OnePlus Nord 2 Review – Catching Up on the Hype

• the Oneplus Nord 2 is the company’s latest offering for those looking for a balance between price and performance.
• Nord 2 starts at 27,999 for the 6GB RAM variant and there are 8GB and 12GB RAM variants as well.
• This is a huge upgrade from the original North, released last year.

When OnePlus introduced the North series in 2020, it was the start of a new segment for the company, which is essentially where it started seven years ago in terms of pricing. The OnePlus Nord 2, as the name suggests, is the successor to the original Nord, which was well received in the Indian market. The reason for this was its relatively affordable price with the experience of a OnePlus phone which has been the main selling point for most OnePlus devices.

Still, last year was different as Nord was the company’s only smartphone in the mid-range segment, but now there’s the Nord CE which makes the company’s portfolio of smartphones even more confusing for those looking for a phone with it. a limited budget. The company, however, is launching the North 2 to bridge the gap between its flagship phones and affordable prices North CE give consumers more options with less compromise.

There are a number of reasons the Nord 2 is a worthy phone. Starting as the first device to launch after OnePlus’ integration with Oppo, the company’s first smartphone to offer a MediaTek chipset. But in my review, I chose to ignore these factors and look at the value-for-money proposition that OnePlus has sold to its customers. Although I have spent over ten days with the Nord 2, this will only give you an idea of ​​how well the device performs when new. Long-term performance usually deteriorates, but OnePlus phones have a good track record on this front so far.

So let’s see what makes it relevant as it sits between North CE and 9R.

OnePlus Nord 2 price in India

Publicity

---

The price of the North 2 in India starts at 27,999 for the base 6GB RAM and 128GB storage model and goes up to 34,999 for the 12GB RAM and 256GB storage model. an 8GB RAM and 128GB storage model priced at 29,999.

How to use the OnePlus Nord 2?

The short answer to this question is simple – how well the company advertises it. Design-wise, the Nord 2 is a mix of the original Nord and OnePlus 9-series smartphones. I say this because the rear of the device is identical to its predecessor, and the camera module in top left looks a lot like it is on the OnePlus 9 series. It definitely looks cooler than the Nord CE, and credit goes to the camera module with two large lenses giving it a modern vibe.

It comes in three color variants, where the gray and blue variants feature a glass back and the green variant has a leather feel. It is 8.25mm thick and weighs around 190 grams.

If you’re bored of the glass back finish and want to try something a little different, green is for you. It has Gorilla Glass 5 on the front and back, and is a well-made phone overall, feels sturdy, looks good, the button placement is on point, and the screen of 6.43 inch can be used with one hand without stretching unless you have small hands. Its appearance might not turn heads, but you also can’t call it boring.

When you unlock the phone, you are treated with the same screen as the original North and North CE. It’s a 6.43-inch AMOLED with a 90Hz refresh rate and Full HD resolution. The screen is crisp, bright, and very responsive, which is one of the best features of most OnePlus phones. However, it’s not the best display we’ve seen in this price range. As for the toppings, it features AI improvements like “AI Color Boost” and “AI Resolution Boost” which improve content for apps like YouTube, Instagram, Snapchat and a few others.

All of these AI features make their debut with the modified version of Oxygen OS 11.3 sharing Oppo’s ColorOS 11.3 codebase. If you’re not a keen user of the UI, you might not even notice what has changed, but if you observe closely, the entire camera app is borrowed from ColorOS from Oppo. There are also some tweaks in the settings menu. Fonts, icons, and animations, however, are still unchanged. While this is new to OnePlus phones, it’s not worth complaining about as long as it works well. In my experience, the software was fast and well optimized. However, you may have to start living with the intersection of Oppo and OnePlus, as future phones are very likely to have these elements.

The Nord 2 comes with an impressive set of stereo speakers similar to the OnePlus 9 Pro. The fingerprint sensor is also very fast and responsive. I usually keep the haptic vibration turned off, but it’s worth renting on the Nord 2. The haptics are equivalent to that seen on high-end phones from Apple and Samsung.

Nord 2 performances, games and drums

The Nord 2 is the first OnePlus phone to feature a MediaTek chipset. It includes the MediaTek Dimensity 1200, which is a Qualcomm 870 equivalent that is seen on phones like the Mi 11X and iQOO 7.

It’s hard to tell the difference between a Snapdragon powered OnePlus phone or the Nord 2 in everyday use. He can handle almost anything you throw at him with ease. The only unusual experience was to heat up while playing for a long time. I played about 4-5 rounds of “find and destroy” on Call of Duty: Mobile at maximum graphics settings only to find that it is a little warmer than usual.

While heating was a concern, what’s impressive here is battery performance. The Nord 2 has the same 65W Dash Charge technology as the more expensive 9 Series. It charges from 0-100 in 35 minutes and delivers a screen-per-hour over six hours with medium to high usage and can last a day if you don’t use it more often.

It’s a good daily driver for anyone between an aggressive phone user and a light user. Even if you find that the battery drains faster, the 65W charge should keep you tidy in most cases.

OnePlus Nord 2 camera performance

The Nord 2 has a tri-camera setup where the 50-megapixel main camera uses a Sony IMX766 sensor with an f / 1.8 aperture. It’s the same sensor seen on the flagship Oppo Find X3 Pro, which is a camera beast. The other two are an 8-megapixel ultra-wide sensor and a 2-megapixel monochrome sensor.

If there is a huge difference between the Nord CE and the Nord 2, it’s the performance of the camera. With its visibly larger camera lenses, the Nord 2 captures natural depth of field, precise colors and plenty of detail in daylight.

It’s a great pocket camera on a budget if you like clicking photos. Not only that, it also clicks amazing photos in low light.

There is hardly any phone in its price range that can compete with its low-light camera performance from the rear and front cameras.

The ultra-wide lens is also much improved over its predecessor. It now captures sharper wide-angle shots with much better dynamic range.

The same goes for the front camera, as it captures great detail with color. It performs AI facial correction to improve skin tone and smoothness, but it’s minimal and looks great in photos, videos, and even video calls.

The portraits from the front and rear cameras are also quite impressive. The depth effect doesn’t look artificial, as it captures great detail on the subject and treats the gradual blur of the background like real bokeh.

The Nord 2’s video performance is also worth its price. It offers 4K at 30 fps from the rear and 1080 at 60 fps from the front camera. The microphone quality, autofocus speed, and OIS make it a suitable camera for vloggers and content creators.

What could have been better?

OnePlus packed the Nord 2 quite competitively. If you compare it to the competition, the only area where it might lose an edge might be gaming, but it’s also negligible as the difference isn’t noticeable in overall performance. There are better options for smartphone gamers, so that’s one of the reasons hardcore gamers might want to ignore it in this price bracket.

Should we buy it?

The Nord 2 is an easily recommendable smartphone in the 30,000 price range. The best variant to choose is the 8GB + 128GB, as 8GB of RAM is sufficient for most of the tasks you would expect to do on your smartphone. The 12GB RAM and 256GB variant costs 5,000 more and should only be an option if you are a very aggressive user and 128GB will not be enough.

Compared to its predecessor, its competitors, the Nord 2 offers an excellent camera set for its price, and the 65W load is another much appreciated convenience. So if you don’t need a phone primarily for gaming, the Nord 2 has everything one could ask for.

SEE ALSO:

Oppo Reno 6 Pro 5G review – buy it if you want a mid-range smartphone with cool camera features

Nothing to Hear (1) review – clear sound, transparent design for victory