OnePlus says goodbye to Nord as an in-house smartphone division

OnePlus is following a well-known Chinese recipe in a step-by-step way to allow Nord’s smartphone division to spread its wings. He led OPPO, Xiaomi, and Vivo OnePlus to allow the mid-range smartphone brand to thrive under their own wings, then market the brands independently. Since the beginning of the Nord series, they have worked for their own character. With this, the manufacturer wanted to attract young people in particular. Presumably, this character will form the basis of Nord, if TheMobileIndian is right in his rumours.

Connecting Nord and OnePlus

Nord should be able to expand its influence in the mid-range segment by decoupling OnePlus. This will likely lead to a wider range of phones in the future. Under the wings of OnePlus, the Nord lineup of three devices and a set of accessories has remained relatively limited. It is not known exactly which path Nord will take. Currently, the OnePlus subdivision works mainly on phones from around 300 to 400 euros. The brand may be settling in lower and higher price ranges, which we also saw with OPPO’s sub-brand, Realme.

A complete split from OnePlus doesn’t seem to be an issue at the moment. TheMobileIndian states that Nord will continue to explain with references such as “from OnePlus” or “the OnePlus brand” that the division is backed by OnePlus (and thus also by its sister brand OPPO). However, it is known that Nord will operate as an independent brand, with its own brand, its own team, and eventually even its own stores.

A new course for OnePlus

What exactly the disappearance of Nord as a smartphone series will mean for OnePlus is currently unknown. Over the past year, the Chinese company OPPO has relied more and more on its Nordic segment, while the high-end display has been largely stripped away. The company only released One advanced phone, with one more high-end phone to be announced in the books for 2022. It’s ground coffee to consider, but OnePlus may choose the OPPO path. That company brought the Realme subdivision – aimed at cheaper smartphones – into the market, but has remained active in developing and selling mid-range smartphones.