OnePlus Nord N10 5G vs. Nord N100: What’s the difference?

OnePlus Nord N10 5G vs. Nord N100: What's the difference?

oneplus nord n10 5g vs oneplus nord n100

(Image credit: OnePlus)

A pair of OnePlus phones — the OnePlus Nord N10 5G and OnePlus Nord N100 — land in the U.S. adjacent week, and y'all can be forgiven if y'all're having a hard time telling the two devices apart. Afterwards all, other than that 5G in the 1 telephone's proper name, there's non much in that string of numbers and letters to tell you much nigh OnePlus' latest budget phones.

Both the N10 and N100 are part of the OnePlus Nord line — a new group of phones launched by OnePlus last year with the OnePlus Nord every bit depression-cost options for people who nonetheless want a few primal loftier-end features. But the original Nord never reached the U.S., and these ii phones will, giving u.s.a. multiple Nords to consider.

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Our OnePlus Nord N10 5G vs. OnePlus Nord N100 face-off reveals several key differences between these new models in terms of price, specs and features, which could help you decide which budget telephone to purchase. Here'south how the two latest OnePlus Nord models compare.

OnePlus Nord N10 5G vs. N100: Specs compared

	OnePlus Nord N10 5G	OnePlus Nord N100
Price	$299	$179
Screen size	6.49-inches (2400 ten 1080; 90Hz)	half dozen.52-inches (1600 ten 720; 90Hz)
CPU	Snapdragon 690	Snapdragon 460
RAM	6GB	4GB
Storage	128GB	64GB
MicroSD?	Yes	Yes
Rear cameras	64MP chief (f/1.eight); 8MP ultrawide (f/2.25); macro lens; monochrome lens	13MP main (f/2.two); macro lens; bokeh lens
Forepart photographic camera	16MP (f/2.05)	8MP (f/2.0)
5G connectivity?	Yes	No
Battery size	4,300 mAh	5,000 mAh

OnePlus Nord N10 5G vs. OnePlus Nord N100: Cost

OnePlus launched the Nord brand last year as a way to bring some higher-end features to lower-priced handsets. The company certainly wasn't kidding nearly the price — at $299, the OnePlus Nord N10 5G is ane of the cheapest 5G phones we've seen. You tin can currently order information technology from the OnePlus website, which will give you a complimentary pair of OnePlus Buds Z earbuds if you social club before Jan. xiv. Y'all can also pre-club the telephone at Amazon, Best Purchase and B&H.

The OnePlus Nord N100 costs even less at $179, and it's bachelor for pre-society at OnePlus and B&H Photograph. Amazon and All-time Buy are slated to offer the telephone, too, though it's not listed there at this fourth dimension.

The OnePlus Nord N10 5G has been available in the U.k. since Nov. 14, where it debuted at £329. The OnePlus Nord N100 costs £179.

OnePlus Nord N10 5G vs. OnePlus Nord N100: Design and display

You clearly aren't paying for blueprint flourishes with these two OnePlus Nord models. They're made out of cheaper, plastic materials as OnePlus looks to keep a lid on costs. The N10 5G comes in a Midnight Ice color while the N100 is available in Midnight Frost — names that audio fancier than "different shades of greyness."

The N100 is the larger of the two phones, slightly wider and taller than the half-dozen.four x 2.9 x 0.35 inches. That'due south to accommodate a larger screen — you get a 6.52-inch LCD panel on the N100, compared to 6.49 inches on the N10 5G.

The display on both phones offers ane of the more noteworthy features in the Nord lineup — a 90Hz refresh rate, even on the cheaper N100. The displays on most phones feature a 60Hz refresh rate, but the faster refresh charge per unit on the Nord devices means smoother scrolling. Information technology's a pleasant surprise to run into that capability in such inexpensive handsets.

OnePlus Nord N10 5G vs. OnePlus Nord N100: Cameras

OnePlus took dissimilar approaches with the cameras on the 2 Nord models, with the N10 5G offering the more sophisticated camera assortment. The N10 5G features a 64MP chief shooter, aided by an 8MP ultrawide angle camera. In that location are also dedicated macro and monochrome lenses on the Nord N10 5G.

We've tested the N10 5G'southward cameras confronting a Pixel 4a 5G, one of the best camera phones for less than $500. The Pixel came out on top, as you might imagine cheers to Google's superior image processing software. But many photos taken past the Nord N10 5G turned out well, considering this is a $299 telephone. The N10's cameras struggled with low calorie-free, though, and we didn't find much use for the monochrome and macro shooters.

We haven't had the take chances to test the Nord N100'southward cameras — a 13MP chief shooter augmented by dedicated bokeh and macro cameras.

OnePlus Nord N10 5G vs. OnePlus Nord N100: Performance and 5G

Neither of the new Nords is going to fix any performance records. Unlike the original OnePlus Nord, which featured a Snapdragon 765G system-on-flake, the OnePlus Nord N10 and Nord N100 characteristic lower performance silicon in an endeavour to proceed costs down. For the OnePlus Nord N10 5G, that's a Snapdragon 690 processor, while the Nord N100 uses a Snapdragon 460.

Both processors tin can handle routine tasks like surfing the web, sending emails and streaming video, though they might falter running graphics-intensive apps (most notably the Snapdragon 460-powered N100). That said, we've tested the N10 5G and, apart from a hiccup here and there on some processor-intensive games, it performed well, matching upwards against other smartphones in its price range.

The OnePlus Nord N10 5G offers something the N100 doesn't, and it's correct there in the name — the more expensive of these two Nords can connect to 5G networks. Just be aware that the Nord N10 simply works with T-Mobile's 5G bands. There's no support at all for Verizon's faster millimeter wave-based 5G, and the telephone will only connect with AT&T's LTE network.

OnePlus Nord N10 5G vs. OnePlus Nord N100: Bombardment life and charging

If all-day battery life is your biggest concern with a telephone, the OnePlus Nord N10 5G seems similar the budget device to get. Equipped with a iv,300 mAh bombardment, the N10 5G lasted 11 hours and 48 minutes on our battery test, which involves surfing the web over cellular until the phone runs out of power. That result places the N10 5G on our best phone battery life list.

OnePlus Nord N10 5G vs. OnePlus Nord 100 — OnePlus Nord N10 5G (Image credit: Tom's Guide)

Simply don't count out the OnePlus Nord N100, which features a 5,000 mAh battery. That larger power pack could help the cheaper Nord last even longer than the N10, though we'll accept to test the N100 to confirm that.

One affair that's non in question is that the OnePlus Nord N10 5G charges faster than the N100. The N10 relies on OnePlus' WarpCharge 30T fast-charging applied science, allowing information technology to become upwardly to 68% capacity after one-half-an-hour of charging. The Nord N100 supports 18W charging — a peppy footstep, though not well-nigh as fast as the 30W charging the N10 delivers.

OnePlus Nord N10 5G vs. OnePlus Nord N100: Software and special features

Both new Nords ship with OxygenOS 10.five, OnePlus' take on Android 10. Yous can expect an update to Android 11, simply apart from 2 years of security updates, that'due south the only OS update yous're getting with either the N10 or N100.

It'due south non uncommon for cheaper Android phones to go a express number of Android updates — it's one of the trade-offs that comes with a cheaper phone. Nonetheless, with Android 11 out since last fall and Android 12 lurking on the horizon later this year, OnePlus Nord shoppers can exist forgiven if they feel a little brusque-inverse.

OnePlus Nord N10 5G vs. OnePlus Nord N100: Bottom line

Last year'south OnePlus Nord release showed that OnePlus is serious near bringing better features to cheaper phones. While the Nord N10 5G and N100 don't lucifer the specs of the original Nord, they notwithstanding deliver fast refresh rates and long-lasting batteries at a depression cost.

Of the two phones, the N10 5G is clearly the more impressive one on paper, thank you largely to its back up for 5G (fifty-fifty if that is limited to only T-Mobile'south network) and its fast-charging capabilities. The N100 is the better option if price is your primary business organization, as few sub-$200 phones accept fast-refreshing screens.

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Philip Michaels is a senior editor at Tom's Guide. He has strong opinions about Apple tree, the Oakland Athletics and old movies. Follow him at @PhilipMichaels.