in 2021.

These longstanding problems are exacerbated by the longstanding dominance of Xiaomi and Realme in this segment. The Redmi Note 10 series, Samsung’s A series hardware, and even the Pixel 4a all have redeeming qualities that make them stand out and are much easier to recommend than what OnePlus brings to the table. If OnePlus can’t meet, let alone exceed, hardware expectations, keep stuttering when it comes to software support, and fail to bring its marquee functions into battle, how exactly does it expect to compete?

The constant hype-building cycle has quickly become a common theme for OnePlus, be it the OnePlus Band that hit the market with dubious performance and lackluster functionality, or the long-awaited OnePlus Watch that turns out to be little more than a Bog standard turned out fitness wearable. There’s also the much-talked-about Hasselblad partnership that improved imaging performance on OnePlus phones by an inch instead of the mile it took to compete with the best. It’s easy to anger customers, even longtime loyalists, when there’s seldom substance to back the hype.

With a stronger mainstream presentation in its sights, the company isn’t afraid to let go of the goodwill that comes with a good product. In contrast to Xiaomi’s bottom-up approach, where it struggled to break away from its inexpensive image due to its success with Redmi, OnePlus is much better positioned. It has a brand entropy based on generations of high-quality products with a fair price. However, the recent flurry of budget and mid-range hardware risks wasting momentum and watering down OnePlus’ brand identity. The North CE is just the latest example of a worrying trend.

Continue reading: The best OnePlus phones across a range of categories – budget, camera, and more

OnePlus also paints it in a completely different light. This is a new era at OnePlus that isn’t afraid to settle down, and one where having an option at any price is more important than what the product stands for.

This new era is compounded by the recent announcement of deeper integration between OnePlus and Oppo. If you thought the OnePlus hardware was being commodified, just look at Oppo’s increased influence. The other BBK-owned brand has in the past flooded the mid-range and budget markets with derivative hardware across all price ranges, and all signs point to a similar fate for OnePlus, though time will tell. After all, both the Nord CE and the Nord are N200 quite similar to existing Realme and Oppo devices.

I am not against more diverse options. However, the ever closer alliance with Oppo and the recent spate of defective hardware are at odds with everything OnePlus has stood for. It’s not that OnePlus has never adopted elements of Oppo devices, but it has always made them its own. The consistent watering down of the OnePlus table inserts and the Nord range’s lack of competitiveness paint a bleak future for the direction the company is headed. At first the Nord N range made compromises, now it’s the normal Nord range. Could his flagships be next?