With the OnePlus 11 launch behind it, OnePlus is now focusing on launching its mid-range Nord phones in the coming months. Leaks and rumors point to the company working on the Nord 3 and the Nord CE 3. The former could be a significant upgrade over Nord 2, with a substantially bigger display and more powerful internals. As for the Nord CE 3, it should debut in July this year with largely the same specs as its non-CE sibling. Ahead of the release of the two phones, though, OnePlus is supposedly gearing up to announce another Nord-branded phone: the Nord CE 3 Lite.

According to leaker Max Jamboor, the OnePlus Nord CE 3 will debut on April 4th. There's no word on its expected price tag and specs. But given the naming scheme, don't expect the upcoming OnePlus phone to impress you with its specs or performance.

Surprisingly, the rumor mill has been 'lite' about the Nord CE 3 Lite, and almost nothing is known about it.

Last year's OnePlus Nord CE 2 Lite was a low-end device featuring a Snapdragon 695G chipset, a 6.6-inch 120Hz LCD panel, a 5,000mAh battery with 33W fast charging support, and a 64MP triple camera setup. It also made its way to the US as the Nord N20, albeit with some downgrades.

The Nord CE 3 Lite should follow in similar footsteps and pack slightly faster internals and support faster charging speeds. With the right set of upgrades and an attractive price, the upcoming Nord could make it to our list of the best budget Android phones worth buying.

Poor software support has always been the Achilles heel of the Nord lineup, so it remains to be seen if OnePlus will address that with this year's models. The company promises four years of software updates for the OnePlus 11, but that policy is unlikely to apply to the Nord series.