OnePlus has become one of the leading smartphone brands in India over the last few years, with their phones offering superb functionality and features at a fraction of the cost of the iPhone, making it a very appealing option in a market like India where Apple’s products are not in the price range for the vast majority.
This is not to say that the OnePlus phones are cheap – they do cost a decent amount, but are almost a third of the iPhone’s cost, making them a good alternative for those who want a premium smartphone experience but cannot or do not want to shell out for the iPhone.
At the same time, there has been a genuine explosion in internet and smartphone usage across India, enabled by the cheap data plans offered by various telecom operators, as well as budget smartphones being sold by various Chinese manufacturers.
In the current coronavirus situation, the prevalence of the internet has become even more important, as the Indian government only recently lifted a lockdown that was in place for over two months.
Even then, large parts of the country have restrictions on movement in place, with case numbers hitting record levels every day, and thus it is now that smartphones have become even more important.
Everything from entertainment to shopping to work is being done from home, and the availability of cheap smartphones makes it easier for people to be able to do so.
In terms of entertainment, it has even become possible to play live casino games on your phones, with mobile live casino games being available for gambling fans in India. These apps have Indian card games as well, making them suited to the local audience and thus increasing their popularity in the country.
Coming back to cheap smartphones, OnePlus is reportedly launching a budget smartphone, labelled the OnePlus Nord, in India.
The company has previous experience in this regard, having launched the OnePlus X in India in 2015, at half the price of their flagship phone at the time. This was the only budget offering by the company, however, and it was taken off the shelves in a year.
However, it looks like OnePlus is looking to enter the budget market again, and has teased the OnePlus Nord in a recent video.
Not too much is known about the phone yet other than the details which were released ahead of opening pre-orders for the Indian market. This is a very restricted pre-order, with only 100 users being able to register for the same at the moment.
Based on the details, we know that the phone will have a 5G chipset, making it one of the first phones to be launched in India which will have the ability to support 5G networks.
It will also reportedly have a 32MP primary and an 8MP selfie camera, with the primary camera having a quad-camera setup. It is likely to ship with Android 10, layered on top with OnePlus’ Oxygen OS, and with storage options up to 265GB, with up to 12GB of RAM.
That is the extent of the news available on this phone, with more details to be expected once the pre-order goes live.
Nevertheless, this is an exciting development in the Indian smartphone market as it gives users the option to be able to experience one of the best smartphone makers in India, at a much lower cost than their flagship phones would entail.
With this move, it would not be surprised if OnePlus slowly makes ground on the mid price phone segment in India, based on its track record of delivering top-notch features at a very affordable price.
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