OnePlus Nord and what this means for Xiaomi

The cat is out of the bag. This phone is priced at 399 Euros but the price will definitely be cheaper in China and India. Just like the OnePlus 8 and 8 Pro are cheaper in these countries. In india this phone will be priced around $350 at launch. In Kenya, the phone will cost around 50K at start coz of the hype but over time it will be priced around 35K.

Big question what will be Xiaomi’s, Huawei’s and Oppo’s (OnePlus’ brother) response?

First, OnePlus must produce this phone at Huge numbers in order to make profits which is bad news for xiaomi $ Co. This is a phone with thin profit margins so it must be produced in bulk and will eat into Xiaomi’s and Samsung’s market share. So what competition does Xiaomi have in store?

Looking at Xiaomi phones with SD-765, only the Redmi K30 5G and Mi-10 Lite 5G qualify. Let’s go deeper

Redmi K30 5G

The K30 5G costs $500 which is $100 dollars more expensive and employs an LCD instead of AMOLED. K30’s advantage is the 120Hz refresh rate and a slightly bigger display. The battery may be bigger than OnePlus Nord but I suspect the OnePlus will have a better battery life.

Xiaomi Mi 10 Lite 5G
This costs $314 which is comparably priced to the Nord. Fortunately it has an AMOLED but a 60Hz refresh rate. But has zero advantage over the Nord yet it’s similarly priced. In fact it is heavier.

The reason I cannot compare this Nord with phones with Dimensity and Sd-730G as well as 4G handsets is because the 765 is more expensive than these and is preferred to other Snapdragons except for flagships.

OnePlus is a Premium Brand

OnePlus is a premium device. It will have a more accurate display than the K30 and Mi 10 lite 5G. The Oxygen OS is better than Mi Ui - at least there are no ads. OS support is also better on OnePlus phones as compared to Xiaomis. The Camera’s will also be very close to flagship and will keep improving over time.

Where does this leave Xiaomi $ Co

Xiaomi must come up with an Answer for OnePlus Nord. Xiaomi is also not a flagship brand and will have to price such a device cheaper - at least $50-$100 cheaper. India is very price sensitive and will not forgive Xiaomi. One problem though; a similarly specced Xiaomi device must be priced between $270 - $300. Which will trigger product cannibalism within the brand.

The @Nyamgondho says do not buy this phone if you’ve a tight budget wait for 3-5 Months and buy competing devices from Samsungs and Xiaomis of this world. Kama uko na pesa nunua Oneplus 7T.

Nord. This right here is the problem. The name. You very well know how much work tecno, infinix and later, xiaomi and oppo, had to do to get accepted as household names by the ever superstitiously Conservative Kenyan market! Perhaps this Oneplus Nord will ride on the Xiaomi and Oppo successful wave, but it might not be a smooth ride.
But it is a good phone, really. Just like the Motorola Moto G,
Motorola Moto G 5G Plus - Full phone specifications
And the LG Velvet, if one disregards the high price here…
LG Velvet 5G - Full phone specifications

@Nyamgondho Unapenda kutusi AMOLED za Xiaomi sana :D:D:D. Siku izi most midrangers support 100% DCI-P3 colour gamut na a healthy dose of aRGB. Most pia ziko na HDR10. Hizi conditions zikikua kwa amoled, hio ingine yako achia flagships.

I just suspect there will be a Xiaomi Mi10T in about 2 months which might compete against the Nord. Mi 9T was very well received in many markets.

In india this phone has been priced at 24,999 Rupees which is about $335 or approximately 34,000 Ksh. I already told you guys to forget the european price. Xiaomi will have to get a good comeback. I guess they will recycle one of their phones under the POCO brand and then price it cheaply. My guess is that they will reparkage the mi 10 lite as a cheap poco phone.

Colour calibration and accuracy are a tricky business. It’s just not about having a wide colour gamut. AMOLEDs that have a high resolution are hard to beat hata kama ni za xiaomi.

In other news the oneplus Nord is a plastic phone with a glass sandwich so the quality is not metallic. I still maintain watu wangoje the response from the competition

Ama Mi A series…A5 perhaps

Yes. I had forgotten. Maybe Mi A5 with SD 765 or a phone with Dimensity 1000 chipset but priced competitively