OnePlus N10 and N100 release reaction

 

OnePlus released two new phones today the N10 and N100, both budget phones under the "Nord" branding. We saw the OnePlus Nord earlier this year and it was really just a great phone for 400$, the main problem was the fact that it wouldn't be coming to North America, these phones will be coming to North America soon.  

 

So, let's get into the actual phones starting with the N10, the N10 is packing a Snapdragon 690 with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage, along with a 6.49-inch FHD+ display running at 90Hz. It also has MicroSD card slot for storage expansion and a rear fingerprint scanner for biometric authentication. It also comes with a 4300mAh battery 30W warp charge fast charger for extremely fast charging. 

 

Image credit: OnePlus 

The specs aren't as impressive as its European cousin the OnePlus Nord, but it still manages to pack a punch with a great display and ok chipset, not to mention that the 90Hz helps to minimize stutter and lag.  I also want to mention that all lower-end Qualcomm chipsets take advantage of their designs and optimize for great battery life meaning that the 690+90Hz=great battery life, in theory anyway because we just haven't seen the phones yet.  

 

The cameras are equally mediocre, the N10 has a 64MP main camera, a wide-angle lens, a monochrome lens, and a macro lens. I actually just talked about the the OnePlus 8T and it's camera module and how the cameras killed the phone, the N10 is different.  I actually see the quad-camera setup as something great for the budget segment, of course I prefer they put the usual main, ultra-wide, and telephoto, but with budget phones it all about the numbers and what you get for the price.  If OnePlus can best Motorola, Nokia, and all the other brands offering a phone at this price with their main camera I think having the 2 redundant lenses might be worth it. Again, we don't know how these cameras preform but if their serviceable I think it'll be fine. 

 

Now for the moment of truth, what is the Price of this phone? The price overseas is 329 pounds and $430 US although it will most likely be close to $329 according to Android Central.  I sincerely hope it's not $329 because at that price I would just buy a Pixel 4a but of course there's different phones for different people and many will just have to choose. OnePlus has started it planned return to the budget space and so far, it’s going ok.

Image credit: OnePlus

On to the OnePlus N100! The N100 is a step-down model from the N10, the N100 comes packing a Snapdragon 460, 4GB of RAM, 64GB of storage, and a 6.52-inch HD+ LCD IPS display. The N100 also has a MicroSD card slot for expansion and a rear fingerprint scanner for biometric authentication along with a 5000mAh battery and 18W fast charging.  

 

It also has 13MP main camera, 2MP macro camera(why?), and a dedicated portrait lens. I don't think the cameras are going to be impressive on the N100 but that's ok because of the price as we'll see later.  I also have a theory about why a dedicated portrait lens is needed, most phones use their processors to process photos after you take the Picture, the 460 might not be able to handle the stress therefore to achieve portrait mode a dedicated lens is necessary. Of course, that's just a theory but it still points to how much you must sacrifice to hit this price point.

 

Speaking of price point the current announced price is the 179 pounds ($233) in the UK, the US price is a mystery for now, but I imagine somewhere from $130-$250 range.

 

One thing I also want to mention is that the N10 supports 5G and the N100 does not.  I also want to say that both phone launch with Oxygen OS 10.5 not Oxygen OS 11 based on android 11, this means that both phones launch with Android 10 instead of Android 11.  This means that these phones might miss an extra year of updates assuming OnePlus keeps its usual 3-year update plan, it’s not much to worry about its just disappointing.

 

Overall both of these phone are an announcement from OnePlus saying that their back in the budget space and I have to say...their doing a great job at bringing a modern design and great phone for a specific price point. Releasing phones like this in 2020 helps to give more people access to a phone. a good phone from a good company, thanks OnePlus.

Best, BenTechCoder

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