The OnePlus Nord 2 is expected to launch with the same camera as the more powerful OnePlus Nord, as per a leak from Ishan Agarwal. The report claims that the camera will have the main 50-megapixel Sony 1MX766 camera as the OnePlus 9 Pro, with two other cameras of unknown resolution but speculated to be an 8MP and 2MP pair. If true, this would make the OnePlus Nord 2 OnePlus’ second-best camera phone on the market upon release.
Reviewing the OnePlus 9 Pro, Digital Trends concluded that it offered “better photos than the OnePlus 8 Pro, and after the updates, it’s much more consistent too, with better balance, more color pop, and a lovely natural tone.” The OnePlus 9, in comparison, was found to be “middling” and just short of the bar set by modern flagships.
OnePlus has typically made good bang-for-your-buck phones, though it has shifted away from that to a more traditional smartphone lineup over the past year. The company’s OnePlus 9 and OnePlus 9 Pro were the company’s best phones by far, though less of a deal in terms of price. What set the OnePlus 9 Pro apart from other OnePlus flagships was the level of care put into its camera experience. OnePlus previously offered cameras that fell far below the standards of other flagship models. With the OnePlus 9 Pro and the firm’s Hasselblad partnership, that was largely rectified. While the 9 Pro didn’t quite set up a whole new photography paradigm, it was at least competitive.
The lack of the Snapdragon 888 SoC in the Nord may be an image processing concern, even if OnePlus is using similar camera hardware, but the company seems to have accounted for that. Writing about the OnePlus Nord 2’s Dimensity 1200-A.I. processor, Digital Trends noted OnePlus had optimized it for photography, adding: “the camera on the Nord 2 will recognize 22 different scenes and adjust the color and contrast accordingly, whether it’s for stills or video, plus it will add live HDR effects to video.”
If OnePlus is bringing this level of quality to the OnePlus Nord 2, then it may very well upend Google’s A-Series Pixel as the powerful non-flagship camera phone of choice.
Aside from the camera, a new report also adds that OnePlus will be keeping the same screen size and quality of the original OnePlus Nord for this model This means you can expect an FHD+ AMOLED 6.43-inch display capable of a 90Hz refresh rate. The Nord 2 is expected to make a debut next week on July 22.
Two new highly requested iCloud plugins just got added to ChatGPT, giving people who rely on Apple’s Mail and Calendar services a way to search emails, check appointments, and manage their schedules directly through the chatbot.
The integration is rolling out to all ChatGPT plans, including the free tier. You can access it on the web, desktop, and iOS.
Google Play is borrowing one of the Nintendo Switch’s most useful little tricks. A new Sidekick tool called Playbacks captures a short clip after something interesting has already happened, sparing players from running a screen recorder throughout an entire game.
Playbacks is part of Google Play Store v53.8 and keeps saved clips on the phone. Google first announced it earlier this month, but the new Play Store update marks its arrival for players. Anyone who has watched a perfect win vanish because the record button came too late already understands the appeal.
Samsung’s scandal over its Game Optimizing Service, or GOS, has returned with a bill attached. South Korea’s Fair Trade Commission has tentatively fined the company 20.1 billion won, or about $15.1 million, over gaming claims made for the Galaxy S21, Galaxy S22, and Tab S8.
The regulator says Samsung promoted the devices as gaming powerhouses without disclosing that GOS placed preset CPU and GPU limits on certain demanding games. Samsung disputes that conclusion, calling GOS a legitimate way to manage heat.