‘Wanted to serve a large customer base with Nord CE 2 Lite’: OnePlus India head

OnePlus eyes a large chunk of consumers who haven’t yet upgraded to a smartphone that offers a premium experience at a mid-range price. But the launch of the Nord CE2 Lite on Thursday, explains why the premium brand spent so much of the presentation talking about features like battery life and speed. A lot of data to back up why OnePlus is taking the mid-range smartphone market seriously, especially the segment where the Nord CE 2 Lite is positioned in. On the sidelines of its “More Power to You” launch event, we had an e-chat with Navnit Nakra, India CEO and Head of India Region, OnePlus India, who explained what the ‘Nord’ series represents and why there is an opportunity to grow in the market despite the competition. These excerpts have been edited for space and clarity.
OnePlus Nord CE 2 is already a popular option for consumers. What was the need to have a lite variant of Nord CE 2 Lite?
We realized that we were unable to serve millions of Indians who aspired to be a part of the OnePlus community, with the launch of OnePlus Nord CE 2 Lite, we are delivering the features at a further accessible price point while retaining OnePlus’ signature quality hallmarks. As a brand that takes pride in delivering quality products across price points, we ensured that Nord CE 2 Lite delivered on design, guaranteed software updates, and was subjected to the same durability testing.
How does the Nord series fit in OnePlus’ grand strategy to capture the mid-range market?
Our strategy for our entire product portfolio including the Nord series is and will continue to be to invest in our community, understand their requirements and deliver the best at the most appropriate price points. Our community is central to what happens at OnePlus and that is will continue to be the case in the coming years. As per Counterpoint Q3 2020 Report, OnePlus Nord became the No. 1 selling smartphone in the Upper Mid-Tier (INR 20K-30K) smartphone category within the first quarter of its launch. In 2021, the Nord 2 5G became the best-selling online 5G smartphone model and the best-selling 5G Android device of the year.

With the launch of the OnePlus Nord CE 2 Lite we will be able to serve a larger consumer base, enabling millions to join the OnePlus family. We are excited to introduce a complete ecosystem for the Nord series in the coming months, these remarkable products will take the product philosophy of OnePlus even further.
Is there any minimum price bracket OnePlus is looking to experience its devices?
For now, we are focused on expanding our footprints further to cater to more consumers across India. Basis our conversations with the community, we are working on introducing an ecosystem for the Nord series and are certain that it will see great traction in the segment.
What role does a market trend play in product development?
The launch of the Nord series was driven the feedback received from our community. Being a brand driven a strong belief in incorporating user feedback and relevant market trends in our product development, we launched the core edition in 2021. The core edition offered customized features made for the Indian market like a micro-SD card slot, headphone jack, and fast charging to say the least while ensuring that we don’t compromise on the premium experience OnePlus products. Though we are expanding our portfolio to offer the rich brand experience across price points, the core OnePlus experience in terms of software and quality remains standard across our product lines.