OnePlus Nord 2 design leaks, and feels a little familiar

The OnePlus Nord CE, a cut-back version of the original Nord with the core features maintained, may have only just gone on sale, but the company is apparently well on the way to releasing a fully fledged sequel.

New OnePlus Nord 2 renders from 91mobiles and OnLeaks show a device that looks more than a little familiar for those familiar with the Chinese company’s previous handsets. The rounded rectangular camera hump and punch-hole selfie camera are nearly indistinguishable from those found on the recent OnePlus 9.

That’s certainly not a bad thing, given the OnePlus 9 was £250 more than the Nord at launch, even if looks aren’t an area where the mid-range OnePlus really needed improvement. That said, 91mobiles explains that the renders are created from an “early prototype CAD” which could mean “slight design changes” for the product that’s available to buy on the OnePlus site.

Interestingly, rumour has it that OnePlus will be moving away from Qualcomm for the OnePlus Nord 2, with MediaTek’s Dimensity 1200 system on a chip doing the heavy lifting, backed by up to 12GB RAM. We’ll have to wait and see what that does to performance, and whether this is putting OnePlus’ “Never Settle” mantra to the test.

Elsewhere, the phone is tipped to have up to 256GB of storage – likely without the option to expand, which should be unsurprising to those who’ve followed OnePlus’ past handsets. The 6.43-inch device will boast a 90Hz AMOLED display, have a 4,500mAh battery and support for 5G. The triple camera array pictured in the renders will reportedly consist of a 50MP main sensor, backed by 8MP and 2MP lenses. The selfie camera, meanwhile, will be 32MP.

We shouldn’t have too long to wait, if the site’s sources are correct. The phone is due to be unveiled early next month, with Tuesday 13 July tipped as a possible launch date.