The OnePlus Nord 2 smartphone has the best shoes to fill, which can only be blamed on the original OnePlus Nord. Launched last year, the original Nord is worth the money, making the new Nord 2 even harder to work with.
Increasing this pressure, Nord CE 5G was recently launched in India, making it one of the cheapest in the current Nord smartphone series. The result? Expectations of the Nord 2 are very high, and sometimes the new Nord 2 can be seen compared to the original Nord, Nord CE, and OnePlus 9.
Don't be confused with the OnePlus 9 in the comparison list above, there is a note (some swipes / scrolls below) in the image below to understand why we are bringing the Rs 49,999 phone here.
Coincidentally, the new Nord 2 is the first smartphone to be commercially available since the announcement of the Oppo and OnePlus connection.
So, compile for yourself. The OnePlus Nord 2 has to prove and should be offered based on the overall value, as the phone fills a huge gap between the OnePlus Nord CE 5G top-end model, which is available at a starting price of Rs 27,999. OnePlus 9R5G, priced at Rs 39,999.
The MediaTek chipset is said to be the first OnePlus Nord 2 to come with the Dimension 1200-A and is said to have undergone some changes to make it better than other phones with the same chipset. So, the long-standing question is, is it worth buying the new Nord 2 5G more than other competitors in this price segment? I will try to answer that in my review.
OnePlus Nord 2 Overview: OnePlus 9 incarnation with high premium design appeal
If you are a fan or like the original OnePlus North design, be prepared to be disappointed. Launching the all-new OnePlus Nord 2 is not like a phone from the Nord range. The look is subjective, some people may like the design of the OnePlus 9 on the back, but the truth here is that the Nord series has to have its own design philosophy, which I started to appreciate after seeing a standard design. Tools launched so far - OnePlus Nord, My 10 5G My 100, My 200 5G, Nord CE 5G.
Looking at the design from another angle, the OnePlus Nord 2 tries to break that monopoly and bring an update. The only problem with this form is that it is reminiscent of the OnePlus 9. The Nord 2 and OnePlus 9 are placed on a table, and if you want to distinguish between the two, there is only one way, which is based on the LED flash module placement.
When I was with the OnePlus team for the OnePlus 9 a few months ago, they told me that it uses a combination of materials in the back, which is to maintain a certain weight. On the other hand, the OnePlus Nord 2 Corning Gorilla Glass 5 recovers with a layer of glass. To further translate this, WordPlus OnePlus used a premium product on the back of the Nord 2, which is going to sell for a lower price than the primary grade OnePlus 9.
Returning to the design, the OnePlus Nord 2 looks like a beautifully crafted solid smartphone with premium sensitive components, meaning it uses Corning Gorilla Glass 5 on the back. The 6.43-inch AMOLED display dominates the selfie camera in the front left corner. The volume rocker keys on the left are centered while the power button and alarm slider on the right panel is tilted slightly upwards. I loved the touch experience of the buttons, and the curved edges make sure the phone is comfortable in your hand.
As always, the OnePlus Nord 2 was introduced - the Gray Sierra, playing 3D AG glass on the back, which is slim and round, and has a pine-wood look to the green woods. Blue Hayes has a glossy finish that reflects light on the visual look. We got the blue overlay yellow, which looks decent. The good thing is, despite the glass features on the back, the Nord 2 has a better resistant finish, so you don’t have to worry about fingerprints on the back of the phone.
At 8.25mm, the Nord 2 will be thicker than the OnePlus 9. At 189 grams, Node 2 weighs more than the OnePlus 9 (183 grams). Nord 2 is slippery and heavy in everyday use as it uses glass material. Using a hand is not a big question, but I felt the balance of weight and design was not ideal.
OnePlus Nord 2 Review: Bright and decent display at this price
The OnePlus Nord 2 features a 6.80-inch AMOLED display with 1080x2400 pixels and a pixel density of 410 PPI. It comes with a 20: 9 aspect ratio and offers a 90 Hz upgrade rate. As part of the new chipset, the new Nord 2A comes with Super Clarity and AI color boost to enhance the color and gradient of images. The display panel on the Nord 2 is bright and creates natural colors. As a result, the text and images appear sharper. The clarity or visual performance of sunlight under direct sunlight is decent, and it also provides excellent viewing angles.
Some additional features, such as a smart ambient display, adjust the colors and improve reading. However, the AI Color Boost and AI Resolution Boost features do not apply to all Nord 2 applications and functions.
The company tells me that AI Color Boost is compatible with YouTube, MX Player Pro, and VLC, while AI Resolution Boost is compatible with Instagram, Snapshot, and YouTube. These enhancements enhance the overall smart add-ons brought by OnePlus and the overall visual experience. For example, it helps to elevate content in HD resolution, which seems natural, and which is enjoyable.
However, the extent of these features should be noted immediately.
Imagine that you are a person who likes to watch a lot of movies or shows while traveling in your bed, and then the Nord 2 scene will make you happy. The 90 Hz refresh rate softens the cherries on the cake and the animations in everyday use. Visual performance during gaming is enjoyable and we will talk more about this in our performance section.
OnePlus Nord 2 Review: Cameras capture fine detail, but UI needs some tuning
The OnePlus Nord 2 not only borrows design elements from the OnePlus 9 but also gets a similar camera setup. The F2 has a 50-megapixel Sony IMX766 primary sensor with a 1.88 aperture, previously found on the OnePlus 9. The triple camera lineup includes an 8-megapixel ultra-wide camera, 119.7-degree view, EIS, and a 2-megapixel mono lens. The smartphone comes with a dual-LED flash pack with 0.6x-10x zoom. Additionally, there are several autofocus and other camera features such as Nightscape Ultra, AI Photo Enhancement, AI Video Enhancement, Pro Mode, Night Portrait Mode, and much more. On the front, there is a 32-megapixel Sony IMX615 sensor.
The camera UI change is the big difference between the OnePlus 9 and the OnePlus Nord2. The new node brings simple AI enhancements to the camera industry, such as AI visual enhancement and AI beautification that appear in the middle as users modify the lattice. However, I noticed that the camera UI is sometimes a bit substandard, especially when changing the settings before taking each shot. I found that this system gets stuck at some point and moves at its own speed, which can be a bit slow.
Features and features aside, the Nord 2 cameras offer excellent color performance and accurate daytime white balance. Color rendering is beautiful in most scenes. The main camera, in particular, is very efficient and provides ample detail in still photos.
Details and color accuracy are better in indoor scenes than in indoor scenes. It offers a wide range of dynamics and controlled noise in shaded areas. Overnight photo effects are not great, but portrait images are decent with accurate depth ratings.
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Autofocusing is not the fastest we've seen on phones, but it's uphill Acceptable. PTAF works during the day, locking the object faster while decreasing focus in low light conditions. I noticed that in low-light models, there is noise in most photos and even the detail level is reduced.
Low light camera performance will move further down as the ambient light sources decrease. Unfortunately, even Nightscape could not help much in this situation.
As for the mono lens, I failed to understand the love of the OnePlus monochrome lens. Like the OnePlus 9 Series, the Nord 2's mono lens combines details and layers for monochrome or black and white photos with the primary, ultra-wide sensor. The Nord 2's ultra-wide camera delivers beautiful decent performance with precise exposure, adequate color rendering, and protected details.
I loved adding the dual-display video feature that enables both front and rear cameras simultaneously. This will be useful for bloggers and content creators on Instagram. This feature is not new, but it has been around for a long time. Previously, Nokia phones came with this feature and called it "Pothi".
The 32-megapixel selfie camera can take a lot of detailed shots in daylight or natural light. AI does not provide additional support but the results look artificial but also maintains the tone of the original skin. I wanted to turn off the AI settings in my tests because in some cases there were significant improvements.
Overall, the Nord 2 has a lot of cameras that work flawlessly during the day, while low light displays are not ideal and the camera UI needs some adjustment.
OnePlus Nord 2 Overview: Efficient Processor
Performance has been something I want to try out since OnePlus announced the shift of gears from Qualcomm chipset to MediaTek. From the company's point of view, this is a very bold and courageous move, and the future of this federation will depend on how well Nord 2 charges in the performance segment.
It builds the MediaTek Dimensionality 1200-AI processor, where the company argues that the AI bit embedded in the chipset name is not a gimmick and adds several AI-related enhancements that I've talked about in the visual and camera areas.
Well, what's in a name? The big question here is how well Nord 2 works.
My test over the last few days has been showing excellent results. From multitasking to gaming to comprehensive camera use, the Nord 2 can handle everything. I have no problem moving from one app to another, even though there are more than 20 apps open in the background, switching from one to another is not a hindrance for Nord 2.
While gaming, I noticed that Nord 2 handled popular titles like Need for Speed, Asphalt 9, Call of Duty: Mobile, and Battlefield Mobile India. Haptics improves the overall gaming experience.
However, I experienced a minor thermal issue with the rear panel. This may be due to the glass rear panel, but that does not change the fact that the Nord 2 is hot and very hot. It does not force you to shut down all applications and return the phone to idle mode.
Aside from gaming, I had a heating problem when using the camera in detail for about 20-25 minutes, and I feel the whole phone (display, rear panel) is hot right now. OnePlus has added a mandatory closing feature, which closes when the camera app starts to get too hot.
Oxygen OS is one of my favorite custom UIs built on top of Android, which gives one side to the other on OnePlus devices. It runs on Android 11 based Oxygen OS 11.3. Compared to Oppo's ColorOS or Xiaomi's MIUI, OxygenOS feels more personalized.
The OnePlus Nord 2 speakers look great and should be large enough for a person to use for gaming, watching movies, and much more. The stereo speakers work well and are 70 percent clear.
Thanks to the integration of the best display and speakers in the Nord 2, the phone is a great tool for multimedia use such as watching old memories or watching videos. This is a complete package with 5G support, which will set you up for the future. The phone supports dual 5G SIM cards and can never be tested for new features.
Nord 2 also offers a good call quality, where we do not notice any problems when making or receiving calls. The sound was clear enough, and there were no interruptions in terms of equipment. In fact, the OnePlus Nord 2 builds a good antenna because the phone can connect well to networks in weak network zones.
As for the benchmark apps, Nord 2 Charge is the best and gets the best marks in different apps. For example, on the Geekbench score, the Nord 2 received 800 single-core and 2,758 multi-core scores. In the PC Mark Ork 3.0 test, the Nord 2 scored 8,164 points, while in the GFX bench app the phone scored 182 fps on the 1080p T-Rex offscreen and 59 fps in the T-Rex tests. In comparison, these scores were higher than the Nord CEO and the original Nord, which were closer to the OnePlus 9.
Overall, the Nord 2 feels like a great upgrade in terms of performance. However, I would like to acknowledge the minor heat issue in some software updates. Fortunately, this does not happen often.
OnePlus Nord 2 Review: The battery did not disappoint
The OnePlus Nord 2 has a 4500 mAh battery similar to the OnePlus 9, OnePlus 9 Pro, OnePlus 9R, and OnePlus Nord CE5G. It comes with Warp Charge 65 fast charging support and the company claims that it can charge the phone from 0-100 percent in 30 minutes. On paper, the Nord 2 has a larger battery than the original Nord.
The numbers aside, the OnePlus Nord 2 offers some extreme battery performance. A heavy app with apps like WhatsApp, Telegram, LotLook, Gmail, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, and Reddit will last about 25-30 percent a day, and everyday apps that are always open in the background. Additionally, it played two hours of Call of Duty: Mobile, Battlefield Mobile India, Asphalt 9, and more graphic-intensive games to test whether battery life is compromised. This turns out to be the best performance of the Nord 2 in terms of battery.
Warp Charge 65 is useful, where you can charge the phone from 25 percent to 65 percent faster in 20 minutes, which was enjoyable.
OnePlus North 2 Review: Verdict
The whole point of the new Nord series is to give users a run for their money on primary phones by offering a package that the OnePlus device offers at an affordable price. Unfortunately, the starting price is Rs.
The OnePlus Nord 2 starts at Rs 27,999 for 6GB RAM and 128GB storage and is priced at Rs 34,999 for 12GB RAM and 256GB storage. The company has launched the 8GB RAM and 128GB storage model for Rs 29,999.
Overall I like the OnePlus Nord 2 as a product, but nothing inspires me. The resemblance to the OnePlus 9 eliminates the excitement surrounding Nord 2's design. But if you ask me, if this is the real heir of the original node, my answer is yes. Plus, it has some of the essentials under the hood power that can attract a lot of users.
Speaking of the overall package, Nord 2 fixes most things. The design comes from a premium device, so you should be happy to pay less for it, and the processor is more efficient. The cameras are ideal for daytime viewing and come with some interesting AI enhancements. The display is also decent and the battery will impress you.
The small heating problem I noticed when using the camera app to shoot photos and videos while doing advanced gaming is not that big. This has never been a problem, but OnePlus would do well to fix it (perhaps through future software updates). Another problem I encountered was the non-standard camera UI, which got stuck several times in a particular setting and moved its comfortable time. Again, OnePlus can fix this with a software update, so no big deal. Finally, the low light performance of the cameras will be average.
For the past few days, I have been experimenting with the limitations of the Nord 2, whether it is a gaming or camera use or a general use case. That's good. So, if you have a budget and want a good and solid phone, Nord 2 will be your choice.
For power users who want the best, they can go for the OnePlus 9R which is available for Rs 39,999. This is a phone that targets gamers, doubling it as your primary tool for work and play. One day, Poco will release its new Pogo F3 GT with the same chipset as the Nord 2. I think the pricing is important.
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