OnePlus Nord 2 5G is official and the exclusive chip that's powering it has been revealed

The OnePlus Nord 2 5G is official! OnePlus has dropped a sprinkling of details on its upcoming mid-range smartphone, as well as sharing a sneak peek of the device; although it's just a rectangular silhouette, so don't get too excited.

After purging its OnePlus Nord Instagram account this week ahead of the upcoming reveal event later this month, the feed now has a few posts up lauding the performance of OnePlus Nord 2 5G and revealing the exclusive MediaTek Dimensity 1200-AI SoC that powers it. On top of that, a known tipster has pinpointed the exact launch date of the phone.    

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Reputed Twitter tipster Ishan Agarwal shared OnePlus' tweet – which shows the OnePlus Nord 2 shrouded in darkness, so as not to give anything away – and has stated that the official launch is set for Thursday, July 22. That seems much more likely than the previous date of July 24, which falls on a Saturday; although it's worth noting that the leaker who put that date forward said the event would happen in the "last 10 days of July" so they weren't married to that date.

Meanwhile, OnePlus has revealed that it's been working with MediaTek on the OnePlus Nord 2 5G's "one-of-a-kind chipset", the MediaTek Dimensity 1200-AI. The blog post about the chip isn't spilling all of the beans this early on, but it does say that through the collaboration between the two companies, they were able to "push the limits of this processor and bring you a host of AI-based features which enhances the user experience across a variety of touchpoints." Hence the 'AI' in the name.

While the post didn't delve into the finer details, it does mention features like "AI-assisted imaging for an improved photography experience, display enhancements, [and] better response times for faster and smoother gaming." The 'fast and smooth' aspect is also highlighted on the OnePlus Nord Instagram account while the idea behind the phone, presumably, is that it'll deliver on everything you need at a fraction of the price of its competitors. Whether it lives up to the hype or not, we'll have to wait and see.