OnePlus Nord is packing a killer 'flagship-level' camera

OnePlus has managed to do a great job building hype for the new OnePlus Nord which sold out its first round of limited pre-orders today shortly after they went live, showing just how excited people are about the news of a sub-$500 handset from the company.

The pivot back to affordable smartphones after going for the premium market with the OnePlus 8 lineup has fans genuinely excited again, and the Nord is set to balance "the premium OnePlus experience" with a palatable price, without compromising on features; in fact, you can expect the device to be packing one heck of a camera, because OnePlus knows its audience. 

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Carl Pei, the Assistant Head of OnePlus Nord, spoke to TechRadar in an exclusive interview where he gave a brief idea of what we can expect in terms of specs for the smartphone, while also managing to not reveal very much at all, but he assures fans that the camera is going to be top notch.

"For us, this product really boils down to three things; the first being the camera […] the second thing is our user experience [...] and I think the third part is the OnePlus quality.

"We've seen that [the] camera is probably the most used feature of a smartphone. It's the number one use case, so if we wanted to create a great product, the camera had to be great. 

"With the OnePlus Nord we're bringing a flagship-level camera to the mid-range price range, which I think consumers are going to be really excited by."

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Pei reveals that the whole idea behind the Nord is to offer three things:

"A great camera, a really fast, smooth and fluid experience, and a device made by somebody you trust to make a good phone. That's the entire concept behind the first product, the OnePlus Nord."

The trust seems to already be in place, given the demand for the phone which is still under wraps. We do know that it's powered by a Snapdragon 765G processor making it 5G-ready, and we expect it to sport a 6.4-inch display with a 90Hz refresh rate. We may even see a dual front-facing camera as well as multiple cameras on the rear.

For now, we'll have to sit tight for the next teaser or spec drop from OnePlus, but a second round of pre-orders are set for next week so if you're already sold at this point, you can try your luck at getting your hands on the OnePlus Nord then. 

• Read the full interview with Carl Pei at TechRadar