OnePlus Nord breaks way too easily in this durability test — see for yourself

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OnePlus Nord can take plenty of scratches, but there's bad news too

OnePlus Nord
(Image credit: JerryRigEverything)

The new OnePlus Nord is one of the most impressive Android phones of the year, packing great battery life, impressive cameras and a speedy 90Hz display for a starting price of just £379. So what sacrifices had to be made to reach that low price? YouTuber JerryRigEverything may have discovered some in his durability test.

As he does with every major phone release, JerryRigEverything put the Nord through a full torture test that included scratching the screen, edges and body as well as bending the phone to see if it'll break. And his findings reveal both good and bad news for OnePlus' latest phone.

The Nord's Gorilla Glass 5 display started off fairly strong on the scratch test, as it didn't start showing scratches until JerryRigEverything applied 6 levels of pressure (out of 9) to the phone. The seams start to come apart when the YouTuber began scratching the phone's edges, which are revealed to be plastic with aluminum-like paint rather than true metal. This isn't a huge drawback, but does reveal an area where OnePlus may have cut costs.

(Image credit: JerryRigEverything)

On the bright side, the phone's glass back and rear camera array didn't take any damage on the scratch test. On JerryRigEverything's heat test, the phone's AMOLED display went white after about 25 seconds of being exposed to a lighter. The Nord's optical fingerprint sensor remained functional after a level 7 scratch, which is impressive.

(Image credit: JerryRigEverything)

But where the Nord started to fall apart was on JerryRigEverything's bend test. An initial bend from the front very quickly caused the phone's shell to crack; applying a bit more pressure led to the entire screen breaking and no longer functioning. JerryRigEverything notes that most phones don't break from his tests, and recommends that the Nord should stay away from back pockets and be paired with a reliable hard case.

All in all, these durability weaknesses don't detract much from what's still one of the best Android phones you can buy right now. Just be sure to grab a case for your OnePlus Nord if you end up picking one up.

Michael Andronico
Michael Andronico

Mike Andronico is Senior Writer at CNNUnderscored. He was formerly Managing Editor at Tom's Guide, where he wrote extensively on gaming, as well as running the show on the news front. When not at work, you can usually catch him playing Street Fighter, devouring Twitch streams and trying to convince people that Hawkeye is the best Avenger.