OnePlus' Carl Pei explains why the Nord is more than a OnePlus X successor

The OnePlus Nord is the first mid-range phone from the company since 2015’s OnePlus X, and a lot has changed since then. OnePlus flagships have gradually increased in price, multi-camera setups are commonplace, and 5G is now available in many countries.

Another thing that has changed is the firm’s approach to making mid-range phones. In an interview with Android Authority, OnePlus co-founder Carl Pei revealed how things are different this time around.

Read more: This is the OnePlus Nord: See the first look in new teaser video

Pei explained that the OnePlus X was influenced by the OnePlus One and OnePlus 2. More specifically, the OnePlus co-founder said the notorious invite system resulted in the first two flagships gaining a tech enthusiast fanbase that wanted the latest specs.

The OnePlus executive explained:

Now we’re able to serve a lot more customers when we go down to a mid-range price. It’s not just the tech enthusiasts, it’s also a whole host of other consumers that earlier weren’t able to afford our products.

If [OnePlus] X was an experimental phone the OnePlus Nord is our concentrated effort to target more consumers through a more affordable price point, but that doesn’t mean that the product is going to be boring. We have interesting things coming out in terms of the product and the accessories.

Pei also pointed to hardware as a factor that’s changed, as they’re using a mid-range Qualcomm Snapdragon 765G processor as opposed to an older flagship chip like the OnePlus X. The executive said they “didn’t feel like there was a good time in the market before this where a mid-range chipset delivered this type of experience until now.”

It’s interesting but not surprising to see the firm foregoing last year’s flagship silicon then, but this is likely due to price considerations. Update commitments could also have been a factor when it comes to skipping older flagship power, as older chipsets aren’t supported as long as newer SoCs.

It’s also noteworthy that Pei says they weren’t happy with mid-range processors until now. Sure, mid-range phones generally lack the power of flagship handsets, but we’ve seen loads of cheaper phones that still offer good performance. Nevertheless, we’ve found in our own testing that the Snapdragon 765G is a capable performer with a near-flagship feature set.

In any event, OnePlus is clearly hoping to attract a wider audience than just tech-savvy people. But will they be able to please both the average consumer and enthusiasts? You can read Pei’s comments on that tricky balancing act in the longer interview linked above.