Not only OnePlus but fans also love this ‘affordable’ phone OnePlus Nord There are a lot of expectations with the OnePlus Nord and we are also eager to review this phone. So let’s see how the OnePlus Nord lives up to our expectations? Can it really offer the same experience as its more expensive siblings? Let’s find out.
OnePlus Nord: design and display
OnePlus has kept the design of the Nord different to make it different from the OnePlus 8 series smartphones. The design style of the OnePlus Nord is somewhat similar to the phones of Oppo and Realme and we are not surprised as all these brands are part of the same family. However, the inclusion of the alert slider and the same old style of buttons and ports make us feel that it is a OnePlus phone.
The build quality is good for a phone made of polycarbonate. There is Gorilla Glass 5 protection on the front and back. We really liked the Blue Marble colour on the Nord unit, which is also the colour of our review unit. Apart from this, the phone is also offered in Gray Onyx colour.
Like other OnePlus phones, there is no option to expand storage on OnePlus Nord as the SIM tray only supports two nano-SIM cards. It also comes in 128 GB and 256 GB variants, in which you may not feel the lack of storage.
OnePlus smartphones are known for their AMOLED displays and I am glad to see that OnePlus has not compromised on this low-cost smartphone. The display panel is also AMOLED. The display is not curved at the edges like it is on the OnePlus 8, but it does have a cutout for two selfie cameras instead of one. The display size is 6.44 inches and it comes with a Full-HD+ resolution (1080×2400) with a 90Hz refresh rate. The phone comes with HDR10+. It is a good panel overall, with good black levels and plenty of colours. However, there is some difference in colour tone on a white background and this has not been fixed even after a few updates. It is noticeable only if you look very carefully.
With the OnePlus Nord you get a silicone bumper case, Type-C cable, fast charger, and stickers.
OnePlus Nord: specifications
The OnePlus Nord comes with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 765G chipset in India. This chipset gets the Qualcomm X52 5G modem and is built on a 7nm process. It promises better processing capabilities and up to 30 percent faster graphics rendering than the Snapdragon 730G.
In India, three variants of OnePlus Nord have been introduced. 6 GB RAM and 64 GB storage, which will be available only on Amazon from September. Its price is Rs 24,999. Apart from this, 8 GB RAM and 128 GB storage variant, which is priced at Rs 27,999 and 12 GB RAM variant with 256 GB storage, which is priced at Rs 29,999.
The thickness of OnePlus Nord is 8.2 millimeters and it weighs 184 grams. You get support for NFC, Wi-Fi AC, Bluetooth 5.1, and navigation systems including navigation. The phone gets a single speaker, in-display fingerprint sensor, and face unlock feature. Nord does not have any official IP certification, so you have to be a little careful with water. You get a 4,115mAh battery with Warp Charge 30T fast charging technology.
The OnePlus experience is not complete without OxygenOS. At the time of review, the phone was running on software version 10.5.2 with the July security patch. Its interface and features are similar to the flagship OnePlus phones. There is also Zen Mode, built-in screen recorder and options to customize the ambient display, fingerprint animations, etc. OnePlus has also promised two years of software updates and three years of security updates for the Nord.
There are a few software changes on the OnePlus Nord compared to other OnePlus phones. The biggest one is the inclusion of Google’s stock dialer and Messages app. No clear reason was shared for ditching Oxygen OS’s dialer and Messages app, but it was simply stated that based on its research, the company felt that mid-range smartphone buyers would have a better experience with Google’s apps. We have no problem with Google’s stock apps, but it is disappointing that Nord users won’t get to experience the India-specific features that OnePlus has added to its dialer and Messages app over the years.
The second change has been made in the camera app. In this, you will be able to share your last photo very easily from the app itself. For this, you have to tap and hold on the preview and you will get the option to choose the app directly.
OnePlus Nord: performance
According to OnePlus, Nord users will get smooth and fast performance just like the flagship phones and we have to say that it works pretty well. With regular use, we didn’t really notice much difference between the OnePlus Nord and OnePlus’ flagship phones. The interface was very smooth and fast, apps were quick to load and close and switching between apps was also quite simple. The in-display fingerprint sensor works pretty well. Face unlock is also quite fast and accurate.
Videos look great on the OnePlus display, especially when streaming HDR videos on YouTube and Netflix. Dirac’s software enhancements on the Nord result in louder sound even on a single speaker.
We used the OnePlus Nord for a week and its battery life was pretty solid. We easily got a day and a half of backup on a single charge. It managed to last a full day even when we played a lot of games and used the camera. In our video loop test, the OnePlus Nord lasted for about 14.5 hours, which is a pretty good time. The phone charged up to about 93 percent in an hour with the charger that comes with it, which is pretty fast.
OnePlus Nord: cameras
The OnePlus Nord has a total of six cameras – four at the back and two at the front. The main rear camera is exactly the same as what you’ll get with the OnePlus 8. The company has also kept optical stabilisation, which is good to see. The other three cameras are an 8-megapixel wide-angle lens, a 2-megapixel macro lens, and a 5-megapixel depth sensor. For selfies, you get a 32-megapixel primary Sony IMX616 lens and an 8-megapixel wide-angle lens.
The camera app is similar to the one on the OnePlus 8-series phones and works pretty well. In daylight, the main rear camera on the OnePlus Nord captures good photos. We found that shots generally had good detail, colours were also good, and HDR worked well. There was a slight decrease in dynamic range compared to the OnePlus 8. The main camera shoots photos at 12-megapixels by default, but you can choose to shoot at full resolution as well.
The wide-angle camera captured comparatively weaker detail, but it did a good job with colours and HDR. There is no optical zoom on the Nord. Instead, you can digitally zoom up to 10x using the main camera, but the quality is compromised. Close-ups looked good in daylight, with good detail, but colours tend to get blown out at times. The autofocus system was pretty fast.
Portrait shots using the primary camera blurred the background well, although the level of blur cannot be set. The macro camera did its job, but it wasn’t great, and was only useful if there was good lighting around our subject.
Low light photos came out decent and in very dark scenes, I had to use Nightscape. The problem with the Night mode on the Nord is that even though it can be quite effective in brightening a photo, it tends to make textures look flat and shadows look pale, which I didn’t like. The wide-angle camera can’t really take usable shots in low light, unless you use Nightscape.
Talking about the selfie camera, in daylight, the primary selfie camera captured good detail, skin tones looked good and HDR was handled well. In low light, details dropped and the overall quality was also average.
Selfies are captured at the full 32-megapixel resolution by default, though if you switch to portrait mode, the phone takes 8-megapixel shots. The wide-angle front camera is a nice addition, but we wish OnePlus would improve its colour profile a bit. Despite the lack of detail, photos usually have a slight red tint. In low-light shots, colours generally look flat, but the camera managed to extract bright shots.
Verdict
It feels like OnePlus is going back to its roots with its ‘affordable’ OnePlus Nord. It’s not a ‘flagship killer’ like the original OnePlus One, but it doesn’t need to be, as OnePlus itself has a new line of premium flagships. The Nord could have simply been called the OnePlus Lite or OnePlus 8 Lite, but that probably wouldn’t have made as much of an impact in the market as the name of a new product line. The OnePlus Nord feels like a start to the future and if we’re lucky, we could see more in this series, possibly even targeting the lower levels of the smartphone market. If you currently have a OnePlus Nord, then you should be able to buy it. OnePlus 6 Just like older OnePlus smartphones, the Nord should be a nice upgrade.
We don’t think many people will miss the OnePlus Nord not having Qualcomm’s 800-series processor, as it performs well in day-to-day use. The OnePlus Nord is currently the cheapest 5G smartphone in the Indian market, which gives it a unique advantage. Although the competition is strong, Redmi K20 Pro And Realme X3 Phones like the series come with more powerful processors equipped with 4G and come equipped with similar features, if not better in some cases. The OnePlus Nord may not be able to compete with these smartphones in terms of specifications, but when you take into account the software and the promise of timely updates, it becomes an attractive deal for you.