OnePlus Nord review

    One plus nord

The OnePlus Nord is one of the most-anticipated smartphones of the year. Even if you’re not a tech enthusiast, you probably must have heard of it, all thanks to the hype created by the company. The plot got even thicker when its price was announced — was it the new best smartphone under Rs 30,000 in India?

Nord is an all-new series from OnePlus that is meant to give users a premium software and hardware experience at an affordable price. In many ways, it marks OnePlus return to the segment where it started its journey years ago. For its first tango with a mid-ranger, OnePlus seems to tick the right boxes, and even manages to be the cheapest in the market for some of these additions…something that we haven’t been able to say about OnePlus in recent years. 

OnePlus Nord price in India

priced at Rs 27,999 and the top of the line 12+256G variant costs Rs 29,999. The colour options include Blue Marble and GrayIndia is one of the first markets to get the Nord. And just like last time, it is priced way more competitively in India. It starts at Rs 24,999 for the 6+64GB variant. The 8+128GB variant is  Onyx.

The OnePlus Nord first sale is scheduled for August 4 and it will go on sale via Amazon. The India exclusive 6+64GB variant will go on sale later in the month of September. OnePlus Nord price in India

     design

• 184 gram weight, 8.2mm thickness
• Glass sandwich with a polycarbonate frame
• Blue Marble and Gray Onyx colours

Even though the Nord is not an expensive phone, OnePlus has not compromised much in terms of design. It comes with a glossy glass body with Corning Gorilla Glass 5 on the back as well as the front. Holding the phone feels solid and comfortable. However, it opts for a plastic frame which definitely affects its premium positioning. You’ll be reminded of that each time you hold the phone and the rails aren’t cold.

The Nord can also be used with a single hand, a feat that is rare these days. The taller display makes the phone a lot narrower (73.3mm) with dimensions very similar to the OnePlus 8. At just 184 grams, it is also extremely lightweight, especially when you look at the competition which is at the 200-gram mark. OnePlus has done a good job with weight distribution too. Overall, the build of the phone seems pretty solid.

The device comes in two colour options: Blue Marble and Gray Onyx. We tested the blue variant here, and oh boy, does it stand out from the crowd! For those who prefer something a little more understated, the other variant is your only option.

Towards the right, you get the power button, which is easy to access without needing to readjust the grip by a lot. It has good clicky tactile feedback. Right above the power button, you get the iconic alert slider, which can be used in three modes: Ring, Silent, and Vibrate. On the left, you get the volume rocker. All the three buttons are coated with blue colour here, which looks pretty cool. Towards the back, you get a quad-camera array which protrudes out quite a bit. Next to the camera, there is a dual-LED flash. You get the OnePlus logo at the centre and OnePlus branding towards the end.

The glass used in the rear camera is so deep black that it reminds me of the OnePlus Concept One phone which features a hidden camera array. On the front of the device, there is a pill-shaped dual front-facing camera towards the left, a first in a for a OnePlus phone. The earpiece is located along the top edge of the phone.

The USB Type-C port and the SIM slot is also present at the bottom. For audio, you get a mono speaker with two outlets at the bottom of the device. As you might have already guessed, the device omits the 3.5mm headphone jack.

The design of the Nord in no way is the best we’ve seen in this price point. In fact, most of the Realme devices sport a very similar design language. But, there is nothing wrong with the design. It is just that it doesn’t stand out from the crowd in terms of design, as it does with the colour.

A silicone case is also included in the box, which has a weird pattern that switches between matte and glossy. There’s a subtle arrow pointing upwards, figuratively looking towards the North. You’ll have to settle for this plain case which is nowhere as interesting as the one included on the OnePlus 8 series.

Just like other OnePlus devices, the Nord has some degree of (unofficial) water-resistance. Rain and sweat shouldn’t pose an issue.

Overall, I was pretty happy with the design although it is no way unique or stands out. It feels good in the hand and you get a solid grip. Far from the worst we’ve seen in this segment.

Display

 

The display itself is excellent, the AMOLED display does its job pretty well, you get deep blacks and good viewing angles. The phone’s animation starting from the home screen live wallpaper comes to life when you unlock the phone and acts as another reminder of the higher refresh rate. 

You can reach easily to most parts of the screen with just your thumb and the touch is also pretty responsive. 

The phone can get bright enough for indoor usage and the auto-brightness works pretty well, surprisingly. The sunlight visibility is just above average and the texts and videos are visible during the day time. The hole punch is bigger than what I’d like, but it gets easier to ignore with time. 

performance

• snapdragon 765G
• LPDDR4X RAM, UFS 2.1 storage
• 5G capable

Here’s where OnePlus’s approach is a little different than others in this segment. The Nord is powered by the Snapdragon 765G SoC, which is also 5G capable, thanks to the Snapdragon X52 RF 5G modem. While that technically makes it the cheapest 5G smartphone in India, that shouldn’t really be a major factor for consumers for the near future (unless Jio pulls off another miracle). Regardless, it is one of the most advanced chipsets on the market, built on an efficient 7nm process with integrated modem components.

The Snapdragon 765G has a prime core clocked at 2.4GHz, one gold core at 2.2GHz and six silver cores at 1.8GHz. Graphics will be taken care of by Adreno 620 GPU. The OnePlus Nord is available paired with LPDDR4X RAM and UFS 2.1 storage. You get a 6GB+64GB variant which is exclusive to India along with the standard 8GB +128GB variant and the top-of-the-line 12GB+256GB variant, which is insanely well-priced. 

We tested the top variant. If you are planning to get the OnePlus Nord, we suggest you stay away from the 6GB + 64GB variant as a big chunk of the storage is occupied by the OS. With no support for expandable storage, it could get exhausted pretty quick

Gaming

• Adreno 620 GPU
• Fnatic mode

Gone are the days when you could game heavy 3D graphic intensive games only on proper flagship phones. Thanks to some breakthroughs that the silicon makers have achieved over the years, the same experience can be obtained from the 765G SoC as well (the G in the Snapdragon 765G stands for Gaming). The OnePlus Nord is the first phone from OnePlus to feature a mid-range or a non-flagship grade chipset. Even the sub Rs 20,000 OnePlus phones featured a flagship chipset for their time, but it’s time we move on….

The Adreno 620 GPU is being used for graphic performance here. The device retained close to 60fps during PUBG Mobile gaming and Asphalt 8. Real Racing 3 also ran pretty smooth. All three games were set to the highest graphics that were available. The high refresh rate and 180Hz touch sampling rate shines. While gaming it is quite comfortable to keep the hands and I had no issues with the finger placements. This is also in part due to the taller aspect ratio which provides a wider viewing experience. However, since the device comes with a mono bottom-firing speaker, it is recommended to wear a wired earphone or a wireless earphone as the sound will be muffled or gone by at least 50-80% depending on the placement. The vibration motor onboard is also pretty solid and you get nice, satisfying feedback. 

The phone is also bundled with a dedicated gaming mode and a Fnatic mode which boosts the CPU and GPU performance and optimizes and provides more resources to the game. You also get an option to toggle graphic optimization which improves shadow detail and enhances overall gaming performance. Unlike the flagship OnePlus 8 series, you don’t get any cooling system and thus it heats up quite a bit. In my testing, after 20-30 minutes of continuous gaming like PUBG Mobile, the upper side of the device crossed 40-degrees.

Software

• OxygenOS 10.5 based on Android 10
• Minimal interface with very little bloat
• Switches to Google apps instead of first-party

Oxygen OS is often regarded as the strongest point for OnePlus smartphones, especially when compared to the competition. That is even more relevant in this sub Rs 30,000 segment where existing players are known to bring bloatware and ads to be able to bring the price down. At this price where we aren’t exactly looking at power users, Oxygen OS is the best Android experience possible.

As with other OnePlus phones, we see a no-nonsense approach with the right mix of minimalism and customization. Things are just where they should be and work just as they should. Anyone who’s used Oxygen OS in the past will understand this better. For everyone else, think of it as the easiest skin to adapt to.

There are several customizations available that can be modified such as system-wide dark theme, icon pack, accent colour, colour tone, icon shape and even the ability to change fonts. Even with these additions, the experience was almost always fast and smooth.

For the -1 screen, you can choose between OnePlus Shelf and Google Discover. We found Shelf’s abilities pretty limited and switched to the Google feed for better and personalized updates.

In the notification shade, there are the usual connectivity and quick toggles. Apart from these, OnePlus has added Night mode, Switch data card, DND, Reading mode, ZenMode, and screen recorder. The screen recorder is capable of recording up to 2,340 x 1,080, 24 Mbps bit rate, and up to 60fps. It also allows you to record internal audio. Wi-Fi sharing also gets easier with QR code scanning.

There is a separate utility section which comes with Work-Life balance mode that will control your incoming notifications based on your work profile. Parallel apps to clone the apps and app locker that can be locked with your fingerprint scanner. One of the underrated features for me was the OnePlus switch app that made my life easier by transferring all my data including apps, call/text logs, apps including data. A laboratory feature allows you to switch to dark mode when the app doesn't come with native support. And, lastly, you get a quick landscape reply mode which brings up a floating keyboard when you get a message while you’re in landscape mode.

You can also switch to gestures for system navigation instead of buttons. They work well, and the gesture to quickly switch to the previous app is godsent.

All in all, the software experience is pretty similar to any other OnePlus flagship smartphone - smooth, fluid, and fast. Apps open quickly and games too open fast, there is no delay or whatsoever. The push notifications arrive on time for most of the part. However, I had some issues with receiving notifications from Slack (which is known to suck on Android).

There’s barely any bloat on the OnePlus Nord, The big change comes with shifting to Google’s dialler, messages and Duo instead of Oxygen OS counterparts. Out-of-the-box, you also get Amazon, Netflix, Facebook and Instagram; apps that I’d anyway install, so that’s fine. The device was missing AR Core functionality and the company confirmed that it'll be enabled later in August via OTA update. 

Biometrics 

• In-display fingerprint
• 2D Face unlock

OnePlus was one of the first mainstream manufacturers to move to in-display fingerprint scanners, starting with the 6T. As with the flagships, the Nord opts for Goodix’s fingerprint scanners and is one of the best implementations we’ve seen on any phone. It is fast and accurate for the most part, and is positioned in a convenient place to be able to reach with one hand.

Just tap your thumb on the display and you’re authenticated.

The performance as always is extremely quick here. There is no need to press your thumb against the screen or press harder. You can keep up to five fingerprints and there are five unlock animations as well.

Apart from the In-display fingerprint scanner, you also get 2D face unlock that uses the front-facing camera to authenticate. It works pretty fast too and eliminates the chances of you unlocking the phone with a fingerprint scanner. Just click the power button and show your face and boom, you’re in. It is so fast that you’ll struggle to check notifications from the lock screen.

Battery life

• 4,115 mAh battery
• 30W WarpCharge 30T fast charging

Even with a thin and light body, the OnePlus Nord manages to pack in a decently-sized 4,115mAh battery. As always it supports Warp Charging at 30W with the included charger.

In my usage which included intense usage of WhatsApp, Slack, emails and calls along with some social media surfing and 30 minutes of PUBG gaming, I got pretty average results with 4 to 5 hours of screen-on-time. This was with Bluetooth connected to my watch all the time, earbuds for an hour, and display refresh rate set to 90Hz. When the refresh rate was set to 60Hz, the battery life improved quite a bit and I got around 6 to 7 hours of screen-on-time easily. 

For charging, you get 30W Warp Charge 30T charging wired charger which tops up over USB Type-C interface. It charges from 0-50% in about 30 minutes and a full charge takes about 80 minutes, which is convenient. The charging speeds don’t really slow down even while gaming or heavy usage while plugged in.  The battery usually drains from 3-5% overnight with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth turned on. 

Considering OnePlus was one of the first to bring real fast charging to its phones in 2016, it’s time we see the 30W threshold get crossed, at least on flagships... Even phones priced at Rs 15,000 surpass that.

Camera

• Six cameras in total
• The same primary camera as the OnePlus 8
• Dual-selfie cameras for the first time

The primary camera on the rear is inherited from the flagship OnePlus 8. It's a Sony IMX586 sensor along with OIS and EIS with f/1.75 aperture. It is followed by an 8MP f/2.25 wide-angle camera with 119-degree field of view. This is accompanied by a 5MP depth sensor and a 2MP macro shooter with an aperture f/2.4. Over to the front, you get a 32MP Sony IMX161 primary snapper along with an 8MP wide-angle camera for groufies. 

The OnePlus Nord is the company’s first phone come with six cameras: two at the front and four at the back. In fact, four of them are the exact ones found on the OnePlus 8. 

You get a bunch of modes in the camera app. The rear camera can shoot in normal, wide-angle, portrait, nightscape, pro mode, panorama. For video, you get timelapse, slow-mo, up to 4K video recording, and super stable mode. The front camera functionalities include photos and videos up to 4K 60fps(normal and wide), portrait, and time-lapse(normal and wide)