Skip to main content

New OnePlus budget phone comes packing 2 super-rare features

Side profile of OnePlus Nord N30 5G
OnePlus

OnePlus has introduced a new budget-priced phone for the U.S. market that includes some compelling hardware — and a couple of rare conveniences. The OnePlus Nord N30 5G will set you back by $300 and is already up for preorders in the U.S., with a free pair of earbuds in tow. 

Starting with the standout tricks, this phone comes with a microSD slot for storage expansion. It supports cards with up to 1TB storage capacity, which should be plenty if you are into capturing a lot of videos and high-resolution videos. Just keep in mind that microSD cards of 1TB capacity from reputed brands could cost as much as the phone itself.

OnePlus Nord N30 5G rear face.
OnePlus

Another notable perk is the presence of a 3.5mm headphone jack on the OnePlus Nord N30 5G. You don’t have to fork out extra cash on a USB-C to 3.5mm adapter or splurge on a Bluetooth audio wearable. However, there is more to this OnePlus phone than meets the eye, as some of its hardware perks defy its asking price by a huge margin. 

You are greeted by a 6.7-inch Full HD+ (2400 x 1080 pixels) display with a 120Hz refresh rate. For comparison, Apple will charge you $800 for the iPhone 14 Plus, but it still keeps you limited to a slow 60Hz LCD screen. And there is no ugly notch to be seen here, as the selfie camera is neatly housed inside a dot-shaped cutout at the top. 

Qualcomm’s octa-core Snapdragon 695 chipset powers this phone, paired with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of onboard storage. The battery capacity is also fairly generous at 5,000 mAh. Plus, you get support for 50-watt fast charging. OnePlus ships the fast charger in the retail package, just in case you’re irked by the bad precedent set by the thousand-dollar phones from Apple and Samsung. 

OnePlus Nord N30 5G two side view
OnePlus

The surprises continue all the way into the imaging department. You get a massive 108-megapixel camera at the back, assisted by a 2-megapixel depth camera and another 2-megapixel sensor for macro photography. Selfies and video call duties are shouldered by a 16-megapixel front camera that supports night mode photography, too. 

There are a couple of stereo speakers to handle audio output, while authentication is performed by a fingerprint scanner embedded inside the power button on the side. It’s just a shame that the U.S. market is only getting the gray color option and not the peppy lime green trim.

Overall, the OnePlus Nord N30 5G looks like an unbeatable value phone, especially given the feature-rich Android 13-based Oxygen OS software experience. 

Editors' Recommendations

Nadeem Sarwar
Nadeem is a tech journalist who started reading about cool smartphone tech out of curiosity and soon started writing…
You can now preorder the OnePlus Pad for $99 … kind of
The back of the OnePlus Pad tablet.

Fans who are excited to finally be getting their hands on the OnePlus Pad are now able to preorder the tablet ... sort of.

Preorders for the OnePlus Pad went live today. However, it's not a preorder in the traditional sense where someone would pay full price for an item upfront and then receive it when it launches for no extra charge. Instead, fans are able to put down a $99 down payment to reserve their spot in "line" for the tablet when it releases later this year.

Read more
Moto G Power 5G adds a flagship feature to a budget phone
Render of the Motorola Moto G Power 5G in a white color against a light purple background.

Motorola may be making a play for the flagship market with the Motorola Edge 40 Pro, but budget phones are what the American monolith is best known for. While it won't be making as many waves as the latest Samsung phone or Apple iPhone launch, the newest iteration of the Moto G is always something worth paying attention to, as Motorola is a true veteran of the space and knows what makes an excellent cheap device.

Best of all, this new Moto G comes at a time when budget phone enthusiasts have never had it so good. Previously premium features are filtering down into lower-priced devices, without altering that sweet low price or the features everyone loves. That's exactly what's happening with the new Motorola Moto G Power 5G, which includes a 50-megapixel main camera lens, a larger amount of storage, and a big screen with a 120Hz refresh rate. With the big 5,000mAh battery the G Power range is known for, this could be the $300 phone to grab if you love a budget bargain.
Super-smooth motion

Read more
The new OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite is perfect if you hate expensive phones
Promotional image showing the OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite.

OnePlus describes the OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite as, “exuding a simple charm,” and in the world of folding smartphones and $1,500 iPhone models, there are probably a lot of people looking for a phone exactly like it.

If you’re new to the Nord series, these occupy the lower end of the market compared to the flagship OnePlus 11 and are released outside of the U.S., where instead the company releases phones like the OnePlus N300.

Read more