What you need to know
- OnePlus could bring the Nord CE 3 Lite to the US.
- The phone will apparently be rebranded as the OnePlus Nord N30 5G, while maintaining the same specs sheet as the original model.
- It is supposed to be available via OnePlus itself and T-Mobile.
OnePlus recently expanded Nord’s line of budget phones with the OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite 5G, which sits somewhere in the middle of the company’s smartphone lineup. While only European and Indian markets were mentioned as target markets during the launch event, new clues indicate that it will also be available in the US.
The phone will be sold in the country as the OnePlus Nord N30 5G, according to a post on the OnePlus Community forum (Opens in a new tab) By someone passing the handle Some_Random_Username. If true, the device will succeed the OnePlus Nord N20, which is one of the best Android phones under $300.
The source came to the conclusion after researching the phone’s OxygenOS build, A.07, which gave OnePlus plans to offer a remastered variant of the device in the US (via Phone Arena). (Opens in a new tab)). Nord CE 3 Lite and Nord N30 5G have the same Project ID, as shown in the screenshot below, which means they are the same.
Like the N20 5G, Nord CE 3 Lite includes a Snapdragon 695 chipset based on 6nm. On the other hand, the latest model has 8GB of RAM and up to 256GB of internal storage, versus the 6GB/128GB configuration of the previous model.
OnePlus’ latest budget phone is also a step up from last year’s model in many ways. For example, it features a 108MP main sensor complemented by two 2MP depth and macro shooters. It will be interesting to see how the cameras fare against the competition, which is currently dominated by mid-range devices like the excellent Google Pixel 6a.
The appeal of the recent wave of mid-range smartphones is that they bring some of the better features of their premium counterparts to the masses at a fraction of the price. Nord N30 5G looks set to continue this trend.
The phone may be available in the US via both OnePlus and T-Mobile, though we don’t know the exact price yet. Nord CE 3 Lite 5G retails in Europe for €330 / £300, and if the N30 5G is the US variant, it will likely cost less than $300.
OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite 5G
The new OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite 5G is a budget phone with an impressive 108MP lossless zoom camera. It has a 120Hz screen for smooth animations, and the 67W charging will charge you quickly.