The Indian smartphone market is no longer the same as it was before the pandemic. The market has been declining for the last few quarters after a short period of growth caused by pent-up demand following the lockdowns.
The slowdown in the market is primarily associated with the poor sales of budget handsets. Popular budget devices that once used to cost below ₹20,000 now fall under the sub-₹30,000 category. The most obvious one is the Redmi Note lineup, which is considered the king of budget smartphones.
The 2023 Redmi Note 12 Pro models are way more expensive than their predecessors, as they now start at ₹23,999. Their prime competitor, the Realme 11 Pro series, also costs the same.
Now, the Indian market has a new competitor in this segment, the OnePlus Nord CE 3. The brand sent me a unit of the handset to try it out.
Having already used the aforementioned Xiaomi and Realme devices, I can say that OnePlus’ approach to capitalizing its position in the market is laudable. Here’s what I feel about this product.
Positioning of the product
The OnePlus Nord CE 3 arrives in 8GB + 128GB and 12GB + 256GB memory configurations in India. These variants are priced at ₹26,999 and ₹28,999, respectively.
It is positioned between the OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite and the OnePlus Nord 3 in the brand’s own lineup. Similarly, the device sits comfortably between its competitors as well.
The mid-range segment in India is dominated by handsets from Xiaomi and Realme. The Redmi Note 12 Pro and Realme 11 Pro fall under ₹25,000, while the ‘Pro Plus’ versions of these phones are priced around ₹30,000.
While there are devices from other brands, these two lineups stand out for consumers because of the familiarity of Redmi Note and Realme number series brandings.
The Nord CE 3’s smart price tag puts it between the pro and pro plus models of the aforementioned Redmi and Realme handsets. So it acts as a middle-ground.
At the same time, it also undercuts the Samsung Galaxy A34, which is yet another rival, though it starts at ₹30,999.
The phone has no special tricks
The Realme 11 Pro series has one of the best designs in its price range. It sports a faux leather back and a curved display. These two features alone make these products stand out from other phones.
On the other hand, the Redmi Note 12 Pro series has the trustworthy ‘Redmi Note’ branding. The Redmi handsets also have the best display and speakers for content consumption in their price range.
Both the Realme 11 Pro Plus and the Redmi Note 12 Pro Plus also sport a 200 MP camera. They even carry support for 100W+ fast wired charging.
While the OnePlus Nord CE 3 has nothing special or fancy going for it. The smartphone is simple, not only in terms of looks but also in terms of its features.
I wouldn’t call this a con since that’s what a mature brand does. Look at Samsung, which now offers the same design on its entire smartphone portfolio. But the overall experience with each one of these products is different from another.
OnePlus has a premium brand image in India, and therefore, this strategy works well for the brand. The OnePlus branding overshadows the flashy designs offered by the competitors.
But it nails the basics
What makes the OnePlus Nord CE 3 special is that it just works. The design is not extravagant, but it is still eye-catching, thanks to the choice of the hero color.
The device in Aqua Surge is stunning to look at. It even ships with a matching high-quality silicone case. There’s also a pre-applied screen protector.
And unlike Samsung, OnePlus includes the required charger in the box. Thus, most buyers need not shop for accessories.
The phone neither has a curved display nor a Dolby Vision-certified panel, but the 6.7-inch FHD+ 10-bit AMOLED display is good nonetheless. I did not face any stutter in refresh rate (up to 120Hz) or 4K video playback.
The best thing about the OnePlus Nord CE 3 is that it boots cleaner software without any bloatware, which is very rare these days. You only get Google apps and first-party OnePlus applications out of the box.
The tried and tested Qualcomm Snapdragon 782G chip performs well. You won’t find problems while using day-to-day applications. Games are better optimized for this SoC compared to the MediaTek chipsets found inside competitors.
The device charges fully within half an hour. A 15-20 minute charge is enough to get you through the day, as the battery backup is excellent even with a 5G connection and excessive mobile hotspot usage.
On a full battery, you can get more than a day’s worth of juice if you don’t game. I found the Nord CE 3 to have better endurance than the Realme 11 Pro and Redmi Note 12 Pro.
Camera could have been better
The OnePlus Nord CE 3 comes with an OIS-assisted 50MP Sony IMX890 sensor. For those unaware, this is a high-end camera sensor usually found on premium and affordable premium smartphones.
I just reviewed the Oppo Reno 10 Pro Plus, which has the exact same sensor. But the image processing on that handset is way better than what you get on the Nord CE 3.
The pictures from Nord CE 3 do not feel like they were captured by the IMX890 sensor. This is likely due to the mid-range ISP.
It’s not that the camera on the smartphone is bad, it is just limited by the chip powering it. The overall performance is comparable to what you get from the competitors. So the use of the IMX890 sensor is a wasted opportunity.
Apart from the camera, I wish it had a better vibration motor. The in-hand feel of the device is good, but the haptics kill the joy, similar to the Realme 11 Pro.
Closing Remarks
The OnePlus Nord CE 3 is a well-balanced smartphone in its price range. Additionally, it has a simple design and clean software. The only product that comes close in this regard is the Samsung Galaxy A34, but it is more expensive.
The Nord CE 3 is a unique and compelling option in its segment. It caters to a broader audience and has the brand power to pull in more consumers.
In my opinion, the OnePlus Nord CE 3 is the smartphone for the masses under ₹30,000. I can recommend it to almost anyone without any second thought.
It has the potential to become the best-selling phone in its price segment, like the OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite and the OnePlus Nord CE 2 Lite.
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