The OnePlus Nord was once abbreviated as OnePlus 8 Lite. But now, it seems that a Lite version of the device may exist, as a mysterious OnePlus device has appeared on Geekbench.

First spotted by Abhishek Yadav on Twitter, the listing refers to a smartphone with model number BE2028. While the previous OnePlus Nord (AC2003) listing refers to a device with a clock speed of 1.8 GHz and 12 GB of RAM, this new page shows a clock speed of 1.71 GHz and 6 GB of RAM.

This could possibly be the upcoming 5G-capable Snapdragon 690 processor, rather than the 765G in the OnePlus Nord. Single-core performance (609 vs. 612) is quite similar for both, but is clearer in the multi-core test: 1,728 for the BE2028 vs. 1,955 for the AC2003.

So what is going on? To clear up any misunderstandings, this does not mean that the OnePlus Nord will have inferior specs than originally rumored. While a tweet from Qualcomm's now-deleted EU account did not specify which Snapdragon 5G chipset the OnePlus Nord will use, OnePlus' Carl Pei told our sister site TechRadar that it will indeed use the Snapdragon 765 CPU will be used, he said.

Two other possibilities remain: first, the OnePlus Nord Lite will appear, with slightly cheaper internal circuitry. Whether this will be an alternative device for everyone or a version for a market where the company needs to keep prices low to have any chance of success is open to speculation.

The other less exciting option is that this is an older prototype of the OnePlus Nord with less ambitious specs built in. That is interesting as a curiosity, but not relevant here and now.

All will be revealed soon: OnePlus has confirmed that the Nord will be unveiled at an online event on July 21, and the company has even developed an app to watch with AR extras on the day. [It's a 6.4-inch device powered by a Snapdragon 765G with a 90Hz refresh rate, a 4,300mAh battery, and a quad camera array on the back. In other words, if OnePlus doesn't forget its affordable roots, the upcoming Pixel 4a is the one to worry about.