The OnePlus Nord is set to debut on July 21, through an AR event that the company is holding. But that isn’t stopping the company from drumming up some hype. And today, OnePlus’ own Carl Pei unveiled what the phone will actually look like.
In an interview with Marques Brownlee, OnePlus’ co-founder Carl Pei talks about some of the design process for the OnePlus Nord, as well as showing off some prototypes, but ultimately showed off what the final design of the OnePlus Nord will look like. And yes, the leaks were right.
OnePlus wanted a design that made people think “that’s a OnePlus phone”
As most companies do when they are working on a new phone, OnePlus went through a few different prototypes. Which, if we’re being honest, looked pretty cool. They had a couple that had flatter sides and an L-shaped camera in the left-hand corner. But as Pei explains in the interview, the company wanted to stick with a design that makes people think “that’s a OnePlus phone”. Essentially sticking with its brand identity.
And that’s where this design came from. The OnePlus Nord does look somewhat similar to the OnePlus 8 series it launched back in April. With the biggest difference being the placement of the camera module. Which is now on the left side, instead of in the middle. Otherwise, it looks almost identical to the OnePlus 8. And does definitely scream that it’s a OnePlus smartphone.
Pei also talked about cost of components
In this, under 20-minute long interview with Brownlee, Pei also talked about the costs of some components. He explained that the cost for an IP68 rating isn’t so much for the certification – there really isn’t any official third-party body that does it. But more for the equipment needed to test it and make sure it is IP68.
Pei also talked about the cost of the headphone jack. He explained that it’s only a few bucks to put one in, but the real cost comes from the mechanics of moving stuff around inside the phone. And how it can use up more space, that could be used for battery. The last component they talked about was the NFC chip, which costs about $4 to include.
OnePlus didn’t get into the pricing of chipsets, RAM, storage and such, which is likely what really costs the most for a smartphone. They did talk about displays, though no specific numbers were tossed around. Just that AMOLED displays are normally twice as much as LCD displays. And of course curved displays are even more expensive.