UPDATE: Evan Blass has published moar OnePlus Nord 5G renders, this time showing off the upcoming mid-end device protected by a trio of very special cases. Purportedly dubbed "Creators Cases", these appear to have been designed in collaboration with painter Camilla Engstrom, YouTuber Zack Nelson from JerryRigEverything, and Sweden-based freelance artist Finsta.


Clearly, OnePlus is trying to appeal to a young and hip demographic with these presumably limited edition protective accessories, and while the Finsta case looks rather bland at a first glance, the other two are sure intriguing, with one of them mimicking a clear back and the second adding a touch of artistic style without presumably costing an arm and a leg. Our original story follows below.

In keeping with the company's unorthodox tradition, OnePlus left little to chance in the lead-up to the imminent release of its first mid-range smartphone since 2015, gradually revealing everything from the... existence of a new "affordable" product line to the unconventional Nord name and a series of key specifications and selling points.

Granted, the handset was purportedly leaked for the first time more than seven months ago, but due to a number of reported delays and last-minute changes, a lot of the information unofficially revealed way back in December 2019 is pretty much guaranteed to prove inaccurate after all.

That's unlikely to be the case for a pair of freshly leaked renders published by the unstoppable force that is Evan Blass, aka @evleaks, which showcase both the front and back of the 5G-enabled OnePlus Nord in great detail with an undoubtedly high degree of accuracy and credibility.


Six cameras in total

While this astounding detail for a budget-friendly phone with 5G connectivity was already disclosed by several reputable sources recently, it's still amazing to visualize the presence of two front-facing cameras on a double hole punch situated in the top left corner of the Nord's seemingly large display, as well as four rear-facing shooters.

That's right, the mid-end OnePlus Nord 5G has more cameras than both the high-end OnePlus 8 and 8 Pro 5G, although that obviously doesn't necessarily mean the cheaper device will actually be able to produce sharper photographs than its costlier cousins.



Still, the company has repeatedly promised to deliver a premium imaging experience on a tight budget, and with a 48MP primary snapper, 8MP wide-angle lens, 5MP macro sensor, and 2MP portrait cam on its back, it sounds like the OnePlus Nord 5G will be able to keep that promise. Don't forget about optical image stabilization and the very intriguing dual selfie shooter system reportedly composed of 32 and 8MP sensors.

While unsurprisingly similar to the OnePlus 8 series, the first member of the Nord family looks set to move the rear camera module from the middle to the left side, with the LED flash to the right. That's not necessarily a good or bad move, but simply something to help differentiate the mid-ranger from the company's newest flagship handsets.

Although we can't be sure of that just by looking at a leaked render (especially with a clear case on top), something tells us the OnePlus Nord 5G will rock a plastic rear cover to save costs compared to the shiny glass-made OP8 and 8 Pro.


A flat AMOLED display with razor-thin bezels

We all know flat-screened phones don't have to be ugly, and OnePlus aims to prove that by smoothly rounding the Nord corners and keeping the discreet forehead and chin of the company's 2020 high-enders around.

If we were to guess, we'd say the OnePlus Nord 5G is slightly larger than the 6.4-inch display diagonal rumored for a few months now, while the company recently confirmed (by way of a meme) that the mid-range device will sport a high-quality AMOLED panel. A smooth 90HZ refresh rate is also essentially etched in stone, making this thing quite possibly the phone to beat at €500.



Unfortunately, the company doesn't plan to officially release the Nord in North America, at least not widely, focusing exclusively on India and Europe instead. Already up for pre-order in super-limited numbers (yes, before all the specs and features are confirmed), the affordable device is scheduled to properly see daylight on July 21.

In case you're wondering, the rest of the rumored specifications are equally as impressive as the ones already confirmed, including up to 12 gigs of memory, at least 128 gigs of internal storage space, a battery of around 4,300mAh capacity with fast charging support, and an in-screen fingerprint reader.