OnePlus Nord OnePlus logo branding
  • A OnePlus executive previously promised that all future OnePlus phones would have Fluid Display tech.
  • However, the OnePlus Nord N100 has a 60Hz LCD screen.
  • The company told Android Authority that the promise was in reference to flagship phones.

Update: October 26, 2020 at 5:25 PM ET: We have updated this article to clarify OnePlus’ Fluid Display claims.

Original article: October 26, 2020 at 1:29 PM ET: OnePlus is having a bumper year in terms of budget-focused devices. It launched its first mid-range phone in five years in the OnePlus Nord and it’s now followed up with two more budget phones, the OnePlus Nord N10 and N100.

The OnePlus Nord N100 in particular is an interesting release for the company, as it offers a 60Hz LCD screen. This is noteworthy because OnePlus seemingly made a promise to offer high refresh rate screens on all its future phones in September last year.

“From now on, all future OnePlus smartphones will come with the Fluid Display technology,” former OnePlus executive Carl Pei was quoted as saying at the OnePlus 7T India launch.

We asked OnePlus to clarify its stance on the Fluid Display tech.

“Nord is a different product line and [the quote] from the OnePlus India launch was said in reference to our flagship devices,” a company spokesperson told Android Authority.

The OnePlus executive clearly didn’t mention “flagship” when announcing that all future phones would offer Fluid Display tech, and the Nord line wasn’t around at the time of Pei’s statement. Thus, there was no reason for him to mention the word “flagship” as all OnePlus devices were considered flagships at the time. So, is OnePlus backtracking on its promise? It’s more amending the promise than completely backtracking, though our expectations were obviously high after Pei’s announcement on stage. We look forward to hearing more from OnePlus about its display tech plans going forward.

For what it’s worth, Pei noted at the time that Fluid Display was “much more” than just having a high refresh rate screen, saying that a “great panel,” performance, and animations also formed part of the technology.

Nevertheless, this omission is a little perplexing because the Oppo A53, which seems to be the basis for the OnePlus Nord N100, offers a 90Hz refresh rate anyway. It’s possible OnePlus decided against the higher refresh rate for performance or cost reasons, or because it wanted to further differentiate the Nord N10 from the cheaper phone.

Next: The nine things we want to see from the OnePlus 9 series