OnePlus Nord CE 5G: the good and bad things (review)
New on the OnePlus shelf is the Nord CE 5G. Is it something? We found out for you in this OnePlus Nord CE 5G review!
We are quite enthusiastic about the OnePlus Nord line. At least, the original Nord really stood out. Last year, the tech giant from China also unveiled the Nord N10 5G. An interesting smartphone for 299 euros. That phone has received a successor in the form of the OnePlus Nord CE 5G that we will discuss in this review. Same competitive price tag, but improved hardware. Sounds good. Here are the good and bad things about the new Nord phone.
Contents
Good
1. Good housing
OnePlus is known for a smartphone manufacturer that does things a little differently, but in a good way. They make high-quality phones that usually don’t feel cheap. That is no different with the OnePlus Nord CE 5G, as we discovered with this review. For a smartphone of 299 euros, the device feels nice and premium.
In fact. In my opinion, the rear is nicer than that of the much more expensive 9 Pro. This is due to the matte finish. The chosen material is not sensitive to fingerprints. In addition, it does not reflect when you look at the back. In short, just fat for each other.
2. Good hardware, including headphone jack
Also thick for each other is the hardware of the smartphone. The OnePlus Nord CE 5G is equipped with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 750G 5G and an Adreno 619 GPU. According to OnePlus, you can also play decent games with this smartphone.
There are several versions. With 6 GB, 8 GB or 12 GB RAM. And 128 GB or 256 GB storage. The battery has a capacity of 4,500mAh. The display is 6.43-inch and has a resolution of 2400 x 1080 pixels. This is a so-called 90 Hz Fluid AMOLED display.
The headphone jack is back. That will sound good to many OnePlus fans. The 3.5mm input for your headphones can be found at the bottom of the phone. Next to the USB-C input for the charger.
Furthermore, the smartphone is 159.2 mm long. 73.5mm wide and 7.9mm. The weight is 170 grams, which is comfortable in the hand. The camera on the back consists of three pieces. A 64 megapixel primary camera. An 8 megapixel Ultra Wide Camera with a viewing angle of 119 degrees. And a 2 megapixel mono lens. Check out some photos below that we took with the OnePlus Nord CE 5G.
3. Fast Charging
A small, but still nice update for fast charging. The OnePlus Nord CE 5G is equipped with Warp Charge 30T Plus. This means that the smartphone can be charged for 70 percent in half an hour. It’s not nearly as fast as its more expensive siblings, but certainly a welcome feature.
4. OxygenOS
A plus of actually every OnePlus smartphone is OxygenOS. This is a very ‘clean’ version of Android. That is, without bloatware junk and other unnecessary apps you don’t want. Every OnePlus, including this new Nord smartphone, is equipped with OxygenOS. To be precise OxygenOS based on Android 11.
5. The price
The smartphone has a competitive entry price. Just like its predecessor. That is 299 euros for the variant with 6 GB RAM and 128 GB storage. The version with 8 GB of RAM and 128 GB of storage costs 329 euros. The top model, the version with 12 GB RAM and 256 GB storage, costs 399 euros. This makes OnePlus a good match with the competitors. The unique thing about a OnePlus is the software and the beautiful quality smartphone. A Samsung from the Galaxy A series can best be described as a solid competitor for the Nord series from OnePlus.
bad
Yes, those were five good things. That means it’s not all hosanna to the OnePlus Nord CE 5G, of course. We cover the bad points of the OnePlus Nord CE 5G, which we discovered during the review.
1. Buttons
While the body of the smartphone is beautiful, the buttons are certainly not. OnePlus has opted for somewhat cheaper buttons. Then we are talking about the volume buttons and the on/off button. There are also no more buttons. They feel something cheap which detracts a bit from the rest of the phone.
2. No OnePlus Slider
You choose a OnePlus Android smartphone not only for OxygenOS, but also for the well-known slider. Quite unique on an Android smartphone is the slider on the right. With this you can set the smartphone to silent, vibrate or turn on the sound for notifications.
OnePlus has chosen to omit this with the Nord CE 5G. That is too bad! According to OnePlus, buyers in this segment are not waiting for it. Not a very strong argument in our opinion. With the slider in combination with the headphone jack, the Nord CE would have been a real winner in its segment.
Conclusion
With five good things and only two bad things, we can conclude from this review that the new OnePlus Nord CE 5G is highly recommended! The lack of the iconic OnePlus slide remains a shame. If you really want that, you can purchase the Nord for a hundred euros more. Then you do have a smartphone that is already a year old. And it doesn’t have a headphone jack. Choices, choices…
