OnePlus Nord Rapid Review

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Having called the OnePlus 8 the best Android phone I had ever used, I was intrigued to try out the OnePlus Nord. I’d followed the journey of the OnePlus Nord on Instagram, and watch the world’s first AR smartphone launch. So it was fantastic when the phone arrived at Rapid Reviews HQ for review.

Fast Facts

Operating System: OxygenOS based on Android™ 10
CPU: Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ 765G 5G mobile platform
GPU: Adreno 620
RAM: 8GB/12GB LPDDR4X
Storage: 128GB/256GB UFS2.1
Battery: 4115 mAh (non-removable)
Warp Charge 30T fast charging (5V/6A)

Fast forward a month, and I’m now ready to write down my thoughts on this midrange phone. Have OnePlus made the best midrange smartphone of 2020?

What’s inside the box?

The OnePlus Nord is presented in a gorgeous teal and black box. Inside the box, you find the following:

Not Your Nordinary Phone

Design

The OnePlus Nord comes in two varieties, Blue Marble, and Gray Onyx. My review handset came in Blue Marble, and I loved the colour, especially when the light reflected on it. It has Corning Gorilla Glass 5 on the front and back, and it feels solid in hand.

A criticism of the Nord, and perhaps a result of its mid-range status, is that the frame is made of plastic, not metal. Having said that, I didn’t necessarily feel that this cheapened the feel of the device. 

Display & Sound

The OnePlus Nord has a gorgeous 6.44 inch 90Hz refresh rate AMOLED screen. It’s 20:9 aspect ratio, Full HD+ resolution provides bright, vibrant colours, with text looking super sharp.

As for sound, the Nord features a single speaker at the very bottom of the handset. While the speaker does provide a loud sound, there’s no stereo sound. As a result, music and video can sound a little dull. However, for the everyday user, the speaker is more than passable.

Battery Life

A high-end feature that is missing from the phone is wireless charging. However, this isn’t a deal-breaker.

Using the phone moderately throughout the day: checking emails, tweeting, taking photos, and playing some games, the 4115 mAh battery provided enough power to get me through the day.

When I needed some more juice, the included Warp Charge 30T charger was able to refill Nord from 0 to 70% in just half an hour.

Collection of Cameras

OnePlus has thrown a smorgasbord of cameras at the Nord. You get a total of 6 cameras, consisting of two front cameras, and four on the back.

The main camera on the rear of the OnePlus Nord is taken from the OnePlus 8, so I knew that it would be good. This 48MP main lens, with optical image stabilization, produces some very pleasing results. You can see this in the slideshow below.

Nightscape mode was a real treat and produced some quite dramatic pictures. The photos below were taken, with the only light available coming from a couple of street lights.

The 2MP Macro lens performed quite well, and as you can see in the pictures below, it was able to pick up quite a lot of detail.

Performance

I was very impressed by the performance of the Nord. In comparison to its bigger brother, the OnePlus 8, I didn’t really notice any discernable difference in speed.

Thanks to the Qualcomm Snapdragon 765G 5G and the amazing midrange defying 12 GB of RAM, the Nord completes most tasks with no problem at all. Power-hungry games all ran as expected.

Multi-tasking is a breeze, and navigating your way through Oxygen OS is as buttery smooth as I have come to expect with the OnePlus devices.

The Last Word

OnePlus have done exactly what they set out to, the OnePlus Nord is a brilliant handset, with specs and features that you would typically find on much more expensive phones. There are some features missing which makes it a mid-range phone, but for the price, you are getting so much bang for your buck.

Rapid Reviews Rating

You can purchase the OnePlus Nord here.