Introduction
The OnePlus Nord is kind of a big deal. Or, at least, that's what OnePlus has been working hard to convey. The PR "hype machine" has been working over-time and the results are definitely showing. For better or worse, everybody seems to be discussing the Nord and a lot is actually riding on its success as a result.
Going off of the company's own commercial message, the OnePlus Nord is intended to mark a new beginning, a bold start of a whole family of Nord devices. Another stab at the mid-range market and an attempt to break ground where the OnePlus X failed. And when the makers of the original "flagship killer" phone, the masters of guerilla marketing, the proverbial "underdogs" from a wilder, past Android realm start saying such things, people tend to listen and then expect nothing short of a market splash.
It's frankly hard to think of a harder and tighter position to put one single phone in on today's cutthroat mobile scene. And the most baffling bit is that OnePlus singlehandedly self-engineered the entire predicament. Sure, if anyone has the resources, market standing production and supply chain to pull-off a new "messiah" phone, it has to be the mighty BBK corporation. And in all fairness, the OnePlus Nord is a solid and well-rounded product. It's important to get that on the record right away.
OnePlus Nord specs
- Body: 158.3x73.3x8.2mm, 184g; Glass front (Gorilla Glass 5), glass back (Gorilla Glass 5), plastic frame; Colors: Blue Marble, Gray Onyx.
- Display: 6.44" Fluid AMOLED, 1080x2400px resolution, 20:9 aspect ratio, 408ppi; 90Hz refresh rate, HDR10+.
- Chipset: Qualcomm SDM765 Snapdragon 765G (7 nm): Octa-core (1x2.4 GHz Kryo 475 Prime & 1x2.2 GHz Kryo 475 Gold & 6x1.8 GHz Kryo 475 Silver); Adreno 620.
- Memory: 64GB 6GB RAM, 128GB 8GB RAM, 256GB 12GB RAM; UFS 2.1.
- OS/Software: Android 10, Oxygen OS 10.0.
- Rear camera: Wide (main): 48 MP, f/1.8, 26mm (wide), 1/2.0", 0.8µm, PDAF, OIS; Ultra wide angle: 8 MP, f/2.3, 119˚ (ultrawide); Depth: 5 MP, f/2.4, (depth); Macro: 2 MP, f/2.4, (macro); Dual-LED flash, HDR, panorama.
- Front camera: Wide (main): 32 MP, f/2.5, (wide), 1/2.8", 0.8µm; Ultra wide angle: 8 MP, f/2.5, 105˚ (ultrawide), 1/4.0", 1.12µm; HDR.
- Video capture: Rear camera: 4K@30fps, 1080p@30/60/240fps, gyro-EIS; Front camera: 4K@30/60fps, 1080p@30/60fps.
- Battery: 4115mAh; Fast charging 30W, 70% in 30 min.
- Misc: Fingerprint (under display, optical), accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass; NFC, 5G connectivity.
It's just that "good" or even "great" was never going to be enough to stop this particular hype train. Now the OnePlus Nord finds itself in a rather unfortunate, even if entirely predictable situation. Ever since it has hit shelves, the reception has been universally lukewarm. A big chunk of that response has been coming off as emotional, more than anything else. You'll get none of that on the following pages, since the Nord deserves an evaluation on equal grounds, just like any other device we take a deep dive into.
That being said, the Nord, or rather OnePlus, won't be getting a pass on some of its polarizing decisions in recent devices. Objective things, like the persistent absence of a telephoto camera, which still has fans harking back to the OnePlus 7T and a broader debate on the changing nature of a "value" that the brand and the 2020 mobile industry, as a whole, are now offering.
Unboxing OnePlus Nord
Presentation is vital if you are building a proper brand image. Ever since its early viral-marketing days, OnePlus has been among the best in the entire Android realm at selling ideas and feeling. A lifestyle brand, if you will. At least in some sense. Hence, it comes as no surprise that the Nord has its own, distinctive twist on the OnePlus look. Teal or aquamarine, depending on how much light is present, are the new accent colors. At least, going by the sturdy, two-piece box on the OnePlus Nord, as well as the accompanying "welcome letter". Like we said, OnePlus knows its way around designing a lifestyle brand.
The thick rubber USB Type-A to Type-C charging cable in the box is still colored in the familiar bright red. Aquamarine on the cable would have really shown some extra care and attention to detail. The 30W wall charger is the same as on other OnePlus phones.
Cost-effective is not the worst thing to be accused of, though, especially since we can't outright say OnePlus was stingy with the accessory bundle. You also get a nice and thick, frosted-look silicone case in the box. Complete with a rather odd geometrical pattern on the back. The latter is probably meant to mimic a compass arrow, which is the original inspiration for the Nord name. The only notable omission, in our mind, is a USB Type-C to 3.5mm dongle, since the Nord lacks a 3.5mm jack.
Design
The OnePlus Nord offers a clean, straight-forward exterior. In fact, with its flat display, classic sloping body shape and elongated, vertical main camera assembly, we would even go as far as to call its look classic. The double-wide, pill-shaped selfie camera punch-hole does, admittedly, deviate from what we would consider the "classic" phone design. It's not really an eye-sore, but it does distract from full-screen content, while also taking away quite a bit of room in the Android status bar, leading to crammed UI elements.
We personally appreciate the flat Gorilla Glass 5 surface on the front of the OnePlus Nord. It doesn't introduce odd corner bends and warps in your videos and will always be the preferred way of getting more control and better handling for things like gaming. Plus, getting a good-quality glass screen protector for a flat display is massively easier. That is, of course, if you feel the need for extra protection to your phone. We'll get into that a bit more in the durability section for the OnePlus Nord.
On the flip side of the curved display debate, we will admit that wrapping the display edges around the frame has become the more "premium" look of the day. Whether subjective or not, it has allowed, in some capacity, for narrower and easier to grab handsets. For comparison, the 158.3 x 73.3 x 8.2 mm body of the OnePlus Nord is a bit wider than the OnePlus 8. Despite the fact that the latter has a bigger 6.55-inch display, compared to the Nord's 6.44-inch one.
The Nord is also a bit heavier than the OnePlus 8, tipping the scale at 184 g, four grams more than the company's mainstream flagship. And it is also ever so slightly thicker. The Nord somehow manages all of this despite having a smaller 4,115 mAh battery a plastic main frame and like we mentioned - a smaller display. A fairer way of looking at this comparison, though, simply has the OnePlus 8 sporting a befittingly more-premium and refined design and build than the mid-ranger Nord. No shame in that.
Even so, the OnePlus Nord neither looks or feels cheap. In fact, it has its overall silhouette largely inspired by the Realme X50 Pro - a proper flagship offer, also stemming from the vast ranks of the BBK Electronics corporation. We think the OnePlus Nord is making the best of said design, especially in the signature Blue Marble color variant. The Gray Onyx unit, we have for review, is considerable "less-fun", for the lack of a better term, but does also manage to look more serious and grounded. The distracting, colorful reflections from the back of the Blue marble one, we discussed in our hands-on review are not an issue with the Gray Onyx one.
We don't expect many Nord owners will be using the phone without a case, though. One reason being fingerprint magnet that is the Gorilla Glass 5 back of the phone. And then, there is the big question of durability.
Durability
Addressing the elephant in the room straight on - the OnePlus Nord has a plastic middle frame. A fact that isn't instantly apparent while holding the phone, thanks to the excellent job OnePlus has done with the convincing silver finish on the outside rim. As far as other positive aspects go, it is worth noting that the Nord manages to weigh just 184 grams, compared to the Realme X50 Pro and its 205 grams. Despite the nearly identical design and proportions, shared between the pair.
Also, plastic does not dent in the same way metal does. That is not to say that you can't damage it though. On the contrary. As a certain durability torture-test video already showcased, you can easily take-out entire chunks of frame from the Nord, revealing a different color plastic underneath. And, of course, there is the matter of bending, which the Nord is apparently susceptible to. Particularly around the power key, which has typically been the base with "bendy" phones in the past. Honestly, this probably won't be a real-world concern for most. At least we would not consider it a first-tier dealbreaker. If that makes any sense. Still, prospective Nord buyers should still keep this in mind. A hard case can go a long way in providing that extra little bit of structural integrity and you probably shouldn't carry the Nord in your jeans back pocket. We would give that advice for pretty-much any modern smartphone, though.
Plastic frame cost-saving aside, the rest of the bill of materials on the Nord is solid. That includes the two Gorilla Glass 5 sheets - front and back. OnePlus also includes a well-applied plastic screen protector for the display. You can probably leave it on while you get used to your new phone. It will scratch-up easily, though, making it a temporary additional protection layer.
The metal power button and alert slider are a nice touch. Oddly enough, the volume rocker is not metal.
The OnePlus Nord lacks an official ingress protection rating. Not that one would be expected at its price point. Even so, OnePlus maintains that the phone should survive the occasional accidental splash of water, if need be. We are willing to corroborate this after seeing the thick and nicely-sealing rubber rim around the SIM card tray, as well as the plastic flap for the Type-C port on the included silicone case.
Controls and connectivity
We don't typically dedicate a section to controls in most of our reviews nowadays. Mostly since there is little beyond a standard layout to discuss. For the OnePlus Nord, in particular, we still wanted to bring attention to the inclusion of an alert slider. The textured control is neatly positioned right above the power button and offers satisfying actuation. It has always been a staple of the OnePlus control scheme and keeping it around on the Nord actually has a lot of significance. Most of all, it shows that OnePlus is still connected to its roots, in at least some capacity. We can have lengthy discussions about the current state of the smartphone market, as well as many of the more controversial decisions on the Nord. But at least the alert slider remains a mainstay.
Control-wise, things that the OnePlus Nord has include a single bottom-firing speaker, a single or Dual NanoSIM tray and a USB 2.0 Type-C port. All on the bottom frame. Things notably missing from the mix - a stereo speaker setup, not even a hybrid one, a microSD slot, a notification LED and a 3.5mm jack. The last one is particularly unfortunate, since there was no Type-C to 3.5mm dongle in our OnePlus Nord box.
The fingerprint reader is an in-display unit of the more-popular optical variety. It offers very solid performance, both in terms of accuracy and speed.
In terms of connectivity, the Snapdragon 765G, with its Sub-6 5G capabilities is probably the star of the show. There is no support for mmWave on the OnePlus Nord but there are no plans for immediate US release so that's irrelevant. OnePlus had a separate OnePlus 8 UW model for Verizon with mmWave 5G support so that's one way things might turn out for the Nord if it gets to US shores eventually.
Currently, you can get the OnePlus Nord in either a single nanoSIM or a dual nanoSIM configuration. The dual SIM model allows two simultaneous LTE connections only and 5G + 4G standby is coming in a future OTA update.
Local connectivity on the OnePlus Nord has all the basics covered, with nothing too fancy. You get Dual-band Wi-Fi ac (no Wi-Fi 6), Bluetooth 5.1, with LE and aptX HD, GPS (A-GPS, GLONASS, GALILEO, BDS, SBAS, NavIC) and an NFC module.
Fluid 90Hz AMOLED display
OnePlus pays a lot of attention to the choice of displays. Midrange or not, the Nord still managed to benefit from this extra care and attention. At 6.44-inches in diagonal and lacking curved sides, the Fluid AMOLED panel on the Nord is a bit smaller and less "trendy" than that found in the OnePlus 8. Still, it delivers in pretty much every other important aspect.
Starting with image sharpness and resolution, you get the familiar FullHD+ (1080 x 2400 px.), 20:9 affair, typical for non-Pro OnePlus devices. Since the OnePlus Nord has a slightly smaller panel, its pixel density actually ends-up being slightly higher than the OnePlus 8, at a respectable and perfectly crisp 408ppi. No complaints there.
Thanks to OLED tech, the Nord delivers technically infinite contrast, with perfect blacks. Quantifying brightness on the OnePlus Nord is a bit hard and that's an aftereffect of the advanced automatic adjustment systems, put in place by OnePlus. The Nord has 2048 levels of automatic brightness and advertises advanced awareness and smart brightness response, based on both ambient lighting conditions and currently displayed content.
These automatic brightness systems, or at least a subset, continue to be active even when the auto brightness toggle is turned off in settings. We can definitely appreciate the positive aspects of such an approach. For instance, looking at a mostly white webpage for a few seconds in a dark room often results in the Nord automatically lowering its brightness, even with auto brightness off. That's a justified move in practical, real-world terms, though we are not necessarily ok with the software essentially overriding the user in this way.
As far as our testing procedures are concerned, we had a tough time properly setting the display to a fixed 200 nits for battery test runs. Just something worth keeping in mind.
| Display test | 100% brightness | ||
| Black, |
White, |
||
| 0 | 892 | ∞ | |
| 0 | 854 | ∞ | |
| 0 | 843 | ∞ | |
| 0 | 803 | ∞ | |
| 0 | 756 | ∞ | |
| 0 | 743 | ∞ | |
| 0 | 635 | ∞ | |
| 0 | 635 | ∞ | |
| 0 | 596 | ∞ | |
| 0.4 | 562 | 1405:1 | |
| 0.466 | 543 | 1165:1 | |
| 0 | 525 | ∞ | |
| 0 | 525 | ∞ | |
| 0 | 522 | ∞ | |
| 0 | 520 | ∞ | |
| 0 | 516 | ∞ | |
| 0 | 515 | ∞ | |
| 0 | 508 | ∞ | |
| 0 | 503 | ∞ | |
| 0 | 496 | ∞ | |
| 0 | 489 | ∞ | |
| 0.319 | 454 | 1423:1 | |
| 0 | 449 | ∞ | |
| 0.349 | 443 | 1269:1 | |
| 0 | 424 | ∞ | |
| 0.318 | 421 | 1324:1 | |
| 0 | 398 | ∞ | |
| 0 | 379 | ∞ | |
| 0 | 323 | ∞ | |
We managed to measure a maximum brightness of a rather unimpressive 323 nits on the Nord, in its default vivid color mode and with all of the auto brightness systems turned-off. This is a case of the Nord being a bit too smart for its own good, as far as synthetic measurements go. You shouldn't judge it harshly based on that number. What you should note, though, is the impressive 756 nits of brightness we got out of the Nord in max auto mode, when in bright ambient light. Top stuff. The Nord's screen is great to use outdoors, even in direct sunlight.
Color reproduction is potentially an even more-complicated affair than brightness on the Nord. You get a choice between vivid, natural, AMOLED Wide Gamut, sRGB and Display P3 modes in the settings menu, as well as custom white point correction, with any of the latter three.
Screen calibration options
The out-of-the-box vivid mode should be great for most users, delivering a nice balance between "punchy" OLED color science and a respectably-low average deltaE of 5.5 and a maximum of 9.1. Natural brings down otherwise more exaggerated colors, like green and results in a more balanced, but a bit "duller" average deltaE of 3.5 and a maximum of 5.8. That's not technically "color-accurate", but again - a good balance for regular users. Beyond that, in the advanced menu, you can either go with AMOLED Wide Gamut, which boosts most colors for an even punchier look.
If color-accuracy is what you are really after, there are the Display P3 and sRGB profiles, clearly meant to go after the two respective color spaces. We tested them against the corresponding patterns, with good, but not perfect results. Our Nord unit just seemed to have a slightly colder profile out of the box, regardless of color mode. Thankfully, we were able to address that fully with some fiddling with the custom white point, ending up with great DCI-P3 color accuracy with an average deltaE of 2 and a maximum of 4.4.
sRGB color mode • Display P3 color mode • Display P3 color mode, corrected for warmth
Calibration might not be perfect from the factory on a per-unit basis, but we still award the Nord top points in this department for both its versatility and the fact that we managed to tune it with little effort. Here are our custom white point settings, for reference.
Custom while point settings for DCI-P3 accuracy
In more practical color aspects, the OnePlus Nord has HDR 10+ certification. Its HDR reproduction is far from the best we have seen on a phone, but we can't expect more from a midranger. Widevine L1 support means that you can enjoy HDR content from the major providers in HD and high resolution.
As of writing this review, certain OnePlus 8 units are experiencing software issues with Widevine certification, with some users reporting a drop to Widevine L3, without any intervention on their end. In light of that, we double-checked. As of writing this review, our OnePlus Nord unit has no such issues.
90Hz refresh rate assessment and behavior
A 90Hz refresh rate is kind of the expectation on a modern OnePlus phone. The Nord delivers in that respect, as well. Toggling ON the 90Hz mode in the display settings has a tangible effect on snappiness and responsiveness. Of course, high refresh rate does not make the phone run any quicker, it's just perceived smoothness. But that, alone, is enough to make the user experience more enjoyable even boost your own speed in certain actions, like typing and swiping, purely due to the immediacy of the visual response you get. The jump from 60Hz to 90Hz is not as significant as going straight to 120Hz or 144Hz, but is noticeable and appeciated. Especially if this is the first high refresh rate display in your life.
60Hz and 90Hz refresh rate settings
There is a lot of subtlety that goes into implementing high refresh rate on a modern Android device that often gets left out. Some manufacturers, like Samsung, opt for a very straight-forward approach, with little to no auto-detection and "trickery" behind the scenes. You get the refresh rate you set. On the opposite side of the spectrum, OnePlus is one of the companies that tend to put a lot of subtle nuances and automation its high refresh rate implementation.
The OnePlus Nord refresh rate menu has two options - 60Hz and 90Hz. The former is straight-forward. Most every app out there and most games are already made to push 60fps and saturate that refresh rate. The OnePlus 90Hz mode has some automatic smarts to it, mostly in the bane of battery efficiency.
Once you turn on 90Hz, you can expect to get 90fps consistently across the entire Android OS UI. That means all the menus and the app drawer. The Nord never drops its refresh rate down.
90Hz across the main UI
This is in contrast with general app behavior. Most applications tend to support 90fps rendering and operate in that once launched. Here is Chrome doing just that. Wait a few seconds, however, and the Nord notices that you are not interacting with the display and quickly drops its refresh rate automatically down to 60Hz. The open app, naturally, follows that and starts outputting 60fps.
Chrome automatically dropping from 90fps to 60fps
The rationale behind this is that 90Hz and correspondingly 90fps have the most pronounced effect to smoothness while you are operating the phone. Most content likely to be inside a none-game does not benefit from higher than 60Hz, when not in motion. Pretty sound thinking on OnePlus' part, but it is worth noting that this automatic behavior does lead to some occasional oddities, like trying to do a "UDF" blue test in Chrome, seeing 90fps for a few seconds and then "inexplicably" being dropped down to 60fps. In practical terms, though, it's a sound decision and one that can save on battery life.
Another layer of automation OnePlus seems to have in place for its refresh rate switching has to do with video playback. Most video content never really goes beyond 30fps, with 60fps already looking quite weird and seeing little actual use in practice. Either way, once a video is playing, the Nord drops down to 60Hz mode. That's what happens when you play a clip from the Gallery app.
Gallery playing video at 60Hz
The real interesting video logic, however, happens outside of apps that are clearly marked and known as video players. For those OnePlus does the best it can to detect fullscreen video playback and then drops down to 60Hz. This is exactly the kind of behavior we observed in the YouTube Music app. The general UI stays at 90fps for the added smoothness. Only once there is a video playing and only while it is in full-screen mode does 60Hz kick in.
YouTube Music automatically switches to 60Hz for fullscreen video
Netflix exhibits the exact same smart and battery-conscious behavior. 90Hz within the UI and then 60Hz once actually playing a video.
Netflix automatically switches to 60Hz for fullscreen video
There are certain hiccups with the automatic logic, though. For instance, unlike YouTube Music, the regular YouTube app simply launches in 60Hz mode and never makes use of the high refresh rate. Not even for browsing the UI.
YouTube is locked at 60Hz
Social networks tend to behave a bit odd, as well. Since it is likely that most of these rely on some sort of WebView implementation, instead of native Android components, it is a lot hard for the algorithm to do its auto video detection magic. Instead, what you get is a similar behavior to the general Browser one - 90Hz while you are scrolling and an auto drop down to 60Hz, when you stop interacting.
Instagram behaves like a browser
Since you are unlikely to be touching the display and watching a video at the same time, this works out well-enough for Instagram. Most videos on there are not long enough to realistically be saving on 60Hz for video, either. Plus, there is no real fullscreen video mode to detect.
Facebook is in the same boat. It does have a full-screen video player, of sorts, but the OnePlus software fails to detect it as fullscreen video. Instead, you get the general behavior of 90Hz while interacting and 60Hz while idle.
Facebook also behaves like a browser
Gaming is a bit harder to properly test without a proprietary refresh rate testing setup. We can't easily hook into a game's engine and tell you exactly how many frames it is outputting like we can with rendering standard Android component, as found within other apps.
Still, the couple of known high-refresh-rate-capable games we did try, appeared just to be running at 60fps.
Games appear to be running at 60fps
All things considered, we admire the extra layers of automation OnePlus has put into its high refresh rate controls. It is one of the most complicated and, in our mind, user-friendly implementations in the industry. The out-of-the-box behavior does a good job of balancing the benefits of high refresh rate and its power-efficiency drawbacks in a manner that does not require average users to understand or manually intervene. We do wish that there was a bit more manual control on a per-app basis, baked into Oxygen OS for advanced users. But, before that becomes a reality, there is a nifty AutoHz app on the Google Play Store that somewhat fills the gap.
AutoHz app
We used it to bring 90Hz to the YouTube app, but that meant locking at 90Hz even during video playback. There is room for improvement. Even so, currently, AutoHz is well worth the asking price and complicated setup.
Battery life and charging
The OnePlus Nord is rocking a 4,115 mAh battery. A little bit below the capacity of its OnePlus 8 sibling, but noticeably more than the OnePlus 7T. With its relatively efficient Snapdragon 765G chipset, made on a 7nm Samsung EUV LPP node, complete with an internal X52 5G modem, as opposed to the external solution on Qualcomm's flagship Snapdragon 865, the OnePlus Nord appeared set up for success in the battery endurance department.
There is the matter of occasional 90Hz refresh rate to consider, which we already explained in detail in the previous section. Basically, both on-screen portions of our battery test procedure (video playback and web browsing) ended-up running at 60Hz out fop the box, since they involved no interaction with the display. That's simply OnePlus' automatic logic kicking-in and seems to be the fairest way to conduct the tests anyway, since it falls in line well with real-world usage. At least, sort of.
An argument can be made that you would be constantly interacting with a web browser, forcing the Nord to stay at 90Hz more often than not. Hence, for the sake of thoroughness, we forced 90Hz and 90fps on one of our browser test runs to see just how much of a difference it can make. Turns out, really not a lot. Pinning our browser to a forced 90Hz only resulted in about 40 minutes less in browsing endurance. It seems like advancements in display tech, combined with OnePlus software and hardware optimizations and the simple fact that the jump from 60Hz to 90Hz is not that substantial, have resulted in negligible detrimental effects to endurance. That is only valid for the Nord and web browsing in particular, though, running the entire UI at a fixed 60Hz instead of 90Hz will likely get you better endurance, if you spend a lot of time browsing menus and doing productivity tasks.
With semantics out of the way, we can properly praise the OnePlus Nord for delivering a solid 100 hours of endurance in our proprietary test. It manages to either match or beat the scores that we have seen thus far from other handset, rocking the Snapdragon 765 or 765G chipset and a similarly-sized battery. OnePlus is making the most out of the hardware they have in this department.
It is worth noting that our review unit managed to squeeze out some extra hours of standby endurance after a couple of charging cycles and following a pop-up, informing us that automatic sleep optimization has been enabled. As per the provided pop-up, having it on can cause slowdowns in certain app notifications, which makes sense. We experienced nothing along that line. Still, it is worth keeping in mind if you happen to rely on apps with particular standby behavior. Plus, extra points to Oxygen OS for bringing-up the feature prompt and making the situation abundantly clear.
The OnePlus Nord offers 30W Warp Charge support and so does the included wall charger. That's hardly chart-topping in a mobile realm now pushing the 100W wired threshold. What it is, though, is quite sensibly-quick, in our book, without needlessly putting extra wear and tear on the battery in the long run.
OnePlus advertises 70% charge in 30 minutes on the Nord. We didn't quite manage to replicate these results. Instead, we got around 60% in 30 minutes, reaching the 50% mark in just around 25minutes, prior to that. A full charge to 100% then took an hour and five minutes. Perfectly respectable, even if not flagship-grade.
Our battery tests were automated thanks to SmartViser, using its viSer App. The endurance rating above denotes how long a single battery charge will last you if you use the OnePlus Nord for an hour each of telephony, web browsing, and video playback daily. We've established this usage pattern so that our battery results are comparable across devices in the most common day-to-day tasks. The battery testing procedure is described in detail in case you're interested in the nitty-gritty. You can check out our complete battery test table, where you can see how all of the smartphones we've tested will compare under your own typical use.
Speaker Test
The OnePlus Nord only has a single bottom-firing speaker at its disposal. There is no hybrid stereo setup with the earpiece either. Just one speaker. Even so, at least some attention appears to be dedicated to audio output, as evidenced by the dedicated Dirac Audio Tuner menu. Despite the reputable name, it's not actually a true equalizer menu, but only offers what OnePlus calls "scenario-based enhancement" with a total of three presets - Dynamic (default), Movie and Music.
Dirac Audio Tuner
We tested all three and got consistently average loudness results every time. The Movie mode does, noticeably, boost the treble, making dialog a bit easier to hear. Music mode only manages to very slightly boost a limited range of bass frequencies, but it's only distinguishable with lab equipment. Other than that, both Music and the default Dynamic mode offer nearly identical frequency response behavior. And it's not particularly impressive. Highs are kept well-balanced, without any unnecessary or unpleasant screeching, and that's about as much praise as we can offer.
Use the Playback controls to listen to the phone sample recordings (best use headphones). We measure the average loudness of the speakers in LUFS. A lower absolute value means a louder sound. A look at the frequency response chart will tell you how far off the ideal "0db" flat line is the reproduction of the bass, treble, and mid frequencies. You can add more phones to compare how they differ. The scores and ratings are not comparable with our older loudspeaker test. Learn more about how we test here.
Shame, really, since a slightly better-optimized speaker output probably wouldn't have cost that much extra—especially one incorporating a hybrid setup with the earpiece. In return, the Nord would have gotten speaker output at least good enough to pair adequately with its excellent display experience. In its current state, the speaker output on the OnePlus Nord, unfortunately, drags down its impressive visual output capabilities as part of the overall multimedia consumption experience.
Oxygen OS 10.5
Oxygen OS is a core and major part of the OnePlus experience. Always has been and especially now that the popular custom ROM has been through so many years of upgrades, iterations, polish, and most importantly - a constant user feedback loop. That's one of the things OnePlus does best. And sure, just like any software, it's not perfect, but its large loyal following in itself is indication enough of its quality.
Our review unit OnePlus Nord is running Oxygen OS 10.5.2, on top of an Android 10 core. In keeping with tradition, it retains a close to AOSP appearance, with all of the additional features carefully and unobtrusively stacked on top. Truth be told, modern Oxygen OS is a far cry from the near vanilla experience of old. The Nord is packed to the brim with various additional features. Even so, thanks to its careful iterative approach and major focus on low-level, input and output latency optimization, OnePlus has managed to maintain what is still one of the snappiest and most responsive Android experiences in the industry.
Oxygen OS is very welcoming to new users too. OnePlus Switch is the built-in data transfer tool that's compatible with other Android devices through the OnePlus switch app or iOS devices via iCloud login that will pull the data from a backup. It's one of the more versatile migration solutions out there.
OnePlus Switch
First introduced with the 6T, the in-display scanner has made its way into the Nord as well and is just as quick and reliable as always. One thing worth noting is its relatively low placement on the display of the Nord. An odd reality, seeing how the OnePlus 8 Pro specifically moved the reader up a bit for better comfort. On the Nord, you do have to resort to some thumb-stretching.
Security options • Fingerprint setup
In addition to fingerprint, you can register your face to unlock the phone, just know it won't be as secure. In any case, it works quickly and reliably.
Face unlock
The lock screen is standard for many Android UIs. Notifications populate here and a couple of shortcuts, each for Google Assistant and the Camera app can be reached by swiping from either the lower left or lower right corners.
Lock screen
An always-on display feature has probably been the most requested upgrade in the Oxygen OS community for quite some time now. It is finally a reality, in the shape of a customizable Ambient Display clock.
The AOD UI also contains optional notifications, as well as contextual controls, for things like music playback. You also get to choose whether to show the AOD upon picking up the phone or tapping the display. You can also enable both.
Ambient display settings
By default, the app drawer is accessed by vertically swiping. You can also opt to disable the app drawer, as is more popular with Chinese Android skins.
Home screen • App drawer • Google Feed
And that's just the tip of the iceberg of launcher customization options. The drawer can be set to automatically trigger the app search function, instead of just dropping you in a list of apps. The swipe-down gesture, typically reserved for bringing down the notification shade and quick toggles can also be remapped to show the proprietary Oxygen OS Shade, instead.
Launcher settings
Shelf contains quick access to a Toolbox, memos a digital wallet, weather, as well as a custom app shortcut list. Apparently, however, the particular screen wasn't seeing too much, since in recent versions of Oxygen OS a traditional Google Feed has taken its old spot as the left-most pane on the home screen. At least OnePlus didn't remove it entirely.
The notification shade is a standard affair. The second pull-down shows a manual brightness slider. Meanwhile, Quick Settings available include a "Reading mode" which reduces colors for a more comfortable reading experience, Zen Mode, Focus Mode, Screen recorder, and you can add additional ones like Data saver, VPN, Invert colors, Bedtime mode, and Live caption (which is also found in the volume menu).
Notification shade • Quick settings • Edit Quick settings
There are plenty of visual customization options in Oxygen OS as well, found under a dedicated Settings menu. Here, you can change the look of the UI, and you can choose a light theme (Illuminating light), dark theme (nuanced dark), or a semi-dark theme (vibrant tints).
Dark mode is technically a theme on Oxygen OS, so there isn't a way to schedule it to come on after dark like some other UI skins. Dark mode isn't to be confused with "Night Mode" which can be scheduled but deals with the screen's blue-light filter.
Customization menu • Light and dark themes • (not to be confused with) Night Mode
That is not to say that if you want dark mode, you are only limited to one of the default themes. On the contrary. You can mix and match visual elements to your heart's content and tweak different aspects of the look and feel. The Tone option, in particular, has a dark mode, alongside a regular "single accent color" light mode and a colorful one. No colorful dark mode for now, though. If you go for a single accent color option, you can choose exactly what that color is in the corresponding menu.
Tone settings • Accent Color settings • System icons • Icon packs
Some of the other customization menus allow you to change the shape of quick setting icons, and set a different icon pack if you wish. Oxygen OS offers standard compatibility with most popular packs already on the Play Store. Finally, you can set a new font as well. The default is Roboto, but you can also set it to OnePlus' own "Slate" font.
Continuing with the customizations menu, here you can also change the wallpaper, the clock style for Ambient Display and the fingerprint unlocking animation. "Horizon light", as seen on the OnePlus 8 Pro is notably absent. Since there are no curved edges on the Nord's flat display to light-up, OnePlus decided to skip the feature.
Customizing: Wallpaper • Clock • Fingerprint unlock animation
Live Caption is a relatively new feature, now making its way to OnePlus devices and Oxygen OS. It is actually a Google feature, first introduced with Android 10 on the Google Pixel 4 duo, that can transcribe any audio into on-screen captions without needing an internet connection. It is helpful for deaf or hard of hearing users since it can transcribe stories or other kinds of media where closed captions are otherwise unavailable. As of this writing, it only supports English and has its ups and downs. Music lyrics trip it up more often than not, but it consistently nails articulate speech.
Live Caption
Here are some other notable features that are part of Oxygen OS under the "Utilities" menu in the Settings. The first is called Quick Launch and is accessed through the fingerprint scanner. If you unlock the phone and keep holding your finger, a carousel will pop up. From here you can drag your finger to a set of customizable shortcuts or apps.
Utilities menu • Quick launch
Oxygen OS supports dual instances of supported apps in its Parallel Apps feature. You can use it to manage a second account on Facebook, Snapchat, WhatsApp, WeChat, or any other app that many not support multiple logins.
App locker will block selected apps from being used until you enter the phone's passcode or a fingerprint. This isn't to be confused with "Hidden Space", which is a sneaky way of hiding apps in the launcher.
Parallel apps • App locker and Hidden space
If you play a lot of mobile games, Oxygen OS has its own game-optimizer tool called Game Space. If you want to go all-in on your gaming experience, Fnatic mode will block all notifications, restrict background activity, and even disable the second SIM to make sure that all resources will go to the game.
Game Space
Fnatic mode
Despite including most aspects of AOSP, oxygen OS still has quite a few in-house apps for basic features. Often times, doubling existing Google solutions. These are typically styled consistently and play along with system-wide UI customization, which is a plus.
Clock • Calculator • File manager • Notes • Recorder • Weather
The built-in gallery app is versatile and offers few, but well-implemented and essential editing tools.
Gallery app
Synthetic benchmarks
OnePlus has a solid track record of optimizing the performance of its handsets. Through a combination of lean software and some fine-tuned low-level enhancements to things like CPU governors and schedulers, OnePlus devices have frequently ended-up on top performance charts, for their respective silicon.
That being said, the Nord is not a flagship, with its Snapdragon 765G chipset and we need to adjust our expectations accordingly. It has two Kryo 475 custom ARM cores at its helm, the Prime one, running at 2.4GHz and its Gold sibling reaching 2.2 GHz. Then there are six 1.8GHz Kryo 475 Silver units. On the GPU side of things - an Adreno 620. Nothing to phone home about, but perfectly adequate to deliver solid all-round performance. More than plenty for the average Android user.
The Snapdragon 765G chipset is paired with plenty of RAM and storage in our review unit. We are examining the top-tier 12GB, plus 256GB one. This, in itself, could result in a small boost in some benchmark numbers. If nothing else, bugger flash chips tend to be a bit faster than their slower counterparts. Even so, the RAM here is LPDDR4X and the storage chips operate at UFS 2.1 speeds. It's not cutting edge hardware, but well suited for the class and solid enough for most users. Plus, with its small 7nm manufacturing process and integrated X52 5G modem, the Snapdragon 765G is engineered for efficiency first, rather than blazing performance.
Starting with some pure-CPU tests and GeekBench, we can see the OnePlus Nord holds its ground well, basically squeezing as much performance as possible form the Snapdragon 765G. For the sake of thoroughness, we also ran GeekBench with the OnePlus Fnatic mode on. Having it on does not measurably influence benchmark scores, with numbers coming in within margin of error. This is expected, since Fnatic and the OnePlus Game mode are meant to ensure steady and high performance for prolonged sessions. Not to push the chipset harder for short bursts, as required by benchmarks.
GeekBench 5.1 (multi-core)
Higher is better
- OnePlus 8
3399 - Xiaomi Poco F2 Pro
3332 - Realme X50 Pro
3175 - OnePlus 7T
2858 - OnePlus Nord
1953 - OnePlus Nord (Fnatic)
1945 - vivo X50 Pro
1937 - Motorola Moto G 5G Plus
1898 - Oppo Reno3 Pro 5G
1815 - Oppo Reno4 Pro
1781 - Samsung Galaxy A71
1733 - Motorola One Fusion+
1705 - Xiaomi Mi Note 10 Lite
1694 - Realme 6 Pro
1666 - Oppo Reno3 Pro
1517 - Sony Xperia 10 II
1413
GeekBench 5.1 (single-core)
Higher is better
- OnePlus 8
919 - Xiaomi Poco F2 Pro
916 - Realme X50 Pro
911 - OnePlus 7T
776 - vivo X50 Pro
636 - OnePlus Nord
610 - Oppo Reno3 Pro 5G
609 - OnePlus Nord (Fnatic)
605 - Motorola Moto G 5G Plus
589 - Oppo Reno4 Pro
569 - Realme 6 Pro
565 - Samsung Galaxy A71
542 - Motorola One Fusion+
542 - Xiaomi Mi Note 10 Lite
521 - Oppo Reno3 Pro
398 - Sony Xperia 10 II
315
Moving on to more compound tests and AnTuTu 8, we once again find the OnePlus Nord making the best out of its hardware. Once again, the vivo X50 Pro, rocking the same Snapdragon 765G chipset, manages to inch out a slight lead. However, it's a marginal one, at best, and impossible to translate in real-world performance terms.
AnTuTu 8
Higher is better
- Realme X50 Pro
592447 - OnePlus 8
564708 - Xiaomi Poco F2 Pro
538221 - OnePlus 7T
485585 - vivo X50 Pro
323736 - OnePlus Nord (60Hz)
315641 - OnePlus Nord
312794 - Oppo Reno3 Pro 5G
308231 - Motorola Moto G 5G Plus
299926 - Realme 6 Pro
268785 - Motorola One Fusion+
267980 - Samsung Galaxy A71
263396 - Oppo Reno4 Pro
261359 - Xiaomi Mi Note 10 Lite
253271 - Oppo Reno3 Pro
227810 - Sony Xperia 10 II
196545
Since AnTuTu has quite a few GPU components to its test runs, both off and on-screen ones, this is the point at which we started running our tests in both the basic 60Hz mode and the higher 90Hz one. Like we already mentioned in the display section of the review, the high refresh rate behavior on the Nord is a bit complex and not straight-forward. Not all apps are guaranteed to take advantage of it in any way. AnTuTu is one of those apps. We verified that regardless of refresh rate settings, it always ran at 60Hz. Hence, the extremely close test results we got between the 60Hz and "90Hz" runs.
What about true GPU benchmarks then? GFXBench did, in fact, comply with the 90Hz setting and did not bump the refresh rate down while running. However, the Adreno 620 GPU only had enough power to push a maximum of 50fps onscreen in the lowest-intensity Manhattan OpenGL ES 3.0 test, we still run. That, in turn, makes the current refresh rate a moot point.
GFX 3.0 Manhattan (1080p offscreen)
Higher is better
- OnePlus 8
127 - Xiaomi Poco F2 Pro
126 - Realme X50 Pro
123 - OnePlus 7T
112 - Huawei P30 (perf. mode)
90 - Huawei P30
88 - OnePlus Nord (60Hz)
56 - Oppo Reno3 Pro 5G
56 - OnePlus Nord
55 - vivo X50 Pro
51 - Motorola Moto G 5G Plus
50 - Oppo Reno4 Pro
42 - Xiaomi Mi Note 10 Lite
42 - Samsung Galaxy A71
41 - Realme 6 Pro
41 - Motorola One Fusion+
38 - Sony Xperia 10 II
19
GFX 3.0 Manhattan (onscreen)
Higher is better
- OnePlus 8
60 - Realme X50 Pro
60 - Xiaomi Poco F2 Pro
60 - OnePlus 7T
59 - Huawei P30
59 - Huawei P30 (perf. mode)
59 - OnePlus Nord
50 - OnePlus Nord (60Hz)
50 - Oppo Reno3 Pro 5G
48 - vivo X50 Pro
45 - Motorola Moto G 5G Plus
43 - Samsung Galaxy A71
37 - Realme 6 Pro
37 - Oppo Reno4 Pro
36 - Xiaomi Mi Note 10 Lite
36 - Motorola One Fusion+
34 - Sony Xperia 10 II
16
As we ramped-up the test difficulty, this trend remained consistent. We ended-up getting the exact same numbers, both on-screen and off-screen, with just the occasional margin of error deviation of a single frame. These results are also about as high as we can expect from the Snapdragon 765G and its Adreno 620 GPU, meaning, once again, that the OnePlus Nord is making the most out of the hardware it has to work with.
GFX 3.1 Manhattan (1080p offscreen)
Higher is better
- OnePlus 8
88 - Xiaomi Poco F2 Pro
87 - Realme X50 Pro
86 - OnePlus 7T
79 - Huawei P30 (perf. mode)
56 - Huawei P30
54 - OnePlus Nord
38 - OnePlus Nord (60Hz)
38 - Oppo Reno3 Pro 5G
38 - vivo X50 Pro
36 - Motorola Moto G 5G Plus
33 - Oppo Reno4 Pro
31 - Samsung Galaxy A71
30 - Realme 6 Pro
30 - Xiaomi Mi Note 10 Lite
30 - Motorola One Fusion+
27 - Oppo Reno3 Pro
20 - Sony Xperia 10 II
13
GFX 3.1 Manhattan (onscreen)
Higher is better
- Realme X50 Pro
60 - OnePlus 7T
59 - Xiaomi Poco F2 Pro
59 - Huawei P30
48 - Huawei P30 (perf. mode)
48 - OnePlus Nord
34 - OnePlus Nord (60Hz)
34 - Oppo Reno3 Pro 5G
32 - vivo X50 Pro
31 - Motorola Moto G 5G Plus
29 - Samsung Galaxy A71
27 - Realme 6 Pro
27 - Oppo Reno4 Pro
26 - Xiaomi Mi Note 10 Lite
26 - Motorola One Fusion+
25 - Oppo Reno3 Pro
17 - Sony Xperia 10 II
10
GFX 3.1 Car scene (1080p offscreen)
Higher is better
- OnePlus 8
52 - Realme X50 Pro
51 - Xiaomi Poco F2 Pro
51 - OnePlus 7T
48 - Huawei P30 (perf. mode)
33 - Huawei P30
29 - OnePlus Nord
21 - OnePlus Nord (60Hz)
21 - Oppo Reno3 Pro 5G
21 - vivo X50 Pro
20 - Motorola Moto G 5G Plus
19 - Oppo Reno4 Pro
18 - Realme 6 Pro
18 - Samsung Galaxy A71
17 - Xiaomi Mi Note 10 Lite
17 - Motorola One Fusion+
16 - Oppo Reno3 Pro
7.3 - Sony Xperia 10 II
7.1
GFX 3.1 Car scene (onscreen)
Higher is better
- OnePlus 8
46 - Realme X50 Pro
45 - OnePlus 7T
41 - Xiaomi Poco F2 Pro
40 - Huawei P30 (perf. mode)
28 - Huawei P30
26 - OnePlus Nord
19 - OnePlus Nord (60Hz)
19 - Oppo Reno3 Pro 5G
18 - vivo X50 Pro
17 - Motorola Moto G 5G Plus
16 - Realme 6 Pro
16 - Samsung Galaxy A71
15 - Oppo Reno4 Pro
15 - Xiaomi Mi Note 10 Lite
15 - Motorola One Fusion+
14 - Oppo Reno3 Pro
7.4 - Sony Xperia 10 II
5.6
The OnePlus Nord did exhibit slightly odd behavior during the most-intense GFXBench Aztek runs. Both while using the OpenGL ES and the Vulkan API. Certain results don't quite line up neatly. Then again, looking at other similarly-equipped devices, like the Motorola Moto G 5G and the Oppo Reno3 Pro 5G, we can also see sporadic behavior. Perhaps, we are bumping against some odd software bottleneck of the benchmark. Regardless, this is an unreasonable and unrealistic amount of stress to put on a mobile GPU in terms of real-world use. Android games are extremely well-optimized nowadays and you even with the heaviest titles, you can expect smooth performance and automatic behind-the-scenes readjustments taking place. In that sense, the OnePlus Nord might not be flagship-grade, but is not starved for power, either.
3DMark SSE OpenGL ES 3.1 1440p
Higher is better
- OnePlus 8
7290 - Xiaomi Poco F2 Pro
7223 - Realme X50 Pro
7221 - OnePlus 7T
6296 - Huawei P30 (perf. mode)
4279 - Huawei P30
4055 - OnePlus Nord
3285 - vivo X50 Pro
3214 - Oppo Reno3 Pro 5G
3214 - OnePlus Nord (60Hz)
3187 - Motorola Moto G 5G Plus
3031 - Oppo Reno4 Pro
2512 - Realme 6 Pro
2506 - Xiaomi Mi Note 10 Lite
2467 - Samsung Galaxy A71
2464 - Oppo Reno3 Pro
1243 - Sony Xperia 10 II
1125
3DMark SSE Vulkan 1440p
Higher is better
- OnePlus 8
6720 - Xiaomi Poco F2 Pro
6660 - Realme X50 Pro
6472 - OnePlus 7T
5540 - Huawei P30 (perf. mode)
4264 - Huawei P30
4163 - OnePlus Nord
3067 - Oppo Reno3 Pro 5G
2995 - vivo X50 Pro
2983 - OnePlus Nord (60Hz)
2960 - Motorola Moto G 5G Plus
2821 - Oppo Reno4 Pro
2377 - Realme 6 Pro
2334 - Samsung Galaxy A71
2253 - Xiaomi Mi Note 10 Lite
2248 - Oppo Reno3 Pro
1551 - Sony Xperia 10 II
1121
3DMark did manage to properly run at 90Hz, as well and with its combination of off and on-screen tests did manage to put the difference in refresh and hence, maximum potential frame rate in numbers. Not terribly practical numbers, though.
The main takeaway here is that the OnePlus Nord lives up to OnePlus performance claims and manages to get the most out of its hardware. Unlike its OnePlus 8 siblings, it does not have flagship silicon at its disposal. But its number-crunching potential is perfectly adequate for most users.
The extra attention to smoothness and fluidity constantly being put into Oxygen OS, from the surface all the way down to the kernel optimizations, does pay off. The Nord is very snappy and responsive. A true pleasure to use.
A familiar setup, now with four modules
Cameras are a bit of a touchy subject on OnePlus phones, especially when it comes to the non-Pro line. Much of the tension seems to stem from the decision to abandon the telephoto camera on the OnePlus 7T and also slightly downgrade the aperture on the main 48MP one, moving to the OnePlus 8.
The OnePlus Nord also partakes in this saga in its unique way, mostly by borrowing its main camera straight from the OnePlus 8. It is the same Sony IMX586, 48MP, 0.8µm, 1/2.25", Quad-Bayer sensor, behind an f/1.8 lens. Its additional perks of OIS and PDAF are carried over, as well. And seeing how the OnePlus Nord is cheaper than the OnePlus 8, this can technically be counted as a step in the right direction value-wise? It depends on how you look at things.
On the flip side, the ultrawide has seen a downgrade, compared to the OnePlus 8. The Nord gets a smaller 8MP, f/2.3, 119-degree unit. In comparison, both the OnePlus 8 and the OnePlus 7T got 16MP ultrawides. That being said, none of these sensors is truly powerful in any way, all of them lacking fancy features, like autofocus. So, all you have to live with on the Nord is a bit less resolution and a slightly dimmer lens. Not too bad in our book.
OnePlus decided to count up to four on the Nord. Perhaps, in part, due to mounting pressure from competitors in the cutthroat midranger segment. The Nord gets a dedicated macro snapper, with a resolution of just 2MP, alongside a 5MP depth sensor. Both behind dim f/2.4 lenses.
OnePlus camera app
The Oxygen OS camera app experience remains consistent and impressively full-featured on the Nord. You get every bit of software functionality from the mainstream OnePlus 8 pair with the same familiar layout too.
Most of the settings are in the top right corner of the viewfinder. The app now makes it easier to shoot 48MP images without having to switch to the manual camera. There's a toggle at the top row of icons that you can use to switch between the 12MP or the full resolution 48MP modes. Relatively new to the top row are the Macro camera toggle, and a new shortcut for filters.
Otherwise, the camera UI is intuitive for the most part. Swiping either direction horizontally changes the modes while swiping up shows you the drawer with all the camera modes available. You can customize which modes you want to keep outside of the drawer.
Camera UI and settings
Pro mode lets you shoot in RAW (12MP), saves two presets, and lets you adjust all the camera settings (ISO, White balance, shutter speed, focus, and exposure compensation). Interestingly enough, in auto mode, both the ISO and white balance values can set themselves even higher than what their respective sliders allow. There's also a histogram and horizontal level - both useful for composing shots and exposure. You can also save your custom settings as a preset for extra convenience. Shooting in Pro mode only works with the main camera.
Pro camera mode
Double-pressing the power key fires up the camera app in a pinch. From a deep sleep, this could take as long as three seconds. In most cases, it'll take just under two seconds. Snapping the image is quick but there might be a slight delay if you immediately try to preview the most recent photo.
Daylight photo quality
The main 48MP camera on the Nord has become somewhat of a familiar mainstay on recent OnePlus devices. The Nord borrowed it from the OnePlus 8 and it, in turn, got it from the OnePlus 7T Pro, which lifted it from the OnePlus 7 Pro.
There are certain benefits from using the same hardware over so many phone generations. You get plenty of time to refine processing and it also provides some cost savings by reusing a proven software+hadware combo.
Indeed, the 12MP shots from the Nord have a consistent and recognizable processing.
In good light, there is plenty of detail. And to OnePlus' credit, color intensity seems to be dialed-back a tiny bit, compared to what we saw in our OnePlus 8 review, but it's still well saturated. On the flip side, skies come out looking grainy if you are into pixel-peeping.
The dynamic range is quite good with the help of OnePlus' local tone mapping algorithms, which work well in high-contrast scenes. We didn't see any image-stacking artifacts. These have been plaguing OnePlus cameras lately with camera shake or moving objects causing blurry areas in parts of the frame.
OnePlus Nord 12MP main camera samples
HDR is always on and works behind the scenes. The puzzling bit is that the camera settings have an option called "UltraShot HDR", which is turned on by default, and yet, turning it off doesn't seem to change how the photos look. Either the UltraShot HDR algorithm is not triggering properly, or it is always on, regardless of this setting toggle.
OnePlus has made it very easy to switch to the full 48MP resolution of the main camera with just a single tap on the main camera UI. Quad-Bayer sensors aren't meant to be used in this manner, though, and it shows in the end result. 48MP shots come out looking softer and noisier than their 12MP counterparts. They don't really offer enough extra detail to be worth it either.
OnePlus Nord 48MP main camera samples
The Nord can technically capture 2x zoom shots. The lack of the dedicated telephoto snapper is quite apparent, though. The 12MP, 2x shots are a bit too fuzzy and noisy for our taste. The quality is still serviceable if you refrain from pixel-peeping, though.
Hardly a surprise, when we consider that the Nord zooms in by cropping the center of its main 48MP Quad Bayer camera. The algorithm first goes through the standard binning process to get a regular 12MP photo, then crops a 2x zoom from that and upscales it to 12MP as a final step.
OnePlus Nord 2x zoom samples
With a resolution of 8MP, the ultrawide snapper on the Nord is a bit of a downgrade from the usual 16MP modules, OnePlus tends to use. This camera struggles to maintain both sharpness and dynamic range at the level of the main camera. Since this is a lot more common with ultrawides, it is a bit more forgivable but we've also seen better ultra-wides at lower price brackets. The choice of this camera is an apparent cost-cutting decision.
OnePlus Nord ultrawide camera samples
Ultra Wide Lens Correction is an option in the settings menu, on be default. We tried snapping a few shots with it off, as well.
OnePlus Nord ultrawide camera samples, without lens correction
Circling back to the question of UltraShot HDR, the option is available across the two cameras but we still didn't see any difference in the photos by the ultra-wide.
The Nord also offers a Portrait mode. It even comes with two different zoom levels - 1x and 2x and with an optional beauty filter. This is where the dedicated 5MP depth camera comes into play and it seems to be pulling its own weight. Portrait shots come out looking very impressive, with excellent subject detection and separation.
OnePlus Nord 1x portrait samples: Off • On
The actual image for the portraits comes from the main camera. So when you zoom in, it goed through the same binning, cropping, upscaling routine as the regular zoom mode. Hence, it's not terribly sharp.
It should be noted that covering the depth sensor up does not cripple portrait mode entirely. It still manages to work, but not nearly as well. Especially on non-human subjects.
OnePlus Nord 2x portrait samples
On the software side of things, Portrait mode is light on options. There is a clear indicator, showing whether or not the algorithm has picked-up the subject, which is convenient. But, you can't actually adjust the intensity of the background blur effect. Or at least, we didn't find a way to do so. We were perfectly pleased with the auto settings, though.
There is a single toggle to enable beauty mode, on top of the portrait shot. You don't really get any additional options or intensity sliders here, either. The filter that gets applied is very light and barely noticeable. For what that's worth.
OnePlus Nord portrait beauty mode samples
Despite this lack of extra options to fiddle with, overall, we are quite impressed with portrait mode, it is snappy and accurate. Once a subject gets picked-up, the algorithm tends to hold on to it well. And it doesn't just work on human subjects either.
OnePlus Nord portrait samples on non-human subjects
Speaking of non-human subjects, last and probably least, there is a 2MP dedicated, fixed-focus macro camera on the OnePlus Nord. With an aperture of f/2.4, it is rather dim, as well. Naturally, some patience, special care and attention and a few tries are necessary to get usable shots. It is possible, though. Results are serviceable.
OnePlus Nord 2MP macro samples
We shot our standard posters with the OnePlus Nord, at both its default 12MP binned and 48MP un-binned resolution. Here are the shots in our extensive photo compare database, for your pixel-peeping pleasure.
OnePlus Nord against the OnePlus 8 and the Samsung Galaxy A51 5G in our Photo compare tool
64MP: OnePlus Nord against the OnePlus 7T and the Samsung Galaxy A51 5G in our Photo compare tool
Selfie camera quality
The Nord has a pair of selfie cameras at its disposal - a 32MP and an 8MP, both with dark f/2.5 lenses. Nothing too fancy, like autofocus, but you do still get the benefits from the bigger 1.12µm pixels and wider 105-degree field of view on the secondary selfie cam.
In good lighting, both snappers perform admirably. Detail is good, so is sharpness. Colors look vibrant and not overly saturated. The native 32MP output is a bit heavier to work with, due to its high resolution. But, that's not really a proper complain.
OnePlus Nord 32MP selfie samples
The secondary 8MP selfie does offer a slightly more saturated pallet and has noticeably more corner softness. Even so, the two are similar-enough in overall look.
OnePlus Nord 8MP ultrawide selfie samples
As expected, there are beauty filters for selfies. You even get to choose between three intensity levels. The Nord never goes overboard, so no complaints there.
OnePlus Nord selfie beauty mode samples
Video capture quality
The OnePlus Nord can capture video at up to 4K@30fps from both its main and its ultrawide cameras. Seeing how the latter is 8MP and outputs stills at 3264 x 2448 pixels, we are not exactly sure how 4K video is achieved. But, the simple test of covering the corresponding sensor proves that both modules shoot video in 3840 x 2160p.
At full 4K resolution, clips from the main camera look very competent, but are far from perfect. Colors look nice but could be considered a bit too saturated by some. The level of detail is excellent for the class.
4K footage from the ultrawide has a narrow dynamic range, a noisier output and overall a lower quality. On the plus side, OnePlus has tuned the ultra wide to output a similar looking footage color-wise.
Dropping the resolution down to FullHD doesn't hurt overall quality that much, which is a plus. That goes for both cameras.
Shooting zoomed 2x clips is an option. These come out in FullHD resolution, and look a bit soft. Interestingly enough, not particularly noisy, which would have been our first guess, but just soft across the frame. Still usable, though.
Besides the regular 16:9 aspect options at 4K and FullHD, the Nord also has a "Cinematic" 4K variant. It is cinematic in the 21:9 aspect ratio sense, but not in the frame rate sense. The resulting clips have a resolution of 3840 x 1644 pixels, meaning that the Nord is simply cropping-off some vertical real estate from its 4K capture.
The videos, hence, have the exact same qualities as the regular, non-cropped ones. You can also use cinematic mode on the ultrawide camera, again in 4K@30fps and with the same expected results.
For stabilization, the main snapper on the OnePlus Nord has OIS. For some extra stability on top of that, there is Super Stable mode. That one always uses the ultrawide camera as its source and crops away quite a bit of the frame. Even so, you still get a slightly wider field of view than the one from the main camera. The actual effectiveness of the stabilization itself is rather impressive.
The ultrawide camera does not have OIS, but footage from it with Super Stable Off still looks relatively stable. Mind you, this clip is taken while sprinting.
Selfie video is possible from both selfie shooters at up to 4K resolution. It is solid, even if not amazing, in terms of overall quality. Narrow dynamic range is, expectedly, the biggest limiting factor. And the ultrawide, once again, has it a bit tougher, exhibiting extra softness, especially around the edges.
There is no video stabilization for the selfie cameras.
The only slightly unusual spec here is the 4K@60fps mode for the 32MP selfie cam. The footage is quite jittery while walking, in part due to the higher frame rate, and the field of view appears to be slightly more vertically-cropped. Still, it's there if you want to use it for vlogging with a gimbal or for recording for TicToc where the phone is usually stationary.
Finally, here is the OnePlus Nord in our extensive video comparison database.
OnePlus Nord against the OnePlus 8 and the Samsung Galaxy A51 5G in our Video compare tool
Low-light camera quality
Low-light photo quality on the Nord is a bit of a mixed bag. OnePlus has had a lot of time to gradually and incrementally improve the performance of the familiar 48MP main camera since it is so prolific in its lineup. The little tweaks and improvements do add-up.
As a result, the OnePlus Nord has some of the best low-light photos in its class. Noise is noticable but is not a problem. The level of detail is commendable, as well as contrast, dynamic range, and color saturation.
OnePlus Nord main camera 12MP low-light samples
Using the 2x mode in low light isn't as bad as you'd expect. perhaps this is due to the already excellent low light photo quality by the main cam.
OnePlus Nord 2x zoom low-light samples
Ultrawide cameras naturally have an even harder time in low-light conditions. That definitely rings true for the modest 8MP, f/2.3 unit on the OnePlus Nord. Noise and softness are abundant and light sources tend to clip easily.
OnePlus Nord 8MP ultrawide low-light samples
Enter Nightscape - the name of choice for the OnePlus night mode implementation. We are thoroughly pleased with how it works and the results it produces. Shots come out looking not only brighter, but with more detail and well-balanced contrast. The effect is convincing.
OnePlus Nord Nightscape 12MP main camera samples
Capturing and stacking Nightscape photos is surprisingly quick too. Or rather, not as slow as we have seen on other competing solutions. And that's with the Nord's mid-range hardware. Impressive stuff.
Nightscape is available on the main camera, as well as the ultrawide. Unfortunately, there is no 2x zoom Nightscape. Using it on low-light ultrawide shots often makes the difference between a throwaway shot and and a keeper. Really impressive stuff.
OnePlus Nord Nigtscape 8MP ultrawide camera samples
The main camera manages to perform surprisingly well in low-light capture.
The same can't be said for the ultrawide, though, as it produces very noisy footage.
Finally, on the selfie side of things, you also have the freedom to choose between both cameras. Results from both look consistently mediocre. Serviceable, but nothing to phone home about.
OnePlus Nord low-light selfie samples
There is an optional screen-flash for extra-dark environments. It seems to trigger a bit randomly, though, so we resorted to keeping it off for most of our testing.
OnePlus Nord low-light selfie samples with screen flash
Competition
There are plenty of Nord alternatives in the incredibly saturated midranger market, regardless whether you are keen on getting 5G connectivity.
Since the entire segment is all about delivering just the right value formula, it is really tough to suggest any "overall better" alternative to the Nord. It all depends on your personal priorities. The closest you can actually get to the Nord, while getting a quantifiably better experience in many respects is the OnePlus 7T. The 7T offers the coveted 12MP telephoto, stereo speakers, a sturdier aluminum build, and what is a comparable or better Snapdragon 855+ chipset. You do have to live with certain compromises, though. Chief among which - the older hardware without 5G and slightly weaker battery. Plus, despite its age, the OnePlus 7T still sells for slightly more than the OnePlus Nord.
If Oxygen OS is high up on your priorities list, you have to look at the OnePlus lineup. If, however, you are willing to concede to a simpler, but even cleaner AOSP experience, the new Google Pixel 4a comes to mind. You will definitely be sacrificing on raw hardware specs, compared to the Nord, though. In some cases, quite severely, since the Pixel 4a only has a single main camera. Sadly, the more-capable Pixel 4 and 4XL are out of budget. Not to mention the fact that Google appears to be discontinuing them on many markets.
Motorola deserves an honorable mention when discussing vanilla and close-to vanilla Android. Both the Moto G 5G Plus and the One Fusion+, competing in the same price segment as the Nord come with compromises, like LCD displays.
OnePlus 7T • Oppo Reno3 Pro • Xiaomi Mi Note 10 • Samsung Galaxy A71
It would be shortsighted not to look at the rest of the BBK Electronics collective lineup for alternatives to the Nord too. The Realme X3 SuperZoom stands out immediately, because of its actual periscope telephoto camera. But it is a bit older now, with its Snapdragon 855+ chipset and has an LCD panel. Making the list instead, will be the Oppo Reno3 Pro. Technically, not the latest in the Reno line, either, but arguably better value than its successors. The device turnover in Oppo's ranks has been crazy lately.
In competitor Xiaomi's ranks, we can instantly spot the Poco F2 Pro, which is a amazing value device, sporting an actual flagship Snapdragon 865 chipset. Technically, it costs about as much as the OnePlus Nord too, but it is far from globally available and kind of hard to get. Making the list in its place, we have the Xiaomi Mi Note 10. It bumps the chipset down to a mid-range Snapdragon 730G, but its amazingly-versatile camera setup more than makes up for that in the overall value calculation.
Last, but not least, as a more "name-brand" alternative, Samsung will more than readily sell you the Galaxy A71, for right around the same price as the Nord. OneUI, among other things, makes for a significantly different Android experience though. If 5G is high on your wish list, you can look at the Galaxy A51 5G instead.
The verdict
The OnePlus Nord is a solid 5G-enabled mid-range offer. One combining a well-balanced specs sheet, with the excellent, class-leading experience of Oxygen OS. Thanks to thoughtful engineering and a large infusion of familiar OnePlus DNA, the Nord manages to transcend the simple label of just another BBK Electronics rebranded device. BBK owns and ensures healthy technology sharing among its subsidiaries Oppo, vivo, Realme and OnePlus but after all is said and done, each company runs its own phone business in a different way.
The Nord was introduced with a lot of fanfare, alongside bold promises to usher in a new beginning for the Android midrange niche. A great PR move, on paper, but one that put the Nord under a lot of heat and with frankly unrealistic expectations. After all, it's OnePlus and you can't blame fans for extrapolating that, just like the original "flagship killer", the new one should at least have the dedicated telephoto camera from the OnePlus 7T, a headphone jack, a metal frame. And that's just the more reasonable demands and complaints being tossed around and severely scrutinized.
Despite OnePlus' efforts to make the device stand out, the Nord is, at its core, only a midrange device. As such, it has to play by the same market rules as everybody else in the midrange. The 2020 smartphone scene doesn't leave a lot of room for a "flagship" killer, in the original OnePlus One sense. Even the mighty and vast BBK can't include true flagship specs in the Nord, while also preserving its EUR 400 MSPR while funding a massive advertising campaign.
What it can and has successfully done with the Nord, though, is to give it the proper OnePlus treatment, through and through. For many prospective buyers, that's going to be enough of an added value to choose the Nord over a slightly better-spec'd, but less prominent and refined alternative.
Pros
- Clean, functional design, infused with familiar OnePlus controls, like the Alert Slider.
- Super bright, accurate and smooth 90Hz OLED display, with HDR10+ support and clever auto refresh rate management.
- Optimal performance is extracted from the Snapdragon 765G chipset.
- Excellent battery life even in 90Hz mode.
- Competitive fast charging.
- Oxygen OS with more features than ever. Still one of the snappiest Android experiences available.
- Excellent main camera performance for the class, poor ultra-wide.
Cons
- Plastic frame; dual selfie cam means a large punch hole.
- No 3.5mm audio jack, no microSD card slot and no notification LED.
- Single bottom-firing speaker with unimpressive performance.
- The 2x zoom is no match for a proper telephoto and the ultra-wide has no AF and is relatively lower-res.
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