There are mid-range phones that promise you the moon but end up using smog as an excuse on a full-moon night. And then there is OnePlus, which lately seems to focus on getting a few things right. Its Nord category of phones is meant for the budget user, who need not compromise on the experience of using a phone. Read: Ad-free day-to-day usage with zero lags. The OnePlus Nord 2 5G is an good example of offering features that matter and you will use.
Uncomplicated design
The more I used the Nord 2 over 10-odd days, the more I stopped grudging about the absence of a few flagship features because I don’t use them anyway. There are no Hasselblad-branded cameras on this phone. And I don’t miss it. There’s no Qualcomm chipset. But a very able MediaTek Dimensity 1200-AI greets the user. There’s no wireless charging. But you get a very fast wired charging. These are things that matter.
The camera is fast enough to take a burst of shots. The Telegraph
On unboxing, the design is what you expect of OnePlus — clean, simple and practical. A biggish device with a 6.43-inch Fluid AMOLED display that supports 90Hz refresh rate, the phone immediately wins me over by the placement of the keys. The power button and the alert slider are on the right hand side while the volume rocker is on the left, which makes things less confusing and taking screenshots is easy. What is missing is the 3.5mm jack but the world has started to accept that it’s a feature of the past. More of this later.
Frankly, there is nothing to complain about the display because it’s big, bright and the colours pop while the stereo speakers offer a good soundstage. There is even Corning Gorilla Glass 5 protection at the front and back, lowering the chance of shattering the screen during drops. But it’s safe to put on a rear panel cover to keep scratches away. What I miss is an IP rating, which a 30K phone deserves; you get it on, say, Samsung Galaxy A52. Otherwise, it’s a design that’s uncomplicated.
Camera mostly shines
The absence of Hasselblad-branded cameras — available on the OnePlus 9 Pro — didn’t deter me from going about taking photographs around the city. Agreed that the tie-up with Hasselblad has given the more expensive phone better flagship-level bargaining capabilities, complete with better skin tones, but most users won’t need it.
The main camera on OnePlus Nord 2 5G offers details in plenty. The Telegraph
What you get out of the 50MP primary camera with a Sony IMX766 sensor is clear, crisp shots. The focus is fast enough and AI could spot scenes quickly to make all the required adjustments. The presence of OIS on the main camera helps greatly. In daylight, there are zero issues and even objects at a distance appear clear, which cannot be said on the 8MP ultra-wide lens, though the pictures are decent and the level of noise is lower than most phones. Where the camera loses a few points is on the selfie front as the skin tone is not always accurate, which can be a speed breaker if you want the phone exclusively for vlogging. Do I like the camera? Mostly, yes. Like the design, it’s, well, uncomplicated.
Should you buy it?
Having MediaTek Dimensity 1200 as processor makes the phone better than the original Nord in everyday usage. You will not be bothered while switching between apps and gaming is not bad at all as long as you don’t dial up things to ultra mode. This is not meant to be a gaming phone. Though there is no wireless charging, there is a Warp Charge 65W pcharger in the box and it’s darn fast.
Out of the box, Nord 2 runs on OxygenOS 11.3 based on Android. Though there’s the backend integration of OxygenOS 11.3 and ColorOS, Nord 2 works smoothly and it should translate into better overall performance in the long run. Long-term Nord users will find a few changes in the interface but most of the options are all there, perhaps placed under different sub-menus. The uncluttered — and if you don’t mind, uncomplicated — performance of OnePlus phones remains.
What I would have liked on the phone is a 3.5mm jack because if I am buying a budget phone, it means I am on a budget and perhaps not willing to buy wireless earbuds.
That doesn’t diminish the value of the phone. It’s definitely a trimmed version of a flagship phone but after a few days you won’t even notice what has been left out. Repeating for the fourth time just to drive home the point, OnePlus Nord 2 5G is uncomplicated and still puts experience over bloatware.
At a glance
Device: OnePlus Nord 2 5G
Price: Upwards of Rs 29,999 (8GB+128GB)
High notes
⚫ Bloatware-free experience
⚫ 65W fast-charging
⚫ Promises software support
⚫ Good set of cameras
Muffled notes
⚫ No IP rating
⚫ Pointless monochrome sensor
