Although OnePlus is known for providing reliable service in the mid-range smartphone market, I was dismayed to see that some components in the recently reviewed, £369 OnePlus Nord 2T 5G were not changed. Not so much because of the phone itself, but rather because the new Nord CE 2 Lite 5G is arguably more expensive than it should be at £279. Given that the ‘Lite’ version is only £20 less expensive than the Nord CE 2, which we reviewed back in March, OnePlus could have further reduced the price of its most affordable device (see specs comparison below). The Nord CE 2 Lite 5G is not formally available in the US, unlike its Nord CE predecessors.
There are two colour choices: Black Dusk and the quite striking Blue Tide of my review device, whose light-refracting back shifts between hues of baby blue and slightly deeper ones. When the uncased phone’s screen is probed, the huge camera on the upper area of the back, which is quite proud and causes noticeable rock-and-roll on the desk. The phone’s vertical stripes, which span the entire width and depth of the camera bump, aren’t the nicest design decision I’ve ever seen; they make the area look like sticky tape has been applied there.
The OnePlus does not include its patented Alert Slider, which allows you to adjust between quiet, vibration, and ring modes, like it does with the Nord CE 2. The interior specifications, though, are impressive. The Snapdragon 695 5G chipset from Qualcomm, which powers the speedy midrange Nord CE 2 Lite, has 6GB of RAM and achieved Geekbench 5 CPU scores of 685 (single core) and 1945. (multi core). In contrast, the Nord CE 2 with 8GB of RAM and MediaTek Dimensity 900 scored 719 (single core) and 2143. (multi core).
Internal storage is 128GB, of which 108GB are available right out of the box. Users have the option of utilising either two SIMs or one SIM and a MicroSD card, and the name of the device makes clear that it supports 5G.
A fingerprint sensor is integrated into the power button on the right side and a 3.5mm headphone jack is located on the bottom edge.
Considering the price of this device, the screen is fairly nice. Although it has an IPS screen rather than an AMOLED one (like the Nord CE 2) and displays 2,412 by 1,080 pixels (401ppi), it nonetheless has a clear, sharp appearance. It’s also good to see a phone at this price point with a 120Hz refresh rate.
On the software front, there aren’t many surprises; OxygenOS 12 and Android 12 offer a pleasantly uncluttered user experience with minimal bloatware. Although both Netflix and TikTok may be deleted, I could live without them cluttering the area. The OnePlus “shelf,” where you swipe down from the top right of the screen to access a variety of widgets, is present on the Nord CE 2 Lite 5G. Because it can be accidentally accessed when visiting the notifications bar, some users find this irritating, but I find it to be manageable.
Considering the price of this device, the screen is fairly nice. Although it has an IPS screen rather than an AMOLED one (like the Nord CE 2) and displays 2,412 by 1,080 pixels (401ppi), it nonetheless has a clear, sharp appearance. It’s also good to see a phone at this price point with a 120Hz refresh rate.
On the software front, there aren’t many surprises; OxygenOS 12 and Android 12 offer a pleasantly uncluttered user experience with minimal bloatware. Although both Netflix and TikTok may be deleted, I could live without them cluttering the area. The OnePlus “shelf,” where you swipe down from the top right of the screen to access a variety of widgets, is present on the Nord CE 2 Lite 5G.
There are three rear cameras, with a 64MP f1.7 primary camera that takes decent photos. The other two, a 2MP f/2.4 depth-assist camera and a 2MP f/2.4 macro lens that works best when placed 4 cm away from the subject, are far less useful. Both slow-motion 720p video and 1080p video can be recorded at 120 frames per second. The 16MP f/2.0 front camera can record 1080p video at 30 frames per second and takes passable selfies.
The battery has a sizable 5000mAh capacity. Despite failing the PCMark for Android Work 3.0 battery life test, the Nord CE 2 Lite lost 15% of its charge after playing a YouTube video nonstop for several hours.
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