The OnePlus summer launch event featured five product launches, led by two Nord 5 series smartphones. The game-focused Nord 5 features a 144Hz OLED display that measures 6.83 inches and has three sensors, including a 50-megapixel selfie camera, all powered by Qualcomm’s tier two Snapdragon 8S Gen 3. Slightly smaller, the budget-built Nord CE5 has a slower MediaTek Dimensity 8350 Apex chipset and lesser specs all around. There are also three new products designed to enhance the OnePlus connected experience, including the OnePlus Watch 3 43mm, OnePlus Buds 4 and the OnePlus Pad Lite. Currently, only the Buds 4 and Watch 3 43mm are planned for release in the U.S.

OnePlus is a Chinese company that built its brand on so-called “flagship killers” — phones that served up a version of premium features at lower prices. The abovementioned phones sell for about $525 and $400, respectively, considerably less than $1,000-plus flagships. But for the moment OnePlus is releasing them only in Europe and India. Same for the OnePlus Pad Lite.

“The Watch 3 43mm is exactly what it sounds like: a more compact version of the existing OnePlus wearable, which only launched in a single 47mm option,” writes The Verge, noting the company also dropped “the angular elements around the rotating crown and button for a simpler, circular design that’s less distinctive.”

The thinner, lighter design sacrificed battery life, its 60-hours only half that of the original, despite a dimmer display (1,000 nits of peak brightness versus 2,200 in its larger predecessor).

Running Google’s WearOS, the Watch 3 43mm lets you check notifications, check email, track wellness, access Google apps including YouTube Music, Maps, with Gemini integration coming soon. It is available for purchase now from the OnePlus website for $300 and will be available through Best Buy and Amazon in August.

The redesigned OnePlus Buds 4 are built around a coaxial Dual Driver system that “pairs an 11mm 30-layer ceramic-metal diaphragm woofer for deep, resonant bass, with a 6mm flat diaphragm tweeter that brings out vivid, crisp highs,” OnePlus says in an announcement detailing the five new products.

Dual Digital-to-Analog Converters (DACs) process signals separately for the woofer and tweeter in each earbud, with high-resolution streaming supported via LHDC 5.0. The company promises “a fully immersive, spatial surround sound experience on compatible devices” courtesy of OnePlus 3D Audio. The Verge calls the Buds 4 “affordable at $129.”

Of the Nord 5 and the Nord CE5 phones that are the centerpiece of OnePlus marketing overseas, Android Authority says they feature “rare specifications for their price.” A key new innovation on the Nord 5 is “an AI button called the ‘Plus Key’ that replaces the alert slider.”

Related:
The OnePlus Nord 5 Made Me Question How Much Phone I Really Need, Android Police, 7/8/25
I Just Found the Best Earbuds for Noise-Cancellation I’ll Ever Test (Probably), TechRadar, 7/9/25
OnePlus Buds 4 Review: These Wireless Earbuds Have Almost Everything, Gizmodo, 7/8/25