At the world’s first AR launch event, OnePlus finally unveiled the highly anticipated OnePlus Nord. Additionally, Carl Pei even announced the company’s first-ever TWS earphones, OnePlus Buds.
As expected, OnePlus Nord became the company’s first mid-range smartphone that will be exclusively sold in India and several European countries. After the official announcement, smartphone enthusiasts begin listing the compromises that a user had to face if he decided to purchase Nord instead of the flagship OnePlus 8.
In this article, I have shared an in-depth comparison between the OnePlus Nord and the OnePlus 8 accompanied by a piece of small conclusive advice as to which device is ideal for which user.
ALSO READ: OnePlus Nord With 90Hz Fluid AMOLED Display Launched in India: Price, Specifications, and Features
OnePlus Nord Vs OnePlus 8: Design & Display
OnePlus Nord sports an aesthetically pleasing design language that looks and feels premium. The front and back glasses on this smartphone are protected by Gorilla Glass 5. If you are interested in the dimensions, here you go 158.3 x 73.3 x 8.2 mm. Nord is available in Blue Marble and Gray Onyx color variants.
OnePlus Nord sports a massive and visually impressive 6.44-inches Fluid AMOLED with a resolution of 1080 x 2400 pixels and a 90Hz refresh rate. The 86.7% screen-to-body ratio of this smartphone makes it look quite premium. The high refresh rate makes the animations look more smoother and responsive. Additionally, it comes in handy while gaming on the device.
Overall, despite being a mid-range device, OnePlus Nord has negligible compromises in the design and display segment.
The flagship OnePlus 8 features a complete glass and metal construction. Similar to the Nord, both the glass surfaces on this device are protected by Gorilla Glass 5. The side display on the OnePlus 8 is curved and it seamlessly blends into the aluminum frame of the smartphone. OnePlus 8 is available in Onyx Black, Glacial Green, Interstellar Glow, and Polar Silver color variants.
OnePlus 8 also features an almost similar 6.55 inches Fluid AMOLED with a resolution of 1080 x 2400 pixels and a 90Hz refresh rate. On the display front, both these smartphones are almost similar and it’s practically impossible to notice major differences. Additionally, OnePlus 8 support HDR10+ content. If you heavily rely on a smartphone for media consumption then none of the devices will disappoint you.
However, the OnePlus Nord features a dual front-facing camera layout and the hole punch of Nord is slightly bigger than that of OnePlus 8. In my opinion, both these devices have modern design ergonomics but still, I would say that design is highly subjectively, and what one may like others may not.
OnePlus Nord Vs OnePlus 8: Performance And Storage
Since its inception, OnePlus is known to offer great performance smartphones, and the latest offering from the company namely OnePlus Nord is no exception. The mid-range smartphone is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 765G (7 nm) octa-core processor. Despite being powered by a 700 series SoC the smartphone can run flawlessly and it lives up to the OnePlus standards.
No matter what you throw at it, OnePlus Nord can effortlessly handle all sorts of resource-intensive tasks. Moreover, Adreno 620 is a capable GPU and it will help you to enjoy long gaming sessions with ease. OnePlus Nord is available in 64GB storage with 6GB RAM, 128GB storage with 8GB RAM, and 256GB storage with 12GB RAM variants.
On the other hand, OnePlus 8 is powered by the flagship Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 processor. This flagship SoC doesn’t need any introduction. In terms of benchmarks and raw performance, Snapdragon 865 clearly outperforms the Snapdragon 765G.
In fact, performance is the only department where OnePlus 8 is clearly better than the Nord. That said, by no means, OnePlus Nord is a slow phone, it’s just comparatively slower. Storage and RAM variants available for OnePlus 8 are 128GB storage with 8GB RAM and 256GB with12GB RAM. It is worth noting that the storage of these smartphones can’t be expanded using a MicroSD card.
If performance is on top of your priority list when it comes to smartphones then without any doubt purchase the OnePlus 8.
OnePlus Nord Vs OnePlus 8: Camera, Software, And Battery
In the software department, both OnePlus Nord and OnePlus 8 are exactly similar. These smartphones run on Android 10.0 out of the box accompanied by OxygenOS 10.0 custom skin. The future software and security updates on these smartphones will continue to arrive at the exact same time. Lastly, OnePlus will also discontinue the updates for these devices at the same time.
OnePlus Nord features a quad rear camera setup, consisting of a primary 48MP Sony IMX586 sensor with f/1.75 aperture, accompanied by an 8MP 119-degree ultra-wide-angle sensor with f/2.25 aperture. Lastly, there’s a third 5MP depth sensor with f/2.4 aperture and a 2MP macro sensor with f/2.4 aperture. As mentioned earlier, on the front of the device there’s a dual front-facing camera setup that consists of a 32MP Sony IMX616 sensor and an 8MP 105-degree ultra-wide-angle sensor.
Unlike, the Nord there’s a triple camera setup on the OnePlus 8, consisting of a 48 MP primary sensor with f/1.8 aperture, coupled with a 16 MP ultra-wide-angle camera with f/2.2 aperture and lastly there’s a 2 MP, f/2.4 macro sensor. Additionally, there’s a 16 MP, f/2.0 aperture front-facing camera on this device.
On paper, the camera specifications of Nord might sound better than that of OnePlus 8 but in reality, the quality of both photos and videos are better on OnePlus 8. While OnePlus Nord empathizes on camera versatility, OnePlus 8 focuses on quality. You can record 4K videos on both these devices but the videos recorded on Nord are limited to 30fps and on the flagship, you can record up to 60fps.
Nord features a 4115 mAh battery and OnePlus 8 has a 4300 mAh battery. These smartphones don’t support wireless charging but they are equipped with respectable fast charging technologies. In the box, OnePlus offers Warp charge 30T (5V-6A) charger with these devices.
Final Thoughts
As you might have understood by now, the two OnePlus smartphones mentioned in this article are quite capable and almost similar to each other. We can easily apply the law of diminishing returns and understand that the extra money paid for OnePlus 8 doesn’t offer extra value.
If you a casual user then Nord won’t disappoint you and it even helps you to save some cash. While pro users whose work revolves around smartphones can consider the OnePlus 8.
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