Review Summary
Expert Rating 3.5/5
OnePlus is well-known for its flagship smartphones, but its efforts in the mid-range category have been equally impressive. The Nord OG (review) was the brand's first foray into this market a few years ago, and the Nord CE (review) was released last year. The CE series, which stands for Primary Edition, is the more value-printed collection, adhering to the essentials while ensuring that the brand's core promise stays unaltered. However, competition in this category is fierce, and the most recent addition to the portfolio, the Nord CE 2 5G, confronts stiff competition. Let us see how it holds up.
VERDICT
The Nord CE 2 5G is well-designed, attractive, and performs well in areas like as battery life and user interface. Hardcore gamers, on the other hand, may find it lacking in terms of performance, and the cameras might need some work as well. The lack of dual speakers is also a letdown. It does, however, offer a 3.5mm headphone jack and a memory expansion slot that may be used without sacrificing dual-SIM capabilities. Overall, it's a phone worth considering, but only after you've considered all of your alternatives.
DESIGN & DISPLAY
The Nord CE2 favours elegance over flamboyance, opting for a more understated appearance than some of the flashier styles we've seen from other firms. The phone is modest and may not attract attention right away, yet the Bahama Blue variant I have is a great, young colour. The gadget takes design ideas from the OPPO Reno7 5G (review) in more ways than one, with a flat screen up front and a softly curved glass back that integrates beautifully into the frame. The polycarbonate back is simple, with the OnePlus logo in the centre and the camera module housed in an intriguing-looking hump that appears and feels like glass. The aforementioned module features two visibly big camera sensors, as well as a smaller one and a flash positioned towards the front.
The front of the phone features a 6.43-inch FHD AMOLED display with a 20:9 aspect ratio and a refresh rate of 90Hz. It is protected by Gorilla Glass 5 and is also HDR10+ certified. OnePlus allows you to customise it to your satisfaction, including dark mode, an eye comfort mode, the opportunity to pick warm or cool colour temperatures, and the ability to adjust the screen to either vivid or sRGB. The always-on display function is available, and you can also change the font and size. The bezels on three sides are small, but the chin at the bottom is significantly broad.
A punch hole in the left corner houses the front-facing camera, and a fingerprint scanner is placed beneath the display. The display becomes suitably bright and offers a good viewing experience for anything you do on the phone. It's worth noting that the phone cannot watch Netflix in HDR. HDR videos, on the other hand, operate perfectly when streamed from YouTube.
CAMERAS
Let's go to the snappers right away. A 64MP, f/1.8 main sensor is available, along with an 8MP ultra-wide and a 2MP macro. The primary camera takes excellent photos, especially in daylight. The photographs are detailed and have a wide dynamic range, with colours that are true to life. Images captured by the 8MP ultra-wide sensor are OK, with minor noise noticeable. The exposure control is adequate, and there isn't much distortion around the borders, but the focus is murky on the sides.
The 2MP macro isn't amazing, and you shouldn't expect too much from it. The Nord CE 2 does require some work in low light, as seen by the overexposed shots and light flare concerns. The dedicated night mode does little to assuage fears. In terms of the front-facing 16MP camera, it shoots decent selfies in daytime. There are some minor exposure difficulties, and edge recognition in portrait images may be improved, but skin tones are sufficiently realistic. In conclusion, if you're a casual photographer, the Nord CE 2 should suffice in most instances, but if you're expecting for more in terms of camera capabilities, it might not.
Software, performance and battery life
Oxygen OS 11 handles the software side of things. The basis is still Android 11, but you get the same clean UI and little software that OnePlus is known for. The primary highlights, as usual, include a near-stock appearance for the most part, until you dig into settings and discover the abundance of customization options and tweaking options provided by OnePlus.
The Nord CE 2 is a smooth performer, especially for day-to-day work, thanks to MediaTek's Dimensity 900 handling performance. There is 6GB or 8GB of RAM, depending on the model, and 128GB of storage. There are no pauses or stutters when moving between apps or multitasking. Scrolling via the UI stays fluid, and casual games perform admirably. However, if you're a die-hard mobile gamer, you could find it wanting, since intense games do take their toll on the phone, and you'd need to crank down graphical settings to attain reasonable frame rates. Again, as long as you know what to anticipate, this may not be a deal breaker.
The gadget supports 5G, and I had no call-related problems while using Airtel 4G in South Delhi. The in-display fingerprint scanner is quick, and face unlock is also effective. The 4,500mAh battery lasts all day on medium usage, and I achieved 14 hours and 40 minutes on the PCMark battery test, which is rather impressive. Furthermore, the 65W charging support can fast charge the battery, taking less than 40 minutes to get from 0 to 100.
FINAL VERDICT
The OnePlus Nord CE 2 5G has a problem in that it doesn't truly excel in the essential components of smartphone usage, especially when compared to the competition. In terms of cameras, the Realme 9 Pro+ (review) is superior, but the Mi 11X (review) can outperform. In this price bracket, the Xiaomi 11i is also a strong competitor to consider, while slightly increasing your budget will bring you the Nord 2 (review) or even the iQOO 7. (review). Having all that, the Nord CE 2 delivers reasonable performance, nice daylight photographs, and adequate battery life, all in a well-built and appealing compact. Add to it the sleek UI and a plethora of customization choices, and you've got yourself a winner.
Pros:
- Nice design and construction.
- UI that is free of bloatware
- Primary camera that is capable
- Long battery life and rapid charging at 65W
Cons:
- Performance cannot compete with competitors.
- Stereo speakers are not included.
- Camera performance in low light might be improved.
- Android 12 is not available.
