Rating with opinion, features and price

The OnePlus Nord 2 is the second generation of one of OnePlus’ most successful phones, with improvements aimed at making it a killer flagship. But do they get it?

The original OnePlus Nord not only surprised as the first mid-range phone in a long time, but also with its performance get a foot in the difficult segment consists of mobile phones between 300 and 400 euros and becomes a reference in its category.

With this OnePlus Nord 2, the brand has tried to go further, aiming to place this model as the “flagship killer” of the ones used by OnePlus years ago.

But reality looks different: the OnePlus Nord 2 is not a flagshipand it doesn’t have to be great deviceand undoubtedly a very good evolution relative to the original released in 2020.

With a more refined design, near-excellent performance, the same excellent screen and quality main cameras, The Nord 2 is a great candidate for the best mobile phone under 400 euros and one of the best mid-range models 2021.

Although conquering the market will not be as easy as its predecessor. This year it doesn’t have the Pixel 4a in front of it – nor its successor, which we’re still waiting for – but it does have models like the POCO F3 or the Realme GT that offer afín prices. Displays with higher refresh rates and more powerful processors, as well as more versatile and complete camera systems. We still have to add that Programa for OnePlus it’s no longer a differentiating aspecto like it used to be that could hamper its potential success if there weren’t enough ballots to be ballots. A great mid-priced wholesaler in 2021.

Rating and score of the OnePlus Nord 2 5G

Price and where to buy the OnePlus Nord 2 5G

The OnePlus Nord 2 is available from the end of July through the the company’s official shop.

For The price starts at 399 euros in the model with 8GB of RAM with 128GB of storage and it goes up to 499 euros in the model with 12 GB of RAM and 256 GB of internal memory. Both models are selectable in versions gray and blue.

OnePlus Nord 2 5G

It perro also be obtained from other authorized dealers, for example Amazonwhen the device is likely to be found at a discount after some time since its introduction.

Where is the OnePlus Nord 2 5G?

It was four years after the OnePlus X failed before the Chinese company dared to launch its own second high-end cell phone. And look at the success OnePlus North Original, OnePlus might now regret waiting so long.

For this reason, now the brand does not hesitate for a moment to send the second generation of the model that changed everything in the company catalogue. He is OnePlus Nord 2 5G is the second installment from a growing family that recently welcomed the Nord CE, a slightly more affordable model with more modest features.

With this model, the company aims to do that success again of the original model launched in July 2016, keeping the same recipe but seasoned with a series of improvements designed to transform the OnePlus Nord 2 into the Flagship Killera concept that has been absent from the strategy for a number of years marketing of the company, mainly because of the price increase its flagship models.

Only the main camera delivers results on the expected level / Photography by Christian Collado

we could Testing the OnePlus Nord 2 in recent weeks, and if one thing is clear, then that he is a model better and more complete than the model released last year. Knowing what OnePlus has achieved with the original Nord is big words.

data sheet

On paper, the Nord 2 looks like a evolution of light from the original north. As we go through this analysis, we’ll see that while most of the changes introduced by the brand could be seen as incremental, the reality is that they are all a fuller and fairer crowd –if possible– than the ones we got in the 202 introduced generation.

But, Is that enough to steal the limelight from Xiaomi, POCO and other mid-range kings?

design and presentation

With the original OnePlus Nord, the company chose to offer a mobile phone with a a design easily recognizable from the older brothers of the OnePlus 8 range. And he did it…at the expense of creating a design a bit grumpy and lacking in personalitytoo afín to the other teléfonos inteligentes in its segment available on the market at the time.

This year instead The Chinese company takes a different approach. He is OnePlus Nord 2 is clearly a OnePlus that it’s part of the same family that the OnePlus 9 and 9 Pro head and that the aesthetic similarities are more than reasonable.

Blue is one of the two colors the Nord 2 is available in / Photo by Christian Collado

Starting from the back, we already see the classic cuadrado camera module as typical of the OnePlus 9, with two sensors arranged vertically, in two large holes that expose the cameras to the eye appear larger than they really are.

Just below we see two more holes, this time arranged horizontally, intended for the construction of the house additional third camera and LED flash.

The module concerned does not end a few millimeters from the back of the terminal awayenough without being annoying. However, as is common with terminals that integrate the camera on one side, the device “dances” when used on a flat surface such as a table.

He is The back of the device is made of glass, and achieves several different executions. In Spain it is found in colors gray and blue. We were able to test the latter, and in contrast to the other end too in shiny crystals that attracts dirt, fingerprints and scratches with ease.

It doesn’t use the chassis that surrounds your body aluminum as is the case with the OnePlus 9 and 9 Pro. This is shown by the missing lines for the antennas it is a plastic material afín to what we already saw in the original Nord. Despite this, the device doesn’t feel any less “classy” or comfortable to hold.

In that sense it has to be said The Nord 2 is a comfortable phoneThis does not belong to the compact mobile segment, but is at least handier than the models from 6.67 inches which is currently flooding the midrange and high frequency range.

The Nord 2 umbrella is practically based on the previous model / photograph by Christian Collado

The front part of the Nord 2 is occupied by one 6.43-inch AMOLED screen with Full HD+ resolution and 90 Hertz refresh rate. It’s generally the same screen that was already present in the original Nord, which is good news as that was precisely one of the strengths of the company’s previous mid-range terminal.

it is Very good quality screenbright, with some vibrant colors – although too saturated for my liking in the “Vivid” color mode – and covered in glass that does a good job at the time avoid thinking. In general, it is one very good screen, with 90 Hertz feeling particularly good as it makes for an even smoother experience. It’s totally fair too. another point in his favour.

it is a plate surrounded by a narrow border on the side and top, with a slightly more prominent chin and a Hole is in the upper left corner. This hole is precisely one of the big changes that we see when comparing it with the OnePlus Nord, where There were two front cameras instead of one.

Not the most meticulous mid-range design, but this OnePlus Nord 2 has a coherent aesthetic line With the design language of the Chinese company and without having to take any risks, OnePlus has managed to build a device that impresses from the moment you hold it in your hand.

hardware and performance

Something is changing at OnePlus. That’s when the merger process began OPPOWe’ve seen more and more moves from the company, some with praise while others – the vast majority – were viewed with suspicion.

It was one of those movements use a MediaTek processor for the first time on one of his phones, after years of exclusivity for Qualcomm. The North 2 is located a Dimension MediaTek 1200 AIa slightly modified version of the current reference chip chip China.

It’s a processor aimed at the high-end, manufactured in a 6 nanometer format and with 8 inner cores, incl Colours Cortex-A78 capable of operating at a maximum frequency of 3GHz.

The brain is supported by 8 or 12 GB of RAM and 128 or 256 GB of internal storage which cannot be expanded. The model that I have been able to test over the past few weeks corresponds to this more advanced versionwith 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage.

Under the hood of the Nord 2 is a MediaTek Dimensity 1200 AI processor / Photo by Christian Collado

Naturally, It is a móvil inteligente with an integrated 5G módem, which supports US and NSA 5G networks. 5G connectivity is also available in The Nord 2 allows you to use two SIM cards at the same time.

As expected, This equipo of specifications offers a more solution-oriented experience in the OnePlus Nord 2 and offers performance very close to the top end of the company.

The usuario interfaz moves very easily and as usual in the brand’s terminals Speed ​​is one of the hallmarks of the reference the device in any situation, no matter how demanding the application or game is put in front of it.

Based on our testing, models like that SMALL F3 or the real >both with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 series processor that perro offer slightly higher performance in certain scenes, especially those that require more support GPU’s. However, the everyday differences will be barely noticeable to most.

A agregado for this Dimension 1200 is the Good job you are doing to keep the heat at bay. Unlike the Snapdragon 888, the MediaTek chip doesn’t overclock as often, a problem the original Nord suffered from.

battery and charging

All of the above must Battery capacity 4,500 miliamperio-horaslightly larger than the original Nord – hence the increase in thickness and weight compared to last year’s model.

The Nord had reasonable autonomy and on this Nord 2 that perro be appreciated Wellby pretending to hold it without problems a day and a half in usewhich in most cases exceeds the 6 hours screen on.

In any case, this is probably the most variable part of the analysis, as the experience will vary greatly between users based on the use each gives the device.

In any case, what doesn’t change is that damn loading speed allowing the Warp Charge system to reach 65W, the same in the brand’s most expensive mobile phones. Thanks to him it is possible Fully charge the battery in less than 40 minutes.

unfortunately, OnePlus continues to omit wireless charging in its Nord seriesand this feature remains exclusive to the company’s top-of-the-line models.

The OnePlus Nord 2’s on-screen fingerprint reader is fast and accurate / Photo by Christian Collado

programa and experience

The OnePlus Nord 2 programa needs to be talked about, and a lot. And it is the first terminal that OnePlus has launched after announcing the merger of its programa development department with that of OPPO, making it the first device of the brand with its Programa based on ColorOSOPPO’s personalization layer.

That doesn’t orinan that the Nord 2 programa is a copy of what we cánido find in OPPO or Realme models. OnePlus took ColorOS as a base and implemented its own additions under the layer OxygenOS which the company has been using on its phones since the OnePlus 2.

With the big changes that OxygenOS 11 introduced back then, there’s even more to come Version 11.3 debuts with this Nord2Many of them were inherited from ColorOS.

He is The Settings aplicación has been slightly restructuredwith a larger number of graphic elements, menus and new components and slightly restored typography. Also the “role” now it’s faster than previous versions of OxygenOS, allowing you to scroll through more content in a list or aplicación with a shorter swipe gesture.

Applications like camera which is now inherited from ColorOS, and for the first time a Menu to be fully customized in “always on” mode what OnePlus calls “Ambient Display”. Added in this sense new styles for this mod.

In general, the It’s still the experience you’d expect from a OnePlus mobile phone with OxygenOS 11. It’s not because of the Layer with a layout afín to “Depósito” Android was formerly; Now it feels more like a version of ColorOS with a feature not as geared towards satisfying the tastes of the Asian community that resembles depósito Android in other details – less and less.

OnePlus decided not to surprise with that support you wish to provide with this OnePlus Nord 2: the brand promises to update the device to the latest version of Android for two years, and will release security patches for three years. However, it must be remembered that unlike other brands, OnePlus does not release monthly security updatesbut he does it every two months.

Of course: If you speak of experience, Life is longer than programaand I am happy to say that the Nord 2 more than lives up to these small details, although in some cases it is not noticeable, Add experience points if they are done well.

It’s a case of Haptic or vibration motorsprobably the best I’ve tried in a phone of this price, with a precise and firm answer.

Also the The sound system has improved significantly compared to the previous model, by adding the possibility Play audio in stereo Simultaneously use the two speakers of the device – the earpiece and the larger one at the bottom. He is Sound quality isn’t the bestespecially at high volume, but is more than enough to listen to music, podcasts or vídeos without having to complejo turístico to headphones.

cameras

The OnePlus Nord 2 has three cameras on the back / Photograph by Christian Collado

OnePlus announced its Nord 2 with a especial focus on the photography department. The company has been working to try high-end experience in a mobile phone under 400 euros – or under 500, in the version we tested – for example the integration of a main camera which emplees the same 50-megapixel sensor used by the OnePlus 9 and 9 Pro as its ultra wide-angle camera: the Sony MX766.

Attached to this sensor it is possible 8 megapixel secondary camera, with an ultra wide-angle lens; and an additional 2-megapixel sensor for black and white shooting. Since its usefulness is limited – if not non-existent – I pretend that this third sensor does not exist.

He is OnePlus Nord 2 camera system It has shadows and highlights almost equally. In most cases I could Take very good quality pictures with the main cameraand the optical stabilizer helps to significantly disminuye the number of blurry images captured.

OnePlus Nord 2 camera aplicación gets data from OPPO camera aplicación / photography by Christian Collado

The photos are tagged look at OnePluswith bright colors Y slightly lightened shadows to genera “shinier” recordings. But it is also pointed out hand by OPPO during the development of the programa in charge of processing the captures, since we received one increased amount of artificial data added to photos than other OnePlus phones.

Coche HDR does a good job in most scenes, but when it fails it cánido leave us with images completely scorched sky. In any case, the effect is convincing.

He is Portraits are good tooalthough I wish the camera wasn’t tilted faces shine so much. A longer focal length would also allow a picture to be taken Portraits with less distortionbut this time OnePlus has decided to forego the tele.

At night, Attention is drawn again to the large amount of data collected by the camera, although many of them are artificial – which is great, especially when you zoom in on the images -. And if the light isn’t enough, that Night mode integrated in the aplicación It does a great job of catching light from places where it doesn’t seem to be.

Unfortunately, almost none of the above applies to the 8 megapixel secondary camera. It’s the images captured by that sensor much flatterin detail and in colour, and the truth is that in these two weeks of use I have not been able to take a single “useful” picture with this sensor.

He is 32 megapixel front camera Probably, the best I’ve done on a OnePlus phone so far. Much better than the OnePlus 9 Pro itself.

He is able to Capture highly detailed images and even the portrait mode stands out for its amazement naturalness in blur and its ability to capture sharp faces.

In the vídeo section, the Nord 2 perro record clips at 4K resolution and 30 FPS. He is The quality is good, as is the stabilizationand as a novelty is introduced a dual recording mode This allows you to record vídeos simultaneously with the rear and front cameras.

Gallery of photos and vídeos with the OnePlus Nord 2

This device has been thoroughly tested Independently thanks to a move of the brand. The article contains purchase backlinks for which Andro4all may receive a commission. take part to the market channel Andro4all to find out about the best deals before anyone else.