Last year’s Nord CE was a huge seller in Three Ireland stores and its successor is all set to follow suit with flagship-fast charging, a more powerful chipset and a smarter AI camera.
OnePlus Nord CE 2 costs just €349 and features a 90Hz AMOLED display, OxygenOS 11 and 5G support.
I’ve been testing it out for a number of weeks and don’t think anyone who buys it at that price will be disappointed.
It also features a flagship-standard 65W Supervooc fast charger that delivers the phone’s 4,500 mAh dual-cell battery with up to a day’s power in just 15 minutes.
The spec sheet is overall very similar to the Reno 7 5G from sister company Oppo, but that device never landed in Ireland.
Design and build
The 6.43in Nord CE 2 looks unmistakeably like a OnePlus 6T and that’s no bad thing.
The phone is slim, at 7.8mm, and light, at 173g, which means it’s comfortable to hold and use.
And even though the rear and frame are made from plastic, it does not look or feel cheap.
A disappointment for me is that like its predecessor it does not feature the famed and unique OnePlus alert slider.
The 6.43 inch FHD+ Fluid AMOLED display is bright and colourful and has a 90Hz refresh rate that makes animations and scrolling feel smoother, faster and everything feels more responsive.
It’s not a flagship-standard screen but it’s one of the best on a handset at this price. And it’s got Gorilla Glass 5 protection.
Performance
OnePlus Nord CE 2 is powered by the MediaTek Dimensity 900 octa-core chipset which was built with a 6 nm architecture.
I’ve found it capable enough for anything I threw at it, even a lot of games. But it won’t reach the higher graphics settings of more demanding titles.
It’s not the superfast experience you get from OnePlus flagships but it should be perfectly fine for the type of consumer who will buy this device.
The battery stamina from the 4500mAh power pack and the flagship-standard 65w wired charging are plus points.
The phone can comfortably last a full day, even in intensive testing sessions for this review. A casual user might get two days out of it.
A full recharge takes only 32 minutes.
Cameras
Another plus point is the main 64MP, f/1.8 aperture, wide angle camera which produces pleasing images in decent lighting conditions.
The 16MP selfie camera is capable enough too in the right environment.
Video capture is acceptable and capped at 4K at 30 frames per second but stabilisation is not a strong point.
Nord CE 2 features a 3.5 mm headphone jack, two SIM card slots and a microSD card slot that allows you to expand the storage up to 1TB.
The phone ships with OxygenOS 11 atop Android 11 but you will get OS updates until Android 13.
Verdict
This is a great phone for its price point, just like the first Nord CE handset.
You get a decent main camera, excellent battery life and superfast 65w wired charging.
It’s biggest competitor is the Nord 2 which costs €70 more.
Pricing
OnePlus Nord CE 2 is on sale from March 10 at €349 for 128GB storage and 8GB RAM.
Key specs
Dimensions: 160.6mm x 73.2mm x 7.8mm
Weight: 173g
Display: 6.43in Full HD+ (1080 x 2400) fluid AMOLED, 20:9 aspect ratio, 90Hz refresh rate, HDR10+ support
Processor: MediaTek Dimensity 900
RAM: 8GB
Storage: 128GB (UFS 2.2)
Rear cameras: 64MP, f/1.8 main, PDAF; 8MP, f/2.2 ultrawide; 2MP, f/2.4 macro
Front camera: 16MP, f/2.4
Video: 4K at 30fps
Connectivity: Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.2, GPS, NFC, 5G,
Battery: 4500mAh
Charging: USB-C 65W SuperVOOC wired only
