OnePlus Nord review

Our Verdict

The OnePlus Nord should be your new default selection for a midrange Android telephone. It's already a deal for the tech information technology offers, simply combined with OnePlus' hardware and software design sensibilities, the Nord manages to feel special despite its low price.

For

Affordable price
Vi cameras
90Hz refresh rate
Polished design for a budget phone
First-class battery life

Against

Macro photographic camera is ineffective
Average performance
Lacks wireless charging
No US availability

Tom's Guide Verdict

The OnePlus Nord should be your new default choice for a midrange Android phone. It's already a bargain for the tech it offers, but combined with OnePlus' hardware and software design sensibilities, the Nord manages to feel special despite its low price.

Pros

+
Affordable price
+
Six cameras
+
90Hz refresh rate
+
Polished design for a upkeep phone
+
First-class battery life

Cons

-
Macro camera is ineffective
-
Average performance
-
Lacks wireless charging
-
No US availability

OnePlus Nord specs

Starting price: £379, £469
Brandish: half-dozen.44-inch AMOLED (2400x1080; 90Hz)
CPU: Snapdragon 765G
RAM: 8GB, 12GB
Storage: 128GB, 256GB
SD Card slot: None
Rear photographic camera: 48MP wide (ƒ/i.75); 8MP ultrawide; 5MP depth (ƒ/2.4); 2MP macro (ƒ/two.4)
Front camera: 32MP (ƒ/2.45) and 8MP ultrawide (ƒ/2.45)
Battery: four,115 mAh
Charging: 30W wired
Security: In-display fingerprint, 2D face unlock
Operating arrangement: Android x with OxygenOS 10.v
Colors: Blue Marble, Gray Onyx
Size: half-dozen.23 x 2.88 x 0.32 inches (158.3 x 73.3 x 8.2 mm)
Weight: 6.49 ounces (184 grams)

The OnePlus Nord is proof that you don't take to build a budget telephone by subtraction. OnePlus hasn't made its new entry-level model by removing or downgrading the features of its flagship telephone, or reviving an old model with a new coat of paint. Rather, the Nord is the product of a whole new design with high-quality components and features. And every bit this OnePlus Nord review will demonstrate, the resulting device is both an exciting piece of tech and an easily-rationalized purchase.

Different other phones at this price, OnePlus has chosen to add together some luxurious touches, like a 90Hz refresh rate display, an attractive glass back design and a whopping six cameras across the forepart and dorsum. The overall performance — specially when information technology comes to processing power— is about what y'all'd expect for the price. However, the phone feels so good to use moment-to-moment you'll never feel like you're missing out on the flagship Android experience by buying a cheaper handset.

Check the Nord's competition: The best Android phones
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OnePlus Nord vs OnePlus viii: What'southward different?

If you want the best tech OnePlus has to offer, consider going for the OnePlus viii instead, or even the OnePlus viii Pro if y'all don't mind the higher price. If you lot desire to stick to the $400 marking, and then you may want to wait and see what Google offers in the upcoming Pixel 4a, or look to Apple's new iPhone SE. Just as things stand up currently, telephone buyers on a modest budget should accept the Nord at the acme of their shortlist. It'south ane of the all-time phones of the year, and information technology just and so happens to exist kind to your wallet.

OnePlus Nord review: Toll and availability

Currently the OnePlus Nord is just bachelor for purchase in Europe and India, although OnePlus is considering bringing the Nord to the The states at a later date if the telephone sells well. If that uncertainty won't practice, then until July 28 you can try to sign up to exist one of 50 North American beta testers for the Nord.

Yous can pick up the Nord for either £379 for the bones model with 8GB RAM and 128GB storage, or spend £469 on the 12GB RAM and 256GB version. That converts to $482 and $597 respectively, which fits with OnePlus' continued assurance that the Nord is a sub-$500 phone.

OnePlus Nord review: Pattern and colors

The Nord's chassis belies its cost, looking both premium and modern. That's a combination that'south hard to find on phones in this price range.

The total-screen display immediately makes the Nord await attractive, even if the double-width punch-hole photographic camera notch in the top left corner is a lot more conspicuous than other punch-holes. The display is flat, rather than the more premium curved sides that some Android phones become, but it'south non something I missed. If anything, sometimes having apartment sides tin can be easier to employ gesture navigation with, as information technology helps you avoid the irritating accidental presses that were more than common on the OnePlus 8 Pro.

On the back of the OnePlus Nord, yous take a slightly curved glass panel — which feels very comfy to concord — with a camera block in the top left corner, and some simple logos for ornament. It's a very minimalist look, only that's always been OnePlus' goal, and information technology's one I call back is e'er worth pursuing.

The overall telephone is fairly large, measuring 6.2 10 two.9 x 0.iii inches and weighing 6.five ounces. It seems all the more colossal when you lot compare the Nord to the iPhone SE (five.5 x 2.seven x 0.3 inches and 5.two ounces) and the Pixel 3a (6 ten 2.8 x 0.3 inches and five.ii ounces). Just most of that extra size comes in the course of the Nord'due south height, not its width, which would cause more problems for people with pocket-size hands.

Perhaps OnePlus' most unfortunate habit is neglecting to have its phones IP tested for dust and water resistance. While it did examination the OnePlus 8 Pro, the Nord has no official rating. OnePlus claims the phone is water resistant, merely there'due south no guarantee, so you won't have the peace of mind you'd get with the IP67-rated iPhone SE.

For color options, you tin can pick between Marble Blue or Grayness Onyx. Our OnePlus Nord review unit was in blueish, and I really like its sleeky and cheerful appearance. The blue is likewise nowadays on the metal side rail of the telephone, which gives the phone an attractive design element to adore even if you have it screen upwardly.

OnePlus Nord review: Display

OnePlus has fitted an FHD half dozen.44-inch AMOLED display to the Nord, which would exist praiseworthy plenty on its own. But OnePlus besides gave it a 90Hz refresh rate, a feature you lot don't expect to find on a phone of this price. Taken together, it's the best display I've tried at this price range, and I don't come across information technology existence easily beaten.

Watching Michaela Coel's sitcom Chewing Mucilage on the Nord was great fun, equally the display excellently rendered the foreign and colorful filter the evidence casts over London's Tower Hamlets. Trying out something moodier with the trailer for Netflix'due south Cursed, the OLED panel did what it does all-time and really brought out the blacks of the shadow-cast scenery, while still making the magic effects await heady and dangerous.

The panel is rated for a maximum brightness of i,000 nits with HDR enabled, or 700 nits normally. We weren't able to measure the brightness ourselves to confirm this, simply I had piddling problem reading the screen when I took the Nord out for a walk on a sunny 24-hour interval. I was carrying the iPhone SE with me at the same time, and its dimmer LCD display (rated for 625 nits) proved much harder to read without turning it constantly to endeavor and deflect the glare.

OnePlus Nord review: Cameras

While rival mid-range phones often accept just one camera each forepart and back, OnePlus has outdone itself by fitting six total cameras to the Nord, which is one more than than information technology gave its flagship OnePlus 8 Pro.

On the back, you have a 48MP main camera, 8MP ultra wide photographic camera, 5MP depth sensor and 2MP macro camera. Meanwhile, on the front in that location'southward a 32MP primary camera and 8MP ultra wide selfie photographic camera.

That's a whole lot of lenses. Even so, OnePlus has historically struggled to keep up with other companies when it comes to photo quality, non quantity of eyes. Unfortunately, here is where nosotros run into some of those weaknesses render.

Have this close-up shot of a thistle, using the principal rear photographic camera on the Nord and the single rear camera on the iPhone SE. In terms of image fidelity, it's besides close to telephone call a winner. Merely the color is what makes the departure. The OnePlus' image is much colder, something yous notice with pictures from the OnePlus 8 and viii Pro too, be that because of the sensor or OnePlus' post-processing. Meanwhile, the iPhone SE's film stands in contrast, making the greenish of the background and the imperial of the flower expect its best.

I besides tried this shot with the Nord's 2MP macro camera. We at Tom'due south Guide are not big fans of macro cameras, since they seem to ofttimes exist added onto mid-range and budget devices just so the manufacturer can crash-land upwards the sensor count, rather than for whatever major benefit to the user. I'll admit this is probably the best image I've ever got from a smartphone'due south macro camera, and I like the sense of depth it gives to the scene. Simply with murky colors like this, I still meet no reason not to take close-ups with the main sensor instead when possible.

Every bit a secondary test of the main lenses, I tried this scene of a woods path. Since the background of this shot is a lot darker, the higher resolution sensor on the Nord can come up into its ain. Being able to make out the leaves on the shaded trees means the OnePlus easily beats the iPhone here, although they're tied if I merely await at the foreground.

Finally, I waited until nightfall to try out the Nord's Nightscape depression-light mode. I was expecting information technology to conquer the iPhone here, since Apple hasn't fitted the SE with a dark way, different its flagship iPhones. Sure enough, the Nord gives you the colors and detail you demand to appreciate the tree, while the iPhone SE can only capture the same scene in gloomy hues that muddy the details in the leaves and tree bark.

Some other sensor the Nord benefits from is an ultra wide sensor, which I tried out with a shot of these trees on the side of a golf class. There'south not really any way to compare the iPhone SE here, it only has a regular, single wide lens for its camera. All I tin can say is that at to the lowest degree the Nord can produce an ultra wide image, though I'd exist curious to meet how it compares to an equivalent photographic camera on a more expensive smartphone.

Trying out a Portrait mode shot with the OnePlus was a pleasant surprise, thank you to the 5MP depth sensor that rounds out the quartet of cameras. It means you lot can become bokeh and other photo effects on whatever shot you lot like, while the iPhone SE's software-merely solution requires a homo face before it can start to figure out where to blur the background. Then when I took these shots of Holly the beagle, the iPhone moaned that it couldn't detect a face, while the OnePlus but applied some bokeh to the background, resulting in a pretty decent shot.

As a fairer test of the two phones' special effects skills, I turned on portrait mode again to examination the selfie cameras. With its depth sensor advantage gone, the Nord nonetheless turns out a practiced shot, with a overnice strongly defined foreground and background. The iPhone SE does much the same, except the colors are more saturated. I don't think the color temperature difference hither is every bit large a trouble for the Nord as it was in our earlier thistle comparison, but information technology'south still enough for me to declare the SE's image the better one here.

At that place'south withal one more Nord camera to wait at: the ultra broad selfie camera. To testify what it tin do, here's a normal landscape selfie taken with the Nord'south chief forepart camera.

And below is what the same shot looks similar with the ultra-wide sensor instead.

Yous get and then much extra selfie space with this sensor enabled, which is great if you have a large mural to capture or many friends to fit into a shot. But since there's still a moderate lockdown in the U.K., I don't accept either, so you'll take to enjoy how much more of the trees and shrubs behind me yous tin see instead.

You can't dispute the fact that OnePlus is offering a diverse range of photo options on the Nord. The macro lens is a waste of space every bit far as I'chiliad concerned, but the rest of them produce good shots, with a few chirapsia the grade-leading iPhone SE thanks to OnePlus' more generous hardware and the smart inclusion of Nightscape mode.

OnePlus Nord review: Functioning

The Nord has a tough time when it comes to specs, because no matter how skilful information technology is, the phone volition always pale in comparison to the iPhone SE. There's nix incorrect with the Snapdragon 765G scrap inside OnePlus' handset, specially paired with the maximum 12GB RAM (8GB on the base model). Simply the A13 chip inside the budget iPhone is a flagship-level piece of silicon that can beat even the Snapdragon 865 chipset that sits one whole tier above the Nord's silicon in Qualcomm'south pecking order.

In the all-round Geekbench 5 test, the Nord scored 602 on the single cadre trial and 1948 on the multicore one. The iPhone SE achieved ane,337 for single core and 3,226 for multicore, marking the Nord'south inevitable defeat to the A13 scrap.

In 3DMark'due south Sling Shot OpenGL graphics benchmark, the Nord scored 4,521. That's much improve than the Pixel 3a's 1,602, but it's an unfair comparison since Google's phone is over a twelvemonth onetime and uses a Snapdragon 6-series chipset, the next level downward from the vii-series system-on-chip in the Nord. It volition exist interesting to see how the Nord fares against the Pixel 4a, but that phone has yet to emerge from Google'southward stable.

When information technology comes to storage space, OnePlus has been quite generous notwithstanding over again. The cheapest Nord comes with 128GB of chapters, while the more expensive version gets 256GB. The Pixel 3a and iPhone SE only offer 64GB by default, with their initially bonny prices going steadily college if y'all want similar storage space to the Nord.

Information technology'southward briefly worth mentioning here the speakers built into the Nord. They produce sound at a decently high volume, even though listening to Tyler, the Creator'southward album Igor revealed they're a bit treble heavy. More than notably, the speakers don't fire in stereo, different the iPhone SE's. It'due south ane of the few premium features that OnePlus hasn't tried to squeeze into the Nord. It'southward a weakness, but not one that should carp potential buyers too much.

OnePlus Nord review: 5G connectivity

The Snapdragon 765G bit gives the Nord compatibility with the common sub-6Ghz 5G networks found in the U.K. and nigh of the U.Southward. However, there's no sign of millimeter-moving ridge (mmWave) support, pregnant this won't be a good choice if you lot're a Verizon 5G customer in the US.

OnePlus does offering a unique OnePlus 8 handset that does work with mmWave though, so peradventure if the Nord e'er makes it to the U.Due south., the company might consider adding mmWave connectivity.

OnePlus Nord review: Bombardment and charging

At four,115 mAh, the battery in the OnePlus Nord is larger than what yous'd detect in some flagship phones. Information technology'south also more than twice as large every bit the battery in the iPhone SE; one of the most notable weaknesses of Apple'southward cheap handset. OnePlus phones take tended to perform slightly to a higher place boilerplate at best when it comes to battery life, then the Nord is already in a good place.

Nosotros used a modified version of our custom bombardment examination on the Nord, letting the battery drain from total while the phone browsed the spider web over an LTE data connection until it ran out of ability. With the screen's effulgence gear up to 50%, and the display refresh rate set to its basic 60Hz, the Nord lasted xi hours and 18 minutes before information technology ran out of juice. (Unremarkably, in our tests, we ready the screen to 150 nits of brightness, so this isn't an official result.)

Deport in mind that yous won't get as long a run fourth dimension if you put the Nord'southward brandish on its maximum 90Hz refresh charge per unit, merely this is a very good event. It beats the OnePlus viii (eleven:04) and OnePlus 8 Pro (xi:05), which would usually country it a spot on our best phone battery life listing.

Keep in heed that we tin can't directly compare this score with our other battery life tests until we get the Nord to our proper testing lab for verification. Even so, since the Pixel 3a managed 11 hours and 59 minutes on the official test, and iPhone SE managed 9 hours and 18 minutes, information technology'southward rubber to say that the OnePlus Nord is quite efficient overall.

Charging up the Nord again once it's empty doesn't take long. The phone comes with the aforementioned Warp Charge 30T block that OnePlus too throws in the box for the OnePlus viii series. While not the fastest charging tech around, the charger nonetheless delivers ability speedily. OnePlus estimates you tin can become to 70% full from empty in 30 minutes of charging; in our own testing nosotros got the Nord to 68% full in the same time.

In that location's no wireless charging option on the Nord, a defective feature it shares with the Google Pixel 3a. The iPhone SE does have wireless charging though, thanks to its borrowed iPhone viii trunk. While wireless charging can exist user-friendly, and will but become more mutual in cheap phones in the next few years, I don't miss it on the Nord, particularly since it uses the incredibly mutual USB-C connector, which you should be able to find anywhere you go.

If yous're concerned about keeping your bombardment in tip-top status for equally long as possible, so you lot'll be pleased with the Nord'due south optimized charging feature. After learning what times of the solar day you tend to charge your phone (e.g. overnight while you lot sleep), the Nord volition then limit the telephone'south total charge to 80% during most of its fourth dimension plugged in, reducing the strain on the battery. It will then only charge the last xx% only before you're due to unplug the phone, meaning the battery spends less time at the more stressful higher percentages, keeping it in amend health for longer.

OnePlus Nord review: Software and security

I'1000 so happy to see OxygenOS ten.five appear on the Nord, equally information technology's an first-class take on Android 10. Information technology's attractive to await at and navigate through, and only has a few pre-installed apps taking upwardly space in storage. The blithe wallpaper and the way apps popular in and out of focus are pretty minor parts of the Nord experience, but they look bully and brand swiping through menus and apps really enjoyable, especially with the 90Hz brandish on.

There'south no large special features to mention, just lots of welcome improvements to the basic Android feel. One I particularly appreciate is the ability to access the notification shade by swiping down anywhere on the display, and the app drawer by swiping upwards. With the display on the Nord existence as large equally it is, users with small hands may take found it tricky to use the phone normally without having to constantly conform their grip. This single optimization makes the Nord so much easier to use, almost rivaling the naturally compact interfaces of the iPhone SE or Pixel 3a.

OnePlus has given the Nord the usual Android unlock method of a sub-display fingerprint sensor, which is a nice touch since it likely would have been cheaper to mount the fingerprint reader on the back of the telephone instead.

You can likewise use second facial recognition in tandem with this. It's less secure than using your fingerprint and thus but an choice for unlocking the device, but information technology is a nice addition. I had no problem with reliability or speed either, as information technology unlocks just equally quickly as the Face up ID on my iPhone 11 Pro does.

OnePlus Nord review: Verdict

The Nord isn't meant to exist a flagship phone, but it offers enough of a premium experience that it'south as enjoyable to use as a much more expensive device. Sure, I wish OnePlus would rethink some of its photographic camera choices, and it'd be overnice if the chipset offered a bit more muscle. But I'd still recommend this to anyone looking for an Android device — particularly those who accept a look at the thou-dollar prices of flagship Androids and cringe in fright.

The Nord easily dispatches the Pixel 3a, but you're unlikely to be considering the 3a if you're looking to buy a phone right at present, given that it was recently dropped by Google and is on the cusp of being replaced. The Pixel 4a — if and when Google finally releases that rumored phone — will be the Nord's biggest challenger. It's rumored to be cheaper than even the well-priced OnePlus phone, will likely have splendid photography based on Google's previous Pixels and will offering a similar high-quality Android experience. For the time being though, the OnePlus Nord is easily the all-time inexpensive Android phone you tin purchase.

That simply leaves the matter of the iPhone SE. Some users are just going to prefer Apple tree or Google's interfaces, no affair what the hardware offers, then it's difficult to really call i better than the other. Only say you're platform agnostic. If hardware quality is even a small-scale priority for you, then given OnePlus' crawly display, excellent battery life and more than versatile cameras, I don't recollect the iPhone SE's wireless charging or superior chipset makes information technology worth passing up the chance to own a Nord.

More: OnePlus Buds vs Apple AirPods: Which wireless earbuds are best?

Richard is a Tom'due south Guide staff author based in London, covering news, reviews and how-tos for phones, gaming, sound and whatever else people need advice on. Post-obit on from his MA in Magazine Journalism at the University of Sheffield, he's also written for WIRED U.Thousand., The Register and Artistic Bloq. When non at work, he's likely thinking almost how to brew the perfect cup of specialty java.