OnePlus Nord

OnePlus Nord was released in India on July 21, 2020.

Compared with OnePlus 8, the Nord packs more cameras on the front but the quality of shots cannot rival those of the former. The two phones support face unlock and in-display fingerprint sensor. However, OnePlus 8 has a slightly bigger battery.

Display

OnePlus Nord features a 6.44-inch Fluid AMOLED panel, covered by Gorilla Glass 5, and has a refresh rate of 90Hz. The screen supports HRD10+, with an aspect ratio of 20:9 and a resolution of 2400 x 1080 pixels.

This screen is excellent at this price range. The fact that it is flat means the handset will please and upset an equal number of people. One of the perks people can expect with this kind of screen design is the smaller chance of the phone slipping out of your grip. Some even think a flat-screen is better for mobile gaming too.

In tests, the screen fails to display details in darker areas, but users have a decent color palette with the Vivid screen setting.

Those who want a change can activate the Display P3 and sRGB options in settings, but you won’t see much of a difference though.

Processor

OnePlus Nord is powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 765G. The phone has 5G support but how useful this feature is will depends on whether the service is available where you live.  

The same chipset powers the Motorola Moto Edge and LG Velvet. However, OnePlus Nord can outperform these two phones in 3D Mark tests but results are quite similar in Geekbench 5.

The overall performance is decent with little hesitation when you switch from one app to another or when you change from full screen to normal screen, but not so much that the phone feels slow.

This problem might be because of the software rather than a hardware problem so OnePlus might roll out an update to fix it in the future. With 8GB of RAM and 128GB of inbuilt storage, the delay on OnePlus Nord seems like a minus.

The phone can handle games like Dariusburst. Sky Wings, and Playing Real Racing 3 with ease, the kind of performance you may expect to have with the G-version of the Snapdragon 765.

Even after hours of gaming, the phone shows no sign of overheating. OnePlus offers its own Fnatic game mode to optimize the processor and eliminate distraction.

When it comes to the operating system, users can never go wrong with OnePlus’s OxygenOS, which is by far one of the best Android versions available on the market.

OxygenOS is smooth, fast, and doesn’t come with useless features. It does exactly what it’s designed to do and most users will have no problem using it with their day-to-day tasks.

The Zen Mode, which will limit app access and mute notifications and calls for 20 minutes is a nice addition. The assistant panel and Google News are helpful too.

Other benefits are animated wallpapers and gesture controls, which work smoothly and flawlessly.

OnePlus said it has put much effort into improving OxygenOS and what we have with OnePlus Nord shows that the company isn’t bluffing.

RAM

You have two choices when it comes to RAM and onboard storage, 8GB/128GB and 12GB/256GB, quite enough for most needs, no matter which one you choose.

Battery

OnePlus Nord draws power from a 4,415mAh battery, which can last for around two days when the phone is connected to Wi-Fi and has around three hours of screen time per day.

The Nord features some fancy tech under the hood to help prolong the battery life. What it does is to charge in stages overnight.

The phone charge to 80% and right before the time you usually wake up, it charge the rest. This reduces the chance of the battery losing its capacity over time because it has been kept fully charged for a long time.

The phone comes equipped with OnePlus’s Warp Charge 30T, which can charge the phone from 0% to 70% in only half an hour. However, to have the other half, users will have to wait for a full hour.

Users can unlock the phone with the in-display fingerprint sensor, which is reliable most of the time. The sensor works so quickly that you may never need the face unlock while you have the OnePlus Nord.

Camera

OnePlus Nord shares the same quad-camera setup with the OnePlus 8, with a 48MP main sensor, accompanied by aperture of f/1.75, electronic and optical image stabilization, an 8MP ultra-wide snapper, a 5MP depth sensor, and a 2MP macro lens.

On the other side, you will find a dual-camera arrangement for selfie with a 32MP primary sensor and an 8MP wide-angle camera.

While the hardware is similar to what we find on the OnePlus 8, the photo quality is far from equal. The HDR doesn’t work as effectively and the phone usually overexposes shots, which leads to the loss of details in unfavorable lighting conditions.

You cannot even rely on the macro lens on anything since it can hardly focus well and is of low quality. Nightscape mode is of little use as it often does a bad job eliminating noise.

If you intend to share any of the photos taken with the Nord, you will need to edit them as they rarely pop in the way you want. For example, pictures of a sunny day will lack dynamic range and overcast skies look unnatural.  

Portrait mode on both the selfie and rear cameras have nothing to write home about. The front cameras have a mediocre edge detection feature and a too strong bokeh effect.

OnePlus 8 is a real leap forward in the photography front for OnePlus but on the Nord, it seems like the company has taken a step back. They aren’t terrible but you will be disappointed if you expect something close to what you have with the OnePlus 8.

If pictures are a big deal for you, you can find better deals on the market at this price point.