OnePlus, which is gearing up for their first 2021 flagship release, recently wandered into all-new territory with the launch of the OnePlus Nord lineup. First, it was an incursion into the mid-range scene with the widely praised OnePlus Nord, and then the company also dipped their toes into the budget smartphone market with the OnePlus Nord N10 5G and the OnePlus Nord N100. Confusing names aside, these phones bring some of the features that made newer OnePlus devices so great, such as the software, at a lower price point.

There was one problem with the release of these two phones back in October: They weren't made available in North America. While we're still not getting the higher-end OnePlus Nord in North America (bummer), both the Nord N10 5G and the Nord N100 are getting a U.S. and Canada release at long last. These are OnePlus' entries in the lower mid-range/budget range of the smartphone spectrum, and while unapologetically lackluster in terms of specs, they're still solid entries at their respective price points. They do away with a lot of signature OnePlus features, such as the alert slider and the AMOLED display, but what you're getting is not bad at all for the price.

Let's do a brief recap on the specs. The OnePlus Nord N10 5G, as you may have guessed by the name, comes with support for 5G connectivity thanks to the Snapdragon 690 chipset that powers it, so it's the cheapest 5G device in OnePlus's lineup so far. You're also getting a 64MP quad-camera, up to 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage, a 1080p LCD panel with a 90Hz refresh rate, and a 4,300 mAh battery. So it's a pretty respectable entry, albeit one that's unusual for OnePlus. It's, for the most part, your average low-mid-range.

The OnePlus Nord N10 5G

Then, the OnePlus Nord N100 lowers the bar even more: The camera gets a downgrade to a triple 13MP setup, the SoC gets a downgrade to the 4G-only Snapdragon 460, the display gets a downgrade to a 720p panel (although it still manages to support a 90Hz refresh rate), and you only get up to 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage, which is a configuration we haven't seen in a OnePlus device since the OnePlus 2. The battery gets a bump up to 5,000 mAh, though, and given the low-end specs this phone is carrying, it's probably going to last pretty long on a single charge.

The OnePlus Nord N100

The OnePlus Nord N10 5G will be available for $299 USD in the U.S. and $389 CAD in Canada, while the cheaper OnePlus Nord N100 will only set you back $179 USD in the U.S. and $239 CAD in Canada. This makes for an excellent value proposition given the current prices of other low-mid-range phones in these markets. Furthermore, in the U.S., these devices will be available exclusively through T-Mobile and Metro by T-Mobile, meaning these are the first OnePlus phones to be available for prepaid customers.

OnePlus Nord N10 5G Forums ||| OnePlus Nord N100 Forums

Are you planning to get either of these phones?