OnePlus launched the most affordable Nord smartphone in the OnePlus series in July last year. This happened when people were worried about cost overruns and was one of the first smartphones with 5G below Rs. 30,000. OnePlus launched the new OnePlus Nord CE 5G. This further reduces the price by providing 3 rear cameras and 5G connectivity.
When you hear the name Nord CE 5G, the first question that comes to mind is: "What does CE mean?" OnePlus stands for "Core Edition" because Nord CE contains all the basic elements in a smartphone. So what is the core experience of this promise? Compared with OnePlus 9R, is there any important missing? To find out, I tried OnePlus Nord CE 5G.
OnePlus Nord CE 5G India price
The Indian base version of OnePlus Nord CE 5G is priced at Rs 22,999 and is equipped with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage space. The mid-spec version with 8GB RAM and 128GB internal storage is priced at Rs. The high-end storage options with 24,999, 12GB and 256GB RAM are priced at Rs. 27 999.
All three have dark charcoal ink. The 8GB version is also available in blue void color. If you choose the 12GB RAM variant, you can choose from two special Silver Ray variants. In this review, there is a high-spec variant of BlueVoid.
OnePlus Nord CE 5G Design
OnePlus Nord CE 5G is a fascinating device that reminds you of the original Nord, especially the Blue Void colors. Robust and easy to use. OnePlus has realized an ultra-thin mobile phone with a thickness of 7.9 mm and a weight of 170 grams. This feels lighter than other smartphones I tested recently. The edges of the Nord CE 5G are balanced and curved, making it very comfortable to hold in the hand.
You will see a large 6.43-inch screen with a camera hole in the upper left corner. The side and top bezels are thin, and the chin is slightly larger. The Nord CE 5G frame is made of plastic, and all buttons are located near the center. The power button is on the right, and the volume button is on the left. This arrangement allows you to easily access these buttons without having to hold the phone in your hand. However, there is no warning that the slider has been a OnePlus trademark for years. The SIM tray is also on the left side and can hold two nanoSIM cards, but there is no microSD card slot.
Nord CE 5G has a 3.5mm headphone jack, but OnePlus Nord does not have it. Located at the bottom as well as the USB Type-C port and speakers. If you turn the phone over, there are only two items. The center is the OnePlus logo, and the upper left corner is the triple camera module. The camera module is a bit protruding, but there is no problem. My Blue Void review unit has a matte finish on the back, making it difficult to leave fingerprints.
OnePlus is equipped with a 4,500mAh battery in the Nord CE 5G. This is slightly larger than the original OnePlus Nord. This phone supports 30W fast charging, and the box comes with Warp Charge 30T charger.
OnePlus Nord CE 5G specifications and software
Like OnePlus Nord, the price of Nord CE 5G also has some interesting specifications. The large 6.43-inch AMOLED display has Full HD + resolution and a 90Hz refresh rate, which is a big advantage. It also includes a fingerprint scanner and Asahi DragonTrail Glass. The core of OnePlus Nord CE 5G is the Qualcomm Snapdragon 750G processor seen in several games such as Xiaomi Mi 10i (review) and Samsung Galaxy M42 5G (review). Use the basic NordCE 5G variant to get 6GB of RAM, and get 12GB of RAM at the high end of the range. This is what I must check.
This smartphone has only two storage options, 128GB and 256GB. Nord CE 5G supports Bluetooth 5.1, dual-band Wi-Fi, NFC and six satellite navigation systems. It supports dual 4G VoLTE and 5G connections.
OnePlus is known for its clean software. This is what you can get with the Nord CE 5G. This smartphone runs OnePlus' dedicated Oxygen OS based on Android 11. My review unit was running an Android security patch of April and received the May security patch update and some bug fixes for its use. OxygenOS has been meticulously polished and I found this phone very easy to use. If you like a clean interface and are familiar with Android actions, OxygenOS will welcome you. OnePlus has also promised two years of Android updates and three years of security updates, which could make potential buyers tolerant of the transaction.
The Nord CE 5G comes preloaded with various apps from Google and OnePlus that you can uninstall if needed. I have not received any notification from the app. Nord CE has an always-on display that can be backlit for notifications. There is also a game mode that allows you to block incoming call notifications while playing a game and answer calls directly through the speaker. WhatsApp, Instagram and Telegram also have shortcuts, but I can't find a way to distribute them. Blocking calls and notifications, prioritizing game performance over other apps, and disabling the second SIM card and network can also make the performance more stable.
OnePlus Nord CE 5G Performance and Battery Life
The OnePlus Nord CE 5G did not surprise me during use and it worked as expected. With 12GB of RAM, the app loads quickly and multitasking is easy. I can switch between multiple apps without waiting for the phone to download the app again. The small size of the OnePlus Nord CE 5G makes it easy to use with one hand.
The in-screen fingerprint scanner is easily accessible and you only need to unlock your smartphone once. The AMOLED screen is suitable for viewing content, and the 90Hz refresh rate makes it easy to use. A speaker with a bottom radiator is enough.
I recently tested the Samsung Galaxy M42 5G and have a good understanding of how the Snapdragon 750G works. My OnePlus Nord CE 5G device is working fine and scored 391,813 points in AnTuTu. GeekBench 5 scored 639 points and 1830 points in single-core and multi-core tests, respectively. The GFXBench T-Rex and Car Chase benchmarks reached 59 and 17 frames per second, respectively. The OnePlus Nord CE 5G also scored 2737 points in 3D Mark Slingshot OpenGL. This is slightly lower than the Galaxy M42 5G, but its advantage lies in the phone's lower screen resolution.
The OnePlus Nord CE5G Call of Duty Mobile version runs with high presets in terms of graphics and frame rates. I could play the game without any problem and did not feel any performance degradation while playing. After playing for 25 minutes, I noticed a 7% drop in battery power. Nord CE is a little warm, but not as warm. If you want to play games on your smartphone, the Nord CE 5G can handle popular games with ease.
Now let's talk about battery life. The refresh rate of the Nord CE 5G is set to 90Hz by default and did not change during the audit. In our HD video loop test, the Nord CE 5G lasted 19 hours 59 minutes. Considering the battery capacity, this is a good result. For Nord CE 5G, lowering the refresh rate to 60Hz may slightly increase battery life.
OnePlus Nord CE supports fast charging and includes a 30W Warp Charge 30T Plus charger. The charger charges your smartphone from zero to 67% in 30 minutes and fully charges in about an hour. It's not the fastest-charging smartphone I've seen at this price point, but it's much better than smartphones like the Galaxy M425G.
OnePlus Nord CE 5G Camera
OnePlus Nord CE is equipped with a triple camera. It has a 64MP main camera with a field of view sensor, f / 1.79 aperture and EIS. 8MP ultra wide-angle camera with 119-degree field of view. And a 2 megapixel black and white camera. For selfies, it has a 16MP camera with f / 2.45 aperture. The user interface of the camera app is very simple, I tried different shooting modes. AI can determine what I'm shooting and sometimes even suggest different modes. If you are using a 64MP main camera, your smartphone will use pixel binning by default to create 16MP photos.
OnePlus Nord CE 5G can take good photos in the daylight and looks very beautiful on the AMOLED screen. I was also able to successfully capture the details of the foreground object and read the text at 100% magnification. The ultra-wide-angle camera provides a wider field of view, but the image quality is significantly reduced. The side of the photo is also distorted.
Close-ups are very clear, and the main camera is good at capturing textures. Nord CE 5G also provides excellent background isolation. In portrait mode, the blur level cannot be adjusted before shooting. The smartphone will display a "depth effect" when it is ready to take a photo. The result is excellent edge detection and excellent depth effects.
Low-light shooting is normal. Nord CE 5G has successfully reduced noise, but it still shows particles in the output. When you activate the night scene mode, the phone will take 8 frames and merge them into one photo. This process takes about 7-8 seconds. The resulting image will be brighter and will bring out more shadow details. Even in night scene shooting, the texture is very good. In order to stabilize the night shooting, the phone is trimmed in the frame, which should be taken into consideration. You can also use Nightscape with an ultra-wide-angle camera, but the difference is negligible.
The selfie is sharp, but the skin tone is slightly distorted when shooting outdoors, but this problem does not seem to occur when shooting indoors. You can take selfies, and the phone has a clear edge. Even when wearing a mask, he can detect his face. Low-light selfies are great. At 100% magnification, only small particles can stand out.
The maximum video recording speed of the main camera is 4k 30fps, and the maximum video recording speed of SELPHY is 1080p 60fps. The lens is stable enough in 1080p and 4K sunlight, with only a small amount of jitter visible. Video quality will deteriorate in dark places, and when the phone tries to stabilize the lens, the output will flicker.
VERDICT
OnePlus Nord CE 5G has enough performance to catch up with what you throw, and the software is very clean. OnePlus also relaxes the deal by promising two years of software updates and three years of security updates to keep the phone up to date until you start thinking about the next update.
The triple camera can handle basic tasks, and considering the price, there is nothing to complain about when shooting during the day. The performance of the low light level camera is where this phone can be improved with some adjustments. OnePlus Nord CE 5G can provide the promised entry-level experience, and considering the starting price, it is not difficult to recommend this phone. However, the price of the option I reviewed is 27,999 rupees, which is not as valuable as the entry-level model. At this price, we recommend that you consider OnePlus Nord (review) or wait for its successor to be listed as soon as possible. If you can afford it, Xiaomi 11X (review) will give you better performance.
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