The new smartphone from OnePlus is created in the best traditions of the brand: a budget model that can compete with more expensive high-level competitors. All the details about the new product are collected in the review Three. Go!
Design
The OnePlus Nord 2 5G is available in three colors: Gray Sierra, Blue Haze and Green Woods – the latter not available in Europe. The type of coating in colors is somewhat different. But in all cases, Gorilla Glass 5 is used as the material – on both sides.
Three notes that the design of the Nord 2 5G is clearly inspired by the more expensive OnePlus 9. The screen is flat. The joints between the body elements are very smooth. For the sake of economy, the frame of the device is made of plastic. However, the dimensions are relatively small. This makes the Nord 2 5G suitable for users with small hands.
There is no official waterproofing. But OnePlus claims that all their devices are internally tested and therefore are not afraid of fresh water. However, damage due to flooding is not covered by the warranty. Therefore, users should not experiment with moisture. Out of curiosity, we at the Three online store tried to wet the smartphone under running tap water. He survived this ordeal without any consequences. At least you cannot be afraid of drops on the body of the gadget.
Display
OnePlus Nord 2 5G received an AMOLED display with a resolution of 2400 x 1080 pixels.
The diagonal is about the same as its predecessor, but the brightness is much higher. Of course, this AMOLED is no match for Samsung’s 1000+ cd/m2 displays in terms of brightness, but still a good 594 cd/m2 on a white background. The uniformity of the glow distribution is very high – 99%.
Performance – Powerful Mediatek chipset
The Mediatek Dimensity 1200 chipset installed in the smartphone is designed to compete with powerful chips from other manufacturers. According to test results, the OnePlus Nord 2 5G is noticeably faster than its predecessor and even outperforms some smartphones based on Qualcomm Snapdragon 700-series chips, such as the Samsung Galaxy A52 5G.
The integrated graphics of the Mali-G77 MP9 are compelling. Its performance is twice as high as that of the corresponding accelerator of its predecessor. The built-in neuroprocessor turned out to be powerful, which was optimized jointly by OnePlus and Mediatek.
Equipment – Lots of memory
The OnePlus Nord 2 5G has inherited the cost and memory configuration from its predecessor. In the Three online store, you can buy versions:
- 8/128 GB;
- 12/256 GB.
However, the built-in memory itself, while maintaining the price, has become faster and better. The UFS 3.1 drive is now installed inside. Among smartphones of this price range, this type of memory is still very rare. But there is no microSD slot. This is, of course, a disadvantage. Therefore, it will not work to expand the amount of memory. Only the cheaper OnePlus Nord N10 5G and Nord N100 have a memory card slot.
The USB Type-C port on the bottom side only supports the outdated USB 2.0 protocol and also serves to output an audio signal (the smartphone does not have a standard 3.5 mm jack). The model also carries an NFC module on board and supports Bluetooth 5.2.
Software
Out of the box, the smartphone runs on OxygenOS 11.3, which is based on Android 11. The proprietary shell offers a standard interface with the ability to conveniently customize for each user. An example is the ability to select the shape of icons.
By default, there are branded applications in the system, as well as several third-party ones, including Netflix. Most of them can be removed by regular means. The smartphone is DRM L1 certified and therefore capable of playing copyrighted content in HD resolution.
The system security patch is dated June 2021 and therefore is up-to-date. Three notes: the manufacturer promises to release firmware updates for two years. Also, security updates for three years since the release of the model.
Camera
There are fewer cameras compared to the previous model. Removed macro lens. The resolution of the camera that is used to recognize the depth of the field has completely decreased. But this did not affect the quality of the shooting.
The resolution of the main camera, on the contrary, has grown – up to 50 MP. The sensor has optical stabilization. This is not the case for all models of this price category. The detail of the pictures is good. But the clarity is not the best. The quality of shooting in low light is good and even the contrast is normal. The dynamic range is somewhat worse than we would like.
The wide-angle camera shoots quite well. But you should not enlarge the pictures when viewing them in the gallery. Detail is worse than the main camera. Seamless switching between cameras to implement seamless zoom is not supported. The user can only manually select the camera to shoot.
For video, the main and wide-angle cameras are available. The maximum supported resolution is 4K at 30 fps. And at FHD resolution 60 fps available. During video recording, switching between cameras is not supported. Various video filters are available in the standard camera settings. Autofocus during shooting is fast and accurate. Adaptation to changes in illumination occurs smoothly and quickly.
Three concludes that this is an excellent gadget for its price range. The smartphone meets all modern requirements. It is, however, quite fast.