OnePlus Nord Strategy & Smartphone Manufacturing Insights
The OnePlus Nord Philosophy
In this episode, Carl Pei, co-founder of OnePlus, joins the podcast to discuss the strategy behind the new OnePlus Nord product line. The goal was to return to OnePlus's roots by offering a high-quality smartphone experience at a sub-$500 price point.
Core Product Strategy
The development of the Nord was guided by three key pillars identified through extensive consumer research:
• Flagship-level Camera: Providing the same camera performance found in the OnePlus 8.
• Fast and Smooth Experience: Leveraging Oxygen OS optimizations on the Qualcomm 765G chipset and a 90Hz AMOLED display.
• Quality Assurance: Applying the same rigorous quality control and testing standards as the company's flagship devices.
Technical Trade-offs & Engineering
Carl Pei explains that creating a mid-range phone involves complex balancing acts, where decisions are driven by vision rather than just cost-cutting. Key insights include:
• IP Certification: Achieving an IP68 rating requires significant investment in specialized testing machinery and extra manpower. OnePlus opted to skip formal certification for the Nord to keep costs down, while still ensuring it can withstand day-to-day encounters with water.
• Component Costs: Adding features like NFC is relatively inexpensive (~$4), whereas implementing specific hardware often involves considerations about mechanical design and space efficiency.
• Design Evolution: The team famously delayed the project by a month to pivot their design strategy, ensuring the final look felt inherently like a OnePlus device to appeal to a broader market.
"When you're cooking a dish, you don't want to throw in everything you have in the kitchen... It's more about having a vision of what you want to create and finding the right ingredients to get there."
The Development Lifecycle
Product development follows a structured, multi-stage roadmap:
• Conceptual Stage: Parallel work across industrial design and hardware teams.
• T0/EVT (Engineering Verification): Initial assembly and feature testing.
• DVT (Design Verification): Refining the assembly line process.
• PVT (Production Verification): Scaling for full-scale mass production.