OnePlus Nord N10 hands-on: Settling on simplicity

The OnePlus Nord N10 is the middle child of the Nord family. The Nord sits at the top of the pile, the N10 and N100 sit below. Together, these three phones represent a new range of devices designed to offer OnePlus fans the full range of potential price points: from entry-level models to mid-range premieres. For example, the Vanilla OnePlus Nord in the UK starts at £ 379, while the N10 costs £ 329 / EUR 329 (~ USD 429) and the N100 costs £ 179 / EUR 179 (~ USD 233). That leaves the N10 in an uncomfortable place.

Can anything differentiate the OnePlus Nord N10 from its stable mates? We have some thoughts in our first practical work with the hardware of the middle sibling.

Connected: The best OnePlus phones

hardware

OnePlus deliberately selected Nord, which means “north” in German. “This line of products reminds us to always look for our true north and we hope it continues to remind you of yours,” said Carl Pei, Co-CEO of OnePlus, in a tweet earlier this year. That means that North should be simple and reliable, a beacon that offers orientation. Will the Nord N10 accept this idea?

Well it’s easy. The phone bears only the slightest resemblance to the phones in the OnePlus 8 series. It has a flat glass surface, a polycarbonate frame and a plastic cover. You could say it looks like a glass sandwich – only it’s not a glass.

The OnePlus Nord N10 is a convincing blue. You could compare it to the deep blue of a northern sky just after sunset. It’s rich and better than the aqua hue we saw on OnePlus phones earlier this year.

The Nord N10 is a considerable piece of hardware. It’s bigger than the OnePlus 8 and more in line with the size of the 8 Pro. OnePlus was able to keep the weight down thanks to the plastics, but some people find the N10 too much to handle.

See also: History of the OnePlus lineup

I wish the materials and workmanship were a little better. I understand this is a mid-range phone, but the plastics don’t feel good enough on my fingers. More precisely, the display glass is embedded in an obvious plastic frame that is itself inserted into the polycarbonate housing. It makes the look a bit cheaper. There are no gaps between the panels and the frame, but there is a distinct protrusion between the sides of the back panel and the frame that I don’t like.

Something is missing

The back is completely smooth except for the fingerprint reader and the camera module. The glossy finish of the Nord N10 is a fingerprint magnet. It is easily covered with dirt. I kept rubbing it on my jeans to get rid of the bulk.

The fingerprint reader is in a good position. I found it easy to find and use when testing the phone. The camera module is very similar to that of the Samsung Galaxy S20 and Note 20 series, meaning it’s a fairly large rectangle that protrudes from the otherwise smooth plastic.

There are numerous functional elements on the outer edge of the phone – except for one large one. Let’s start at the bottom. There you will find the USB-C port, the downward facing speaker, and the headphone jack. Yes, really, a headphone jack. The volume control is on the left edge of the phone, as is the compartment for SIM / microSD memory cards. A microphone adorns the top edge and the on / off button is on the right edge.

What is missing? The alarm regulator. One of the typical hardware features of OnePlus is simply not there. It is a big disappointment.

A flat screen

As mentioned above, the display glass is flat. For a phone in this price range, that’s perfectly fine. The OnePlus Nord N10 has a 6.49-inch IPS LCD with Full HD + resolution. It is important that the refresh rate is 90 Hz. This really gives the screen some pizzazz. While I think the colors and brightness seem a bit subdued, the refresh rate offers a degree of sharpness that allows it to stand out from others in this price range.

A Qualcomm Snapdragon 690 powers the phone, supported by 6 GB of RAM and 128 GB of storage. A 4,300mAh battery provides the juice. All medium specs and quite a hit compared to the more powerful Nord.

More: Phones with the best display

Aside from the missing bell switch, the other big “what?” The Nord N10 ships with Android 10. We’re at the point where new phones should be shipping Android 11, not Android 10. This is a bit of a misstep if you ask us.

OnePlus Nord N10 specifications

OnePlus Nord N10: early verdict

The OnePlus Nord N10 is solid hardware. There’s a lot to like about its mid-range design, though there are certainly some questionable omissions like the ringtone switch and Android 11. It’s supposed to be an affordable phone, and it is.

Android Authority will be testing the OnePlus Nord N10 in the coming days and should have a full review ready soon.