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OnePlus wanted to return to the flagship massacre with the North, but now that the company has launched the OnePlus 9 and 9 Pro, we have to wonder if it is really willing to eat into its own high-end offerings. How does the under £ 400 / € 400 phone compare to its much more expensive sibling, the OnePlus 9, and which one should you buy?
Equipment
The OnePlus 9 and the Nord are quite similar in size, although the flagship is just a bit larger. The two phones also share basic design cues – they both have plastic frames disguised to look like metal, and they both have the OnePlus alert slider above the power button. The differences are more noticeable when you start looking at details like the OnePlus 9’s Hasselblad-branded camera array, and things diverge more when you turn on the screen. The OnePlus 9 mostly even has bezels all around the screen while the North has a visible chin at the bottom. Its screen is also a bit smaller at 6.44 inches versus 6.55 inches and only has a 90Hz refresh rate, not 120Hz, although the two phones share the same resolution and have Similar OLED panels.
| Oneplus 9 | OnePlus North | |
|---|---|---|
| Chipset | Snapdragon 888 | Snapdragon 765G |
| RAM | 8/12 GB (LPDDR5) | 8/12 GB (LPDDR4X) |
| Storage | 128/256 GB (UFS3.1) | 128/256 GB (UFS2.1) |
| Display | 6.55-inch 2400 x 1080 (20: 9), 120Hz OLED | 6.44-inch OLED, 2400 x 1080 (20: 9), 90Hz |
| Battery charging | 4500mAh, 65W string charge, 15W Qi wireless | 4,115 mAh with 30W fast charge |
| Rear cameras | 48MP primary, 50MP ultra wide, 2MP monochrome | 48MP primary, 8MP ultra wide, 2MP macro, 5MP depth sensor |
| Front cameras | 16MP | 32MP primary, 8MP ultra wide |
| Connectivity | Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.2, NFC, 5G sub-6 GHz (dual SIM internationally) | 802.11a / b / g / n / ac Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.1, NFC, 5G dual SIM |
| Headphone socket | No | No |
| Colors | Astral black, arctic sky, winter haze | Blue marble, gray onyx |
| Dimensions | 160 x 74.2 x 8.7 mm | 158.3 x 73.3 x 8.2 mm |
| Lester | 192 g | 185 g |
| Software | OxygenOS 11 / Android 11 | Oxygen OS 11 / Android 11 (launched with Android 10) |
| Price | 8/128 GB: £ 629, € 699 12/256 GB: £ 729, € 799 | 8/128 GB: £ 379, € 399 / 12/256 GB: £ 469, € 499 |
Inside, the North might be considered an inferior top-of-the-line, but its hardware still can’t compare to the OnePlus 9. Unlike the latter’s high-end Snapdragon 888, the North only has the (absolutely capable) Snapdragon 765G. Its battery is considerably smaller at 4,115mAh compared to 4,500mAh, and it can only charge wired at a (still impressive) 30W maximum, while the 9 hits an impressive 65W when connected to a brick and 15 W via Qi. The 9 also supports a few newer standards for sustainability: there is Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.2, and sub-6 GHz 5G (both have dual SIM internationally, but the US version of the 9 does. only one location). Neither phone has a headphone jack.
OnePlus North.
At first glance, the camera situation is quite similar on both phones, with both having a 48MP primary shooter. But the OnePlus 9 adds an ultra-wide 50MP to the mix while the North has to settle for 8MP. The 9’s ultra-wide is also a “free-form lens” which reduces distortion at the edges, making it better for super close-up shots than even the North’s dedicated 2MP macro. OnePlus also decided to add a 2MP monochrome to the 9, but it’s mostly unnecessary. The North wins the paper selfie game with a 32MP primary lens and 8MP ultra-wide, but the setup comes at the expense of a much larger and uglier display cutout, and we found the lens secondary rather superfluous in our review.
OnePlus 9.
Almost all of this can make the Nord look quite old compared to the OnePlus 9, but as someone who uses a Nord almost daily, I can tell you that it’s still a thin and capable phone, and you really don’t notice that. it’s slower than a flagship product. when you use them side by side. I would definitely say you should go for the OnePlus 9 if you prefer a more premium, future-proof experience, but the North should be good enough for at least next year.
Software
Since OnePlus updated the Nord to OxygenOS 11 based on Android 11, the software experience on both phones is virtually identical. They both share the same home screen by default with the Google Discover feed, a redesigned notification panel, and proprietary software optimized for one-handed use. They offer permanent panels, parallel apps (for services that only support one account at a time), and screen mute gestures to quickly launch apps without waking up the screen. All OnePlus phones are also known to aggressively kill background apps which can improve battery life but also regularly leads to unexpected behavior.
You can expect the OnePlus 9 to get software updates faster than the North, though. It’s likely that the company will focus on updating its flagships first before focusing on its mid-range offerings, and the North is indeed one of them. Either way, you shouldn’t buy a OnePlus phone in the first place if you value timely updates. The manufacturer has slowed down a lot over the years and only promises a fairly limited number of security updates and OS updates regardless of the flagship or not.
Price
The most glaring difference between the phones is the price. The OnePlus 9 starts at € 699 in Europe ($ 729) while the North can be bought for just € 399 (around $ 470 – it’s not available in the US). That’s a difference of $ 300, money you could use to buy another phone, Chromebook, or tablet. You need to carefully consider whether the benefits offered by OnePlus 9 are really worth it for you.
The Nord is certainly a capable smartphone that offers incredible value for money, but if you have the cash to spare, the 9 is a no-brainer. It’s better across the board with its bigger and faster screen, high-end processor, faster charging and bigger battery, the latest connectivity standards, and more.
Both phones are available on OnePlus.com and at local resellers. The OnePlus 9 can also be purchased from Amazon.com.
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