When the OnePlus Nord was released, I pre-ordered the phone and was pleasantly surprised. Now we have the OnePlus Nord CE 2 5G, thanks to Hekka.com! Can this phone surprise me again? Is this phone worth buying? Let’s drive into the OnePlus Nord CE 2 5G!

Introduction & Specifications

With the increasing cost of living, we need more affordable phones. OnePlus used to make the “Flagship killer”, can the OnePlus Nord CE 2 5G do the same trick again? The Nord series of OnePlus is an affordable line of smartphones, and this is the latest addition. It comes with the MediaTek SOC, a good camera set up, and a 6.43″ screen.

Is the OnePlus Nord CE 2 5G worth buying? How does this phone compete with others? The specifications look good, let’s see how it performs.

Specifications
Brand:	OnePlus
Model:	Nord CE 2 5G
Color:	Black, Blue
Display:	6,43 inch, Corning Gorilla Glass 5
Display Type:	Fluid AMOLED, HDR10+, 90Hz
Software:	OxygenOS on Android 11
SOC:	MediaTek Dimensity 900
GPU:	ARM Mali-G68 MC4
RAM / ROM:	8GB LPDDR4X / 128GB UFS2.2
Main Camera:	64 Megapixels, f/1.79
Wide Angle Camera:	8 Megapixels, 119°, f/2.2
Macro Camera:	2 Megapixels, f/2.4
Zoom:	0,6x - 20x
Front Camera:	16 Megapixels, Sony IMX471, f/2.4
Video:	4K 30fps, 1080p 30/60fps, slowmotion 1080p 120fps
Connector:	USB2.0, Type-C
Sensors:	In-display fingerprint scanner, Accelerometer, Gyro, Compass, Proximity sensor
Battery:	4500mAh (dual-cell 2250 mAh)
Charging:	65W Super Charger
Size:	160,6 x 73,2 x 7,8 mm (LxWxH)
Weight:	173g
Content:	OnePlus Nord CE 2 5G, 65W Super Charger, USB Cable, Case, Guides

Unboxing

The box of the OnePlus Nord CE 2 5G is black and pretty boring. On the front the name NORD is spelled out three times, just like the OnePlus Nord. The sides are just black, and on the back we get some specifications of the device.

It is not a flashy box, and it’s kind of a mystery what is inside. Inside we first have the box that contains the guides, and the free protective case. Underneath we see the beautiful OnePlus Nord CE 2 5G. Last but not least, we have the 65W SUPERVOOC charger with the iconic red USB cable.

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Hardware & Design

Being the affordable phone from OnePlus, I expect it to feel the same as the OnePlus Nord I reviewed earlier.

Holding the OnePlus Nord CE 2 5G, you feel the plastic back cover. This is not a bad point, but it gives it a cheaper feeling. I rather have a glass back, or some other material. I know this would increase the price of the phone, but the plastic back cover feels a bit cheap.

In the display, we have a single front camera in the top left corner. On the back, we have the camera island with 3 camera’s in there. It is a pretty big camera island, but I like the looks of it.

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There is no slider on the sides like we saw in other models of OnePlus. On the right side there is a power button, which feels snappy and solid. On the left side we have the volume buttons and the SIM/SD-card slot. Again the buttons feel snappy and solid.

At the bottom of the phone we have the speaker, the 3.5mm Jack, and the USB-C charger port. One of the few phones that still offers the 3.5mm Jack! Great choice, even though wireless earbuds are the standard now.

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Fingerprint Scanner & Face ID

On the OnePlus Nord CE 2 5G, we find a in-display fingerprint scanner! That is not something new anymore, but I really love this feature. It is a little bit slower if we compare it to a “normal” scanner, but it still is quick enough to feel natural.

You can easily set it up and use multiple fingers. Besides the fingerprint scanner, you can also use Face ID. This way you have all the new and secure methods of unlocking the OnePlus Nord CE 2 5G. Very nice to see these unlock methods on this affordable smartphone.

Battery Life

Inside the OnePlus Nord CE 2 5G, we find a 4500mAh battery. This is the same amount of mAh we saw int he previous model. However, in this model there are two smaller batteries linked together which allows you to charge your phone faster.

If you use the phone for a full day, with high intensity, you will make it to the end of the day without an issue. If you use your phone less intensive, you might be able to make it two days. For example, I had a day with 3.5 hours of screen time and I had 50% battery left.

You can charge the OnePlus Nord CE 2 5G with the 65W SuperVOOC charger, this technology comes from Oppo, but it works on this model too. When you use the 65W SuperVOOC charger, your phone will be completely charged within 35 minutes! That is an insane result, this means that with just 30 minutes of charging, you can easily make it for another day.

Software

The Oxygen OS, developed by OnePlus, is great software. While using it, there is no lag at all. The navigation between the applications and menus is simple and effective. There is an active community of Oxygen OS developers and they really listen to the customers while developing their product. In the Oxygen OS settings, you also have a lot of options to customize the User Interface.

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Customizability

Another thing I love about the Oxygen OS from OnePlus, is the high customizability. When you go to Settings and click on “Customization”, you can change the Theme, Wallpaper, Clock style, Fingerprint Animation, the Font, Icon Packs and the System Icons. If we just look at the software, this might be the best feature of the OnePlus Nord CE 2 5G and I would love to see the customizability on other Android distributions too.

Update Policy

When you buy the OnePlus Nord CE 2 5G, you get it with Android 11. Android 12 is out for some time now, but it won’t be available for the OnePlus Nord CE 2 5G until mid/end 2022. So it should become available. In the end, the OnePlus Nord CE 2 5G should also get Android 13. I’m not sure how long that will take, but OnePlus promised at least two major updates.

Besides the updates of the Android version, OnePlus will release 3 years of security updates after the release date. This is to keep the phone safe from hackers and they release the Security Updates often. This is a strong point for OnePlus and the community expects the Security Updates and the software update support too so I don’t see OnePlus change this policy soon.

Cameras

OnePlus decided to go for a very good camera set up on the OnePlus Nord CE 2 5G. On the back we have the main 64 megapixel camera with a f/1.79. Next to the main camera, there is a ultrawide lens, which is a 8 megapixel, f/2.2. And last but not least, we also have the 2 megapixel, f/2.4 macrolens.

On the front, we have a single camera which is cut out of the screen. At first I thought this would bother me, but I get used to it very quickly. The camera is a 16 megapixel, f/2.4. The sensor is from Sony IMX471.

If we just look at the hardware, I’m happy with the set up they picked for the OnePlus Nord CE 2 5G. There are also some nice software features, like AI Highlight Video, Dual-view Video, HDR, Nightscape, Portrait mode, and filters. OnePlus made a real effort to make these camera’s compete with the more expensive models, and I think they succeeded.

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Below are some examples of photo’s taken with the OnePlus Nord CE 2 5G. These photo’s are not edited. This is how the photo’s come out. As someone who uses my smartphone camera to capture all my travel shots, I would be more than comfortable in taking the OnePlus Nord CE 2 5G on my next backpack trip.

Photo Examples

Performance

The OnePlus Nord CE 2 5G is an affordable phone. I still expect the phone to perform on a very decent level as the Nord series was created to compete with the more expensive models.

I used the OnePlus Nord CE 2 5G for two weeks as my daily phone and I must say that I love the speed, the snappiness of the phone, and just the overall performance. With the 90Hz display, everything feel quick, fluid, and smooth.

In this case, I can say anything I want. So to back up my claims, I ran some benchmark apps to show the performance. I’m very happy with the performance of the OnePlus Nord CE 2 5G! It might not rank the highest, but that is not something we can expect from a budget phone.

Geekbench 5

3DMark

PCMark

PerformanceTest Mobile

Features

Hardware is amazing, but that is not all we need. OnePlus offers more features, and I will discuss some of them here. Unfortunately, I can not cover all the features, but these are the ones that you need to know about.

3.5mm Jack

Do we need the 3.5mm Jack? No. Is it great that it is in there? Absolutely! The OnePlus Nord CE 2 5G still offers the 3.5mm jack. Even though I almost always use a pair of Bluetooth earbuds, the 3.5mm jack support is great to have.

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SD Card Support

OnePlus Nord CE 2 5G comes with 128GB of storage. Now with the high quality of the photo’s and all the other bigger applications in the Google Play Store, this might not be enough. OnePlus thought of that too and they added SD-card support!

In the OnePlus Nord CE 2 5G, you can insert one SD-card. This can be up to 1TB of storage! A feature that would make this phone add several years of usability. Otherwise the 128GB of storage might be full after 1 or 2 years, but adding 1TB could extend that easily.

Always-On Display

This feature is new to me. I never had a phone with an always-on display, but the OnePlus Nord CE 2 5G has this feature. First when I started using the phone I did not turn it on as I did not see the added value of this.

In the settings you can turn this on. Of course you can unlock your phone to see the time, but I must say I use this feature more than I expected. It might not be for everyone, but turn it on for a week and see if you like it.

90Hz Refresh Rate

One of the best features is the 90Hz refresh rate of the display. I never thought this would make a big difference, but it feels so much faster when this is turned on. On my next phone, this will be a requirement again. Everything feels natural and scrolling is super smooth.

65W SUPERVOOC

We talked about this earlier in the Battery Life section. The OnePlus Nord CE 2 5G comes with the support for 65W SuperVOOC charger. Originally from Oppo, this technique allows you to super quickly charge your phone to 100%. In just 35 minutes, your phone will be completely charged and ready for another day of usage.

This only works when you use the 65W charger block of course. If you use any other charger that offers less wattage, you will charge the OnePlus slower.

Conclusion

The OnePlus Nord CE 2 5G is an affordable smartphone, that works really well. There are some points where OnePlus could’ve made other decisions, but in the end they made a very good smartphone for the current price.

I miss the option for wireless charging, an IP rating, and the plastic back cover feels a bit cheap. These choices were made to safe money and keep the phone affordable so I totally get the choices.

The Oxygen OS, SD-card support, 3.5mm Jack, and the great camera set up make this phone a very good option for so many people. With the 90Hz refresh rate, everything feels natural and smooth. Gaming is possible, phones are clean and sharp, and with just 35 minutes of charging you have a full battery again.

Would I recommend the OnePlus Nord CE 2 5G to friends and family? Without a doubt!