A 'regular' OnePlus Nord 2 is totally happening and could be released in July
Following the rampant success of last year's Nord, Nord N10 5G, and 4G LTE-only Nord N100 everywhere from the US to India and Europe, OnePlus seems to have not one and not two but three new members of the low to mid-end smartphone family lined up for official announcements over the next few weeks.
In addition to the Nord CE (Core Edition) 5G, which is pretty much as transparent as glass after a number of recent leaks, and the no doubt lower-cost Nord N200 5G, whose design and key specs have also been prematurely revealed yesterday, a direct sequel to the original OnePlus Nord is reportedly coming relatively soon as well.
Aptly and clearly named OnePlus Nord 2, this presumably budget-friendly bad boy first made headlines back in March before its own manufacturer slipped and unintentionally confirmed that moniker just a couple of weeks ago.
Unfortunately, the handset that Mukul Sharma over on Twitter expects to see daylight as early as next month continues to be largely wrapped in secrecy as far as specifications are concerned.
Knowing OnePlus, we'll probably find out soon straight from the horse's mouth if the rumor about MediaTek's Dimensity 1200 processor replacing Qualcomm's Snapdragon 765 SoC inside the first-gen Nord will prove accurate. Although the former's chips are generally regarded as inferior to their competitors, especially in the Western Hemisphere, this particular move should bring a notable upgrade in raw power to the table.
Obviously, we don't expect the second-gen "regular" OnePlus Nord to challenge the very best phones available in 2021 in terms of overall performance, but something tells us the upcoming upper mid-ranger will easily join our list of the best budget 5G phones out there after purportedly making its commercial debut sometime in July.
As the name suggests, the aforementioned Dimensity 1200 chipset is a couple of steps ahead of the Dimensity 1000 powering the likes of the T-Mobile-exclusive LG Velvet 5G as far as raw speed is concerned, but if history is any indication, the presumably 5G-capable OnePlus Nord 2 may never officially reach the US.
Then again, that's also what we expect from the Nord CE, and with both the Nord N10 5G and Nord N100 currently up for grabs stateside, we probably shouldn't rule out the possibility of the Nord 2 joining the N200 5G in following the two affordable hits to US shores... sooner or later.
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