Over the years I’ve honestly lost count of the phone launches we’ve been to. To give you some “behind the scenes” info, it’s usually a fairly similar setup.
First, I jump on a train or plane and turn up at an event with a mixture of YouTubers, “Influencers”, reporters, bloggers and Instagram people. After getting registered, I’m given an ID tag and shown inside.
By this time I’m probably hungry, so I end up hunting down the daft little food on sticks and then checking out how much free alcohol I can grab before being squashed into an arena of potentially thousands of others. This is where the WiFi invariably fails and the local mobile network masts start struggling as everyone tries to push video and photo content onto the web. After all that, there’s a mad scrum-like push into a “demo area” where everyone tries to get some quality coverage of a phone which is strapped to a stand.
However, with COVID-19 I’m now covering launch events in my pants whilst eating crisps. It’s a whole new world baby, and you can be part of it, because OnePlus will be unveiling their OnePlus Nord in a whole new way.
First, you need to grab the application which will – via Augmented Reality – put the new Nord in your hand. If you’ve got an Android device, head here. If you’re an Apple guy, head this way.
Head of OnePlus Nord, Paul Yu, told us..
OnePlus Nord represents a new beginning for OnePlus, giving us an opportunity to share our technology with more people around the world. For this launch, we want everyone to sit back, relax, and experience our new phone for the first time right in the comfort of their living room. We feel that introducing Nord in a more personal and intimate way perfectly reflects our ambition to make the OnePlus experience more accessible to users.
Once you’ve got the app, launch it and setup your avatar then be ready on July 21st at 3PM BST (4PM CET). You’ll need a decent web connection. There’s also an AR invitation, but you’ll need to head to their Instagram account for more details.
Head to the OnePlus Nord AR website for more information. You can also, if you wish, place a pre-order for the phone, which includes limited edition OnePlus Nord merchandise.