With a 90Hz OLED screen, 5G connectivity, and six cameras, all for under $500, the OnePlus Nord is one of the best phones you can't buy in the US

According to Wired, OnePlus co-founder Carl Pei said the Nord-branded phone will be available in the US "later this year" However, there is a catch to this statement

The OnePlus Nord phones to be released in the US may not be the same phones that will be released in Europe and India on August 4 All OnePlus promises is that the new devices will carry the Nord brand

It is hard to imagine a mid-range phone that is more cost-effective than the OnePlus Nord It offers many premium features for less money than you might think These include a 644 AMOLED display with a 90 Hz refresh rate, an attractive glass design, 8 GB of RAM, and 128 GB of storage

Most importantly, the OnePlus Nord can connect to 5G networks thanks to the Qualcomm Snapdragon 765G chipset We expect the US-focused Nord to connect to at least a sub-6GHz network, if not a more limited mmWave network, as well

The OnePlus Nord also features a 4,115 mAh battery with an impressive battery life of over 11 hours on a charge It also offers a fast 30W charge right out of the box, which allowed the device to be fully charged to 68% in just 30 minutes

The current OnePlus Nord is not perfect It doesn't have a headphone jack, wireless charging, water resistance, or a microSD card slot But the price is definitely right, and OnePlus appears to have made the right trade-off for the first Nord

Then again, the US is a competitive market, and Google may be redefining expectations for a good mid-range smartphone with the Google Pixel 4a Rumored to launch on August 3 at a price of just $349, it is said to feature a 58-inch OLED display, Snapdragon 730 processor, 6GB of RAM, and 128GB of storage

However, the Pixel 4a will not offer 5G based on the leaks we have seen and should be a cheaper plastic design than the current Nord Additionally, the current OnePlus Nord has a faster processor and a smoother display Therefore, the OnePlus Nord could be a headache for the Pixel 4a, depending on the final specs

The US-based Nord will also have to contend with the $399 iPhone SE, which offers a great camera experience along with the incredible performance of the A13 Bionic At 47 inches, however, it won't be able to move in this direction unless it really likes the smaller screen

Perhaps OnePlus will announce the new OnePlus Nord for the US at the same time as the OnePlus 8T With only a few months left in the year, the USA Nord will be here sooner than you think