The OnePlus Nord CE 2 5G is here, and it brings subtle upgrades to the lineup as compared to its predecessor. The brand’s CE edition stands for Core Edition and keeps the bare-bones features which include 5G, aiming to keep the cost down and offer a cheaper entry into the OnePlus ecosystem.
One of the biggest changes is in terms of its design, which seems to be inspired by its sibling, the Realme 9 Pro+.
Let’s take a closer look at this new Nord model from OnePlus and see whether it’s a good buy in its price segment.
What’s In the Box
- Phone
- Manual
- Charger – 65W SuperVOOC charger
- Case
- Pre-applied screen protector
- USB-A to USB-C cable
- Branded stickers.
Design & Build
This year’s Nord CE 2 doesn’t bring any significant upgrades as compared to its predecessor but features a premium-looking design and color scheme, a much-needed change from the boring old design on the original CE model.
However, this also makes it similar to the two phones from its sister brands – OPPO (Reno7) (our review here) and Realme (9 Pro+). They are placed in a similar price segment, but this one is the cheapest of the lot. To achieve this cheap pricing, the brand had to cut down on some features too, but the design isn’t one of them.
The phone I’ve got is the Grey Mirror edition, and it definitely looks a lot more premium than its segment rivals. I especially like how the camera module curves into the body, giving it a unibody finish. I’m sure a lot of customers will appreciate this design, especially the two large camera sensors in black, which complement the silver body.
Another highlight of the phone is that it retains the slim and light build of its predecessor. The phone weighs just 173 grams and is 7.8mm in thickness. So whether it’s reaching out to its in-display fingerprint sensor with your thumb or just holding it with one hand, you shouldn’t have any major issues. The weight is also evenly distributed, and holding it for long periods of time is comfortable.
Moving on to the front, the phone features a punch-hole camera on the top-left corner like most of its rivals in the segment. There’s a 1080p 6.43-inch AMOLED display with a 90Hz refresh rate and HDR10+ support. The AMOLED display is good for the price and I have no major complaints. Note that the phone is Widevine L1 certified, so HD streaming won’t be an issue.
Like its predecessor, the iconic alert slider gets a miss on the CE edition, but you do get a 3.5mm headphone jack if that’s any consolation. There are no stereo speakers, which is a bummer. The speakers are relatively loud, but at max levels, the sound can be tinny and bass-less.
One thing worth mentioning is that the in-screen fingerprint sensor is very fast. It’s as good as any other flagship phone fingerprint sensor, so you would have no issues in this particular area.
Nord CE 2 5G Hardware
The Nord CE 2 5G comes with the mid-range Dimensity 900 CPU featuring Mali-G68 4-core GPU which performs similar to the previous-gen Nord CE 5G. In your daily use, you should have no major hiccups and everything including the animations and apps load up quickly with no visible stutter or lags.
The phone comes with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of ROM, which is actually its top-end variant. There’s a cheaper variant with 6GB of RAM, but I would advise getting the 8GB variant for an additional INR 1000.
You can play most games on the Nord CE 2 5G, but know that the Dimensity 900 won’t be able to support high fps in resource-intensive games. Even in games like PUBG Mobile, the phone will fluctuate between 40-60fps. So if it’s just for casual gaming, the phone will suffice, but if you need a phone for some heavy-duty gaming, look elsewhere. One positive thing about the phone was that it didn’t heat up much, even when playing for long periods of time. But again, this was at the cost of a relatively low frame rate.
Nord CE 2 5G Camera
The original Nord CE wasn’t known for its cameras and its successor, the Nord CE 2 5G doesn’t bring any surprises either. This is because their cameras are exactly the same, featuring a 64MP main shooter and an 8MP ultra-wide sensor. There’s an additional 2MP Macro camera but like most cameras in this price range, it struggles to capture good images.
The primary camera is pretty decent if you have good daylight conditions. However, the quality of the pictures drop as soon as the ambient lighting goes down. You’ll often find a lack of details and even noise in images shot under low-lighting conditions.
Check out the samples below from the main camera.
As for the ultrawide camera, again you can get usable shots under good lighting scenes but as soon as the lighting goes down, the quality drops significantly. So capturing ultra-wide photos under low light is not recommended.
Software
The OnePlus Nord CE 2 5G comes with OxygenOS 11.3 which is unfortunately still based on Android 11. So it looks like OnePlus is struggling to bring Android 12 for its OxygenOS powered devices. This coupled with the two Android version update promise makes the software scene on the CE 2 5G a bit disappointing.
That said, the Nord CE 2 5G retains the clean UI from the premium end OnePlus phones with smooth UI transitions and performance. If you can ignore the fact that the phone is still running Android 11, the software is pretty nice and useful, with very limited bloatware.
Battery & Charging
Dimensity 900’s biggest selling point is that it’s manufactured on a 6nm node. This makes the chip efficient as compared to its rivals, and the same is reflected in the device’s battery life. The phone can last for more than a day on average use, thanks to this chip and its 4500mAh battery. You are likely to end up with 30-40% battery left on the device by EOD.
And topping up the battery takes only about 30 minutes, thanks to the 65W SuperVOOC charger. In short, battery life and charging is one of the selling points of this phone.
Verdict
Overall, the OnePlus Nord CE 2 5G is a very gentle update to its predecessor. The phone would have been better off with a few more key upgrades, especially in the camera department.
This price segment has a lot of competition, so it will have a tough time standing out.
