CRISP. Tech: OnePlus Nord CE 5G Review

As sure as the sun rises in the East and sets in the West, OnePlus will continue to produce a steady stream of innovations and updates to its catalogue of phones.

Following on from the successful partnership with Hasselblad in the camera stakes, OnePlus has decided to add some shine to one of their most popular releases to date.

The new OnePlus Nord CE (Core Edition) is a stripped back handset that has plenty of the bells and whistles you would expect from a 2021 device, but at a fraction of the cost of a flagship effort.

OnePlus’ Nord series was originally created as an affordable offshoot, yet one which could keep pace with the big boys at Apple and Samsung.

It was an impressive offering and was positively received throughout Asia and Europe in particular. We were able to have a play with the new Nord CE, and give our thoughts!

 

 

Performance and design

If you have owned any previous OnePlus handset then the Nord CE will feel immediately familiar. Despite being 14 grams lighter than the original Nord, dimensions are largely the same.

It feels nice in the hand, although the long display length can make one-handed use slightly clumsy. This is even more true if you don’t have a case on it, the composite plastic encasing most of the phone can become slippery.

Despite that, the ‘Blue Void’ variant reviewed looks so pretty and remains fingerprint-resistant. Other colours available include Charcoal ink and Silver Ray.

The Nord CE comes pre-installed with OxygenOS 11, OnePlus’ fastest and most responsive software to date.

Old favourites like Dark mode, Zen-mode, and its wonderful Always-on Display are present and correct. Add that to the promise of two years of software support and three years of security updates, you’ll be good to go for a while.  

A Qualcomm Snapdragon 750G 5G processor and upgraded CPU delivers a nice 20% improvement on its predecessor, to ensure a quick and seamless user experience.

Moving through the phone feels fluid and natural, with little to no lag or latency. The smoothness of everything does help you forget this is a mid-range phone almost immediately. 

A big deal for us was the resurrection of a 3.5mm headphone jack – a simple addition that helps the Nord CE stand out from previous releases, the removal of this small element seems commonplace, despite fan appeal.

The OnePlus Nord CE sports a 6.43-inch screen with a 90Hz refresh rate, a step up on the original Nord’s 60hz.

The display is lively bright, quick, and smooth, with a 20:9 aspect ratio. The screen’s length may be problematic for those with smaller hands, but a one-handed screen mode is available.

 

 

Camera

The Nord CE comes equipped with a strong triple camera set up on the back. The 64MP main camera captures crisp high-resolution pictures with bright and high-level details.

It is a familiar interface that is simple to use in that you can just point and snap, but there are also plenty of options available to keep a more seasoned snapper contented.

The last Nord only had a 48MP main camera, so this is a nice upgrade that keeps the Nord series feeling fresh.

The 8MP ultra-wide has a 119-degree field of view – good for group shots and landscape pictures whilst keeping clarity and quality high – and on the front side is a 16MP selfie camera. A step down from the 32MP selfie effort on the last Nord, but more than capable of capturing your pretty face.  

Much like its flagship models, OnePlus included a monochrome lens and ‘nightscape’ mode – a much-loved night-time shooting mode that takes eight pictures at varying exposures, then weaves them together in seconds for clearer more dramatic photos.

Coming off the back of the OnePlus 9 and its Hasselblad partnership, the step down in quality is apparent, but again it does not detract from the Nord’s affordable package.

Video recording is also available obviously, now you can shoot 4K video at 30 frames per second on the rear camera, with super slow motion and time-lapse shooting available at 1080p.

 

Battery

OnePlus have previously set a high bar for battery life, in particular charging speeds.

The Warp Charge 30T Plus will juice up 70% of the CE’s 4500mAh battery in roughly 30 minutes and a full charge in about an hour, which is exceptionally quick.

Combined with the stripped-back approach, the sizeable battery had no need to strain or even stress during our testing.

We easily got through a day and a half on one charge, with normal usage.

Spending extended time browsing, gaming, watching HD videos and taking photos did not induce any battery life anxiety, always a good thing.

 

Price

With a price point that comes in at around £299 for a base model (8GB RAM / 128GB storage) and £369 for the slightly beefier one (12GB RAM and 256GB of storage), you’re getting a particularly good package either way.

We would suggest going for the higher specced model – it does represent better value on what is already great value for money.

As the (Core Edition) naming convention suggests, OnePlus are going back to basics with a focus on nailing the core aspects they believe users are more likely to care about.

Slicing away the fat that pushes hardware costs up (even though that’s where a lot of the flavour is), you’re left with a phone that does the necessary stuff brilliantly and at a tantalisingly low price point.

If you need a solid smartphone or a quick replacement, then the Nord CE 5G is a future-proof winner aimed at the cost-conscious shopper.

 

Dimensions and Details

Height – 159.2mm

Width – 73.5mm

Thickness 7.9mm

Weight – 170g

Screen Size – 6.43 inches

Display – Fluid AMOLED 90hz with 20:9 aspect ratio

Screen Resolution – 2400 x 1800, 410ppi

Operating System – Android, OxygenOS

CPU – Snapdragon 750G 5G

RAM – 6GB/8GB/16GB

Storage – 128GB/256GB

Battery – 4500 mAh (non-removable)

Warp Charge 30T Plus

Camera – 64MP/UW 8MP

Video – 4K @30fps/1080 30-60MP

Bonus Feature – 3.5mm Headphone Jack