The OnePlus Nord marked the brand’s long-awaited return to the mid-range space, and it definitely lived up to expectations. Between the respectable level of power, the fast wired charging, and that 90Hz OLED screen, OnePlus delivered a great all-around experience. It doesn’t hurt that the Nord offers a fair amount of bang for the buck, coming in at €399 (~$492) in Europe and Rs 24,999 (~$342) in India. That doesn’t mean there isn’t room for improvement, however. We can think of several additions and changes we’d make to a OnePlus Nord 2.
With rumors already beginning to swirl about the next budget OnePlus phone, here’s our OnePlus Nord 2 wishlist!
Better cameras (not more)
One of the biggest complaints leveled against the OnePlus Nord was that it was definitely a case of quantity over quality. The phone packed a grand total of six cameras, featuring dual selfie shooters (normal and wide) and a quad rear setup.
We lamented the fact that two of the four rear cameras were 2MP lenses mainly there to inflate the numbers. However, even the main and ultra-wide sensors didn’t deliver great results. Our own reviewers felt that the dual selfie shooters were disappointing too.
Reminder: More phone cameras does not equal better photo quality
We’d love to see the OnePlus Nord 2 focus on improved image quality in general. We’d also like to see the firm ditch those crappy 2MP sensors in favor of improving hardware elsewhere (e.g. better main or wide sensors, better selfie cameras).
Three years of Android version updates
OnePlus confirmed that the Nord would be getting two years of Android version updates and three years of security updates. This is in line with many major OEMs, but Samsung has recently raised the bar. The South Korean manufacturer announced three years of Android version updates for a variety of devices, giving Android fans more incentive to buy Samsung phones.
OnePlus has offered a similar commitment for its flagships, but it definitely needs to step up and offer a three-year pledge for the OnePlus Nord 2 (and the original Nord). Hopefully, the controversy over the Nord N10 and N100 only getting one Android version update forces OnePlus to pull up its socks.
More consistent pricing
It’s not uncommon to see smartphone pricing vary in different markets, with manufacturers taking numerous regional factors into account. However, there was a huge price difference between the Nord’s RRP in India and its pricing in the likes of Europe. It didn’t help that the brand only offered the 64GB model in India. Hopefully this gulf in pricing is narrowed with the OnePlus Nord 2.
More reading: The best budget phones you can currently buy
It would be great if pricing in general is closer to the Indian price point than the European one. For example, the original 128GB Nord launched at €399 (~$456 at the time) in Europe while the same variant had an Indian launch price of Rs 27,999 (~$375/€316 at the time). That’s a difference of just over €80.
US availability
Another major pain point with the original Nord was that it wasn’t available in the US for some reason. You’d think it would be a no-brainer for the Nord to come to the market, especially with the lack of mid-range competition compared to the likes of EMEA markets and India.
OnePlus brought the Nord N10 to the US, but the phone arguably represents less bang for your buck than the standard Nord (lacking an OLED screen and the Snapdragon 765G chipset). That disparity increased further with the entry-level Nord N100. So, here’s to the manufacturer making things right with the Nord 2 by bringing it to North America.
MicroSD support
OnePlus has traditionally steered clear of offering microSD card support on its phones, which means that you can only rely on internal storage or the cloud. This isn’t necessarily a big problem if you’ve got a ton of internal storage to begin with.
However, the OnePlus Nord launched in India with a 64GB option, and the lack of storage expansion will be felt more keenly at this point. If OnePlus insists on a 64GB option for the Nord 2, we’d like to see microSD support thrown into the mix as well.
You tell us: What do you want to see from the OnePlus Nord 2?
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That’s it for our OnePlus Nord 2 wishlist! What would you like to see from a Nord successor? Let us know in the poll above and in the comments!