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OnePlus Nord 2: Everything you need to know

OnePlus staked its claim in the mid-range phone market in 2020, with the excellent Nord, which we awarded top marks to when it passed through for review.

But, encouragingly, it would appear the company hasn"t been resting on its laurels. The Nord line is expanding rapidly, with the even-cheaper Nord N10 5G and Nord N100 already on sale - but when will a proper Nord 2 arrive? Here"s what we know so far.

When is the OnePlus Nord 2"s release date?

The original Nord launched in July 2020, before going on sale in August. That"s right in the middle of the company"s usual spring/autumn flagship cycle, so it would make sense to see the Nord 2 arrive in July 2021.

Confusing things, OnePlus has confirmed that a phone called the Nord CE 5G will launch on 10 June, alongside a cheaper Nord N200. You might think that the Nord CE is simply the Nord 2 by another name, but OnePlus CEO Pete Lau says that it"s going to be "even more affordable" than the original Nord, which doesn"t sound like a classic follow-up.

There"s also the fact that OnePlus has accidentally confirmed the Nord 2 name as part of its Google Stadia offer.

Running in the UK, Germany and France from 25 May to 30 September, OnePlus is throwing in a free Google Stadia Premiere Edition with new OnePlus phone purchases. Of course, this offer doesn"t extend to every model the company current sells (or will sell during the eligibility period), but it apparently does include the Nord 2.

OnePlus Nord 2 name leak | Source: Android police

Screengrab highlighting mention of the Nord 2 | Source: Android Police

While the copy has since been amended, Android Police spotted that, initially, under the "How to Participate?" subsection of the offer"s FAQs, the Nord 2 is listed as one of the eligible devices. Although it"s styled as "Nord2" (without a space), so too are other phones in the list, which officially do feature a space within their name.

The Nord 2"s inclusion on this shortlist (even if it has since been removed) allude to a launch before the end of the Stadia offer on 30 September, with expectations placing it even sooner.

What are the specs for the OnePlus Nord 2?

One report states that the next Nord will once again boast an AMOLED display - as opposed to the LCD found on the newer, more affordable members of the Nord line, the N10 5G and the N100.

In addition, it"ll supposedly benefit from Warp Charge 65, which equates to rapid 65W fast charging, paired with a 4500mAh battery that"ll fully recharge in under 40 minutes.

Separately, sources have informed Android Central that the Nord 2 may be the first smartphone in the company"s history to deviate from a Qualcomm chipset and will instead opt for MediaTek"s newly-announced Dimensity 1200 SoC - the same chip that features in the Realme GT Neo.

The 6nm chip supports 5G natively and features a 1 + 3 + 4 octa-core architecture that runs at a higher clock than the Snapdragon 765G inside the original Nord, pointing to improved performance (so long as it"s paired with enough LPDDR4 RAM and an optimised OS).

Digital Chat Station Weibo post Dimensity 1200 Nord 2

Known tipster Digital Chat Station independently posted (above) about the possibility of a Dimensity 1200 (MT6893) making its way onto one of OnePlus" forthcoming handsets too and while they didn"t mention the Nord 2 specifically, the crossover of leaks here leads us to believe the device in question is one and the same.

It would also be great to see the display jump from 90Hz to 120Hz, as higher refresh rates continue to filter down to cheaper phones - you can get 120Hz for as little as £199 in the Poco X3 NFC for example - though admittedly that"s LCD, not OLED. A refresh rate jump seems more likely than a resolution boost, as OnePlus has so far limited WQHD+ to its Pro series phones.

If the Dimensity 1200 is the Nord 2"s chip of choice, it"s also rated to support displays at up to 168Hz.

We spoke about the Nord 2"s potential specs on an episode of our weekly podcast Fast Charge following the announcement of the Nord CE 5G. Check that episode out right here:

How much will the OnePlus Nord 2 cost?

The OnePlus Nord costs £379 for 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage or £469 for the 12GB/256GB configuration, and we"d expect the Nord 2 to cost similar; keeping it comfortably below the £549 starting price of the company"s flagship phones and above the pricing of the even cheaper Nord N10 and Nord N100.

If you can’t wait for the next iteration of OnePlus devices, you can check out our round-up of the best mid-range phones to see what else is on offer.