OnePlus Nord SE tip hints at the company's new direction

By JC Torres/Nov. 9, 2020 8:14 pm EST

OnePlus certainly seems to be entering a new chapter in its life, though there might be some apprehension about the decisions it has so far made. Expanding its portfolio, it created a new line of mid-range Nord phones that are pretty much below OnePlus' usual products. It has also started to shift its OxygenOS away from the stock Android experience its fans loved. Just weeks after it announced its newest Nord phones, OnePlus is rumored to already be preparing for the next one that will introduce at least one upgrade to the line.

OnePlus promised it would be going back to launching affordable phones that made it popular but it didn't make its main product line affordable in that sense. Instead, it created the OnePlus Nord family, which now boasts of three models, two of which barely make the mark for a mid-range Android phone. While the OnePlus Nord N10 and Nord N100 have still to actually ship, Android Central has gotten word on what might be known as the OnePlus Nord SE.

Codenamed "Ebba", this phone will be more of a direct successor to the first OnePlus Nord. In fact, it may even have the same Snapdragon 765G chip which, by next year, could already be outdated. At least it will also have the older phone's AMOLED screen and not the Nord N10's LCD panel.

The upgrade will come in the 65W fast charging that was first seen on the OnePlus 8T from last month. Along with a larger 4,500 mAh battery, this would give the OnePlus Nord SE some high-end qualities at least. The phone is expected to be announced shortly after the OnePlus 9 which, in turn, may debut in March next year.

Despite that charging and battery leap, the OnePlus Nord SE would be a very incremental upgrade compared to the OG OnePlus Nord. It might also be unavailable in the US again as well. This paints a picture of a OnePlus that is switching to a strategy that will fill the mid-range phone market with multiple phones with incremental or small differences, just like any other smartphone maker today.