Oneplus Nord Fails the Durability Test, Crack Under Pressure

Oneplus Nord is one of the most anticipated and hyped smartphones of the year. The newly launched Oneplus Nord is cheaper than the OnePlus 8 and 8 Pro, and to get that price, Oneplus has made some compromises with materials and components of the device. The Nord comes with a less powerful Snapdragon 765G SoC, lacks the telephoto camera, and comes with a plastic frame instead of a metal one.

The last one is the biggest differentiator to the metal-framed OnePlus 8 and 8 Pro when it comes to durability. During JerryRigEverything’s routine durability test, the frame of the phone cracked, causing hefty damage to the internal display of the Oneplus Nord. Though the Gorilla Glass at the front and back of the smartphone survived the bend test, the internal display got the worst impact.

Just like any other smartphone with a plastic frame, Oneplus Nord’s least structurally-sound spot also appears to be right underneath the volume rocker. The rest of the durability tests of Oneplus Nord went as usual.

Zack Nelson, the man behind JerryRigEverything, starts the durability test of the Oneplus Nord by scratching the surface at different levels. As usual, the Oneplus Nord’s display too started to scratch at level 6 on the Moh scale with deeper grooves at level 7.

Interestingly, during the durability test, Zack discovered that the OnePlus Nord does not have a metal frame. It has a silver anodized coating to create the illusion of a metal frame, but the frame is actually plastic. But the power and the volume buttons are made up of metal and the SIM tray is seen to have ingress protection for added safety.

During the heat test, the OnePlus Nord pixels start to go white after about 20 seconds of continuous flame and they never fully recovered. As the Oneplus Nord comes with an optical fingerprint scanner, the scratches on the display of the smartphone don’t seem to affect the efficiency of the sensor.

Though it would be hard to replicate a similar kind of durability fails in the real world, it is still advisable for the OnePlus Nord users to keep their phones in a safe place when entering an extreme situation, and probably avoid the back pocket.