OnePlus Nord details confirmed: 90Hz, cameras, apps

We're counting down the days, some maybe even hours, to what may be OnePlus's biggest announcement this year. Depending on how the complete picture turns out, it could even be bigger than the OnePlus 8 with all its bells and whistles. The OnePlus Nord is shaping up to be quite a formidable smartphone despite its mid-range heart. And OnePlus itself doesn't seem to be shy about revealing almost everything about the phone ahead of its debut in augmented reality on Tuesday.

Of course, we've already heard some of these from leaks and tips but nothing beats information coming from the horse's mouth. We've even seen what the phones will look like and we're now getting the official names for them. Gray Onyx is noted to have a metallic finish under the glass while Blue Marble is promised to be striking and smooth to the touch.

The OnePlus Nord seems to be revolving around the theme of smoothness, and it isn't just because of the screen's 90 Hz refresh rate and 180 Hz response rate. The Snapdragon 765G might not inspire much confidence but when paired with 12GB of RAM, you might be looking at a competitive phone that could rival the big boys, at least in terms of day to day use.

One area where the OnePlus Nord might not shine the brightest is in the camera department. No matter how OnePlus spins it, the 48 megapixel Sony IMX586 might still sound disappointing, especially with the 8MP wide-angle, 5MP depth sensor, and an unspecified macro sensor making up the rest of the team on the back. The front 32 megapixel camera and ultra-wide-angle shooter on the front, however, might tell a different story.

The OnePlus Nord might not only be remembered as a smooth mid-range phone but also one of OnePlus' smoother phones. That will be in part thanks to switching from its own dialer and messaging to Google's own apps like Duo, Phone, and Messages. Not only does it make new features like RCS immediately available to users, OnePlus also describes these apps as the "smoothest-est".