What you need to know
- The next phone in OnePlus' affordable Nord series is the Nord SE.
- The phone will be unveiled in the first quarter of 2021, and will be available in India and the EU.
- A big differentiator for the Nord SE will be 65W fast charging, with OnePlus rolling out its Warp Charge 65 tech to the budget segment.
The OnePlus Nord series is barely six months old, and we already have three models in the lineup. The first Nord debuted back in July with the Snapdragon 765G, quickly becoming a best-seller in markets like India. OnePlus followed it up with the budget-focused Nord N10 5G and Nord N100, which are set to go on sale later this month.
OnePlus is now turning its attention to next year's portfolio, and I can reveal via insider sources that the next phone in the Nord series will be the OnePlus Nord SE. Like the Nord N10 5G and N100, the Nord SE is a budget-focused model, but it has a few exciting upgrades.
OnePlus Nord SE specs
The OnePlus Nord SE is codenamed Ebba, and a key differentiator for the phone will be Warp Charge 65, the 65W fast charging tech that debuted on the OnePlus 8T. Like the OnePlus 8T, the Nord SE will feature a 4500mAh battery, and it should take under 40 minutes to fully charge the battery.
As for the rest of the hardware, the Nord SE will feature an AMOLED panel, just like the Snapdragon 765G-powered Nord. With the Nord N10 5G and N100 coming with LCD panels, it's a good sign that the Nord SE has an AMOLED display.
OnePlus Nord SE release date
OnePlus hasn't settled on a launch date for the Nord SE just yet, but our sources suggest the phone will launch shortly after the OnePlus 9, which is slated for an official unveil in March 2021. The Nord N10 5G and N100 debuted just 12 days after the OnePlus 8T, and it is possible we'll see a similar strategy play out for the Nord SE.
What's particularly interesting with the Nord SE is its availability. Unlike the Nord N10 5G and N100 — which are launching in the U.S. and EU — the Nord SE will be sold in India and the EU, and it doesn't look like the phone will debut in the U.S.
OnePlus is clearly being very strategic about global availability, and unlike its numbered flagships, devices in the Nord series are limited to select markets. The Nord SE feels like it will be closer to the Snapdragon 765G-powered Nord than the N10 5G and N100 in terms of hardware, and that makes it an interesting phone to watch out for in 2021.
OnePlus Nord
Everything you need
The Nord is still one of the best mid-range phones in the market today, with the phone featuring a 90Hz AMOLED panel, reliable hardware with 5G connectivity, 48MP camera at the back, and all-day battery life.
Harish Jonnalagadda is a Senior Editor covering Asia at Android Central. He leads the site's coverage of Chinese phone manufacturers, and writes about the semiconductor industry, storage servers, and audio products. Contact him on Twitter at @chunkynerd.
