OnePlus Nord 3: latest news, rumors and everything we know so far

The OnePlus Nord 3 is an exciting prospect for fans of best OnePlus phones. It's set to be the next big mid-range handset from the company, after many budget spin-offs and alternatives to the OnePlus Nord 2.

It'll also be a more affordable take on the OnePlus 11, letting people get a new Android phone without paying top-shelf prices.

The Nord brand is OnePlus' family of affordable and mid-range Android phones; designed to offer useful features that people actually want, tailored to budgets which don't stretch to the company's pricier powerhouses. 

We've seen the original OnePlus Nord and Nord 2 joined by a whole host of spin-offs; including the OnePlus Nord 2T, OnePlus Nord CE 2, OnePlus Nord CE 2 Lite, OnePlus Nord N10, OnePlus Nord N200 and more. But the Nord 3 is expected to be the next big addition to the range, and is set to arrive on July 5.

We're starting to hear a lot about it too, with OnePlus itself even having revealed some key details about the phone.

You'll find everything we've heard so far below, and then under that there's a list of what we'd like to see, based on past mobiles and the current state of the Android phone market.

Cut to the chase

• What is it? The third generation of mid-range OnePlus phones
• When is it out? July 5
• How much will it cost? Probably around £399 (about $550, AU$750)

OnePlus Nord 3: release date and price

• Confirmed: launching on July 5
• Could cost a similar amount to previous models

The OnePlus Nord 3 will be launching on July 5. We know this because OnePlus itself has said as much, but it's no surprise since the last two models also landed in July of their launch years.

In terms of price, leaker Roland Quandt claims it will cost 449 euros (around $485 / £385 / AU$715) for a model with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage, and 549 euros (roughly $595 / £470 / AU$875) for a version with 16GB of RAM and 256GB of storage.

For reference, the Nord and Nord 2 launched for £379 (around $480, AU$680) and £399 (about $550, AU$750) respectively, so a price in that ballpark remains very likely.

The previous phones in the family series never launched in the US or Australia though, so don't hold your breath for releases in those regions.

OnePlus Nord 3: design and display

• Confirmed: a similar design to the OnePlus Ace 2V
• Confirmed: a 6.74-inch 120Hz screen

OnePlus has revealed the official design of the OnePlus Nord 3, and it has a flat screen with a punch-hole camera, along with a fairly thick bezel below the display.

On the back, there are two large circular cut-outs for the camera, and we can see the phone here in both black and green shades, officially known as Tempest Gray and Misty Green. You can also see that the phone has an alert slider on the side, like many other OnePlus phones.

The company has also revealed that the OnePlus Nord 3 has a 6.74-inch display with a 120Hz refresh rate. For reference, the OnePlus Nord 2 has a 6.43-inch screen with a 90Hz refresh rate, so the upcoming phone is both larger and smoother.

Prior to these revelations, we saw leaked renders supposedly showing the OnePlus Nord 3, and they match up exactly with the now confirmed design.

You can see again how this design looks in the leaked renders below, with the phone shown in both black and green shades.

If this leak is right then the OnePlus Nord 3 will have dimensions of 162.6 x 75.1 x 8.2mm, weigh 191.5g, and have a 1240 x 2772 AMOLED display with 451 pixels per inch.

Notably, the design appears exactly the same as that of the China-only OnePlus Ace 2V, and the leaked specs above match that phone, as do some but not all of the confirmed specs. So it seems the Nord 3 might be a modified version of the 2V.

OnePlus Nord 3: specs and features

• A Dimensity 9000 chipset
• Up to 16GB of RAM and 256GB of storage

As for what's going on inside the Nord 3, if it has the same chipset as the OnePlus Ace 2V then it will have a Dimensity 9000 chipset, along with 12GB or 16GB of RAM, an in-screen fingerprint sensor, and reportedly up to 256GB of storage.

Then again, an earlier OnePlus Nord 3 specs leak from all the way back in March 2022 pointed to an upper mid-range Dimensity 8100 chipset, 12GB of RAM, and an in-screen fingerprint sensor, among other things.

It will likely be powerful regardless, as leaked marketing material from Evan Blass (via Android Police) suggests that OnePlus may be emphasizing the gaming capabilities of the phone.

As for software, based on the exclusive confirmation to TechRadar of OxygenOS 13.1 debuting on the OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite, there's every chance that the Nord 3 will also run on this same Android 13-based user experience out of the box.

OnePlus Nord 3: camera and battery

• Confirmed: the same 50MP main camera as the OnePlus 11
• A 5,000mAh battery with 80W charging

In what could be a big win for the OnePlus Nord 3, the company has confirmed that it has the same 50MP Sony IMX890 main camera as the OnePlus 11, along with OIS (optical image stabilization).

In our OnePlus 11 review, we found the camera to be capable of capturing good portraits and landscapes, although it lacked detail and produced some fuzziness at the corners of close-up portrait images.

Additionally, OnePlus has incorporated some of Hasselblad's color tuning in its camera features, these helped produce pleasing images, however, it's unclear whether the Nord 3 will include the same Hasselblad tuning as the OnePlus 11; having the same sensor may not guarantee an identical imaging experience.

Beyond that we're in the territory of leaks, but a triple-lens rear camera seems likely, continuing the trend of its predecessors, with the last batch of OnePlus Nord 3 camera leaks pointing to a 64MP main camera, an 8MP ultra-wide, and a 2MP macro, along with a 16MP camera on the front. Notably, of course, the main camera isn't 64MP, which leads us to doubt the rest of those specs too.

An earlier leak could be more accurate, as this pointed to a now-confirmed 50MP main sensor, accompanied by 8MP and 2MP sensors; presumably ultrawide and depth snappers, respectively, however, that's guess work on our part.

When it comes to the battery, the OnePlus Nord 3 might have a 5,000mAh one, assuming it sticks close to the specs of the Ace 2V. If so, it will likely also charge at 80W, but won't include wireless charging.

Not everyone agrees though, with one earlier leak suggesting that like the Nord 2T and the Nord 2 before it, the Nord 3 could pack in a 4,500mAh cell.

Certainly on the charging front though 80W looks likely, as certifications for the OnePlus Nord 3 also point in that direction.

OnePlus Nord 3: What we want to see

1. A higher display refresh rate

Display refresh rate refers to how many times per second a smartphone's display updates. While 60Hz (or 60 times per second) used to be used in basically all phones, the last few years has seen a move up to 90Hz, 120Hz, 144Hz and in some rare cases, even higher; for a select few mobiles.

When a refresh rate is higher, on-screen interaction and motion looks smoother, which is beneficial for streaming content and playing games, but even just for swiping between menus and home pages.

Now, many budget and most mid-range and premium phones use at least 120Hz, but the previous OnePlus Nord phones have been outliers; sticking with 90Hz.

We'd like to see the OnePlus Nord 3 make the jump to 120Hz, to match other mobiles at the same price point, and just so the phone feels more premium and more responsive to use.

2. Some Hasselblad camera tricks

For its flagship series, OnePlus currently partners with camera company Hasselblad; granting its top devices optimized camera experiences with extra features, modes and filters that make them fantastic for photography. We'd like to see the fruits of this relationship come to the Nord series too.

Examples include the Hasselblad Pro Mode, which captures in a higher color profile and saves in a version of RAW which is more space-efficient, compared to your phone's standard 'Pro' mode or equivalent.

Even if the mid-range Nord 3 can't handle flashy and intensive camera tricks, we'd like to see some camera features which elevate the phone over same-price competitors.

3. No app throttling

OnePlus found itself in hot water in mid-2021 when users discovered that the OxygenOS user experience found on its phones secretly throttled popular apps (this means it reduced how much of the phone's processing power they could access). 

Some of the few apps not throttled were benchmarking apps (which tell you how much processing power a phone has), and the company didn't admit this was happening until it was caught out, which obviously wasn't a good look for the brand.

The eventual resolution of the furore was that a toggle was introduced in the settings so you can turn off throttling if you like, but it's still turned on by default, so most people won't ever notice and will just think they have a slow phone.

We'd like the company to remove this throttling feature, or at the very least have it off by default (OnePlus says having it on saves battery life, something disputed by user reports).

4. An easier-to-buy range of colors

You could buy the OnePlus Nord 2 in blue, gray or green (as well as in a weird Pac-Man design) but there was a catch – not all versions were available in all regions.

Green was exclusive to India, while blue was only available paired to certain memory configurations; at least in the UK.

We'd like to see OnePlus embrace the bright, colorful and energetic, as Samsung did with the Galaxy S20 FE's huge range of vibrant hues. Let's see reds and oranges, and yellows, or maybe something a little weird like the color-changing gold and blue of the Vivo V23 from OnePlus' sister company.

5. Another crossover

As we mentioned, the OnePlus Nord 2 was available in a Pac-Man edition with a dot-patterned rear which glowed in the dark, as well as software full of Easter eggs for the popular vintage game.

That's not the only crossover OnePlus has enjoyed either, with multiple Cyberpunk 2077 devices and McLaren editions of some of its phones too.

We'd like to see the Nord 3 get something fun too, and maybe more recent than the ancient Pac-Man or maligned CyberPunk 2077. What about Starfield? Or The Witcher?

• For more tech news sign up to the TechRadar newsletter