OnePlus Nord CE 5G specs leak with Snapdragon downgrade

A few days ago, OnePlus finally confirmed what its next Nord-branded phones will be called. While the OnePlus Nord N200 5G will be the entry-level phone that those in the US and Canada will be able to buy, the OnePlus Nord CE 5G is the one that will be heading to some global markets in less than two weeks. That does give time for leaks about the latter's specs and, based on this first serving, it might be a mixed bag of downgrades and upgrades.

One of the most persistent rumors about this year's OnePlus Nord lineup is the switch from Qualcomm Snapdragon to MediaTek Dimensity processors. Indeed, OnePlus' own remarks about the OnePlus Nord CE, short for "Core Edition", getting a distilled essential experience seemed to confirm those rumors. Apparently, that might not apply to the OnePlus Nord CE but it might not all be good news at the same time.

According to Android Central's sources, the "Core Edition" Nord will run on a Qualcomm Snapdragon 750G instead. While it does stick to Qualcomm's 5G-capable chips, it's also a slight step down from the first OnePlus Nord's Snapdragon 765G. In practice, users hopefully won't feel much of a difference but that also depends on the rest of the phone's specs, like RAM. For reference, the OG OnePlus Nord offered 8 and 12 GB of memory.

The leak also refers to the OnePlus Nord CE's 6.43-inch AMOLED screen with a 90Hz refresh rate, virtually unchanged from its predecessor. What has been upgraded is the rear camera, now at 64MP, and will be housed in a bump more similar to the OnePlus 9's. The front camera is noted to have a 16MP sensor which, if it's the only one, would be a downgrade from the first OnePlus Nord's dual front cameras.

On the one hand, it's disappointing that the OnePlus Nord's successor would be taking a few steps back instead of forward. On the other hand, OnePlus' own wording already suggests that it would be the case. We'll definitely know for sure on June 10 when the company formally announces the OnePlus Nord CE 5G for India and European markets.