Two new smartphones join the Nord range of OnePlus. Both positioned in the mid-range, the Nord 2T and Nord CE 2 Lite are compatible with 5G and available in France in less than a week.
If you were expecting a Nord 3, you will still have to wait. OnePlus is concentrating on its range of Nord 2 smartphones, which it is expanding this year with a T version, as it did with its encrypted series up to the OnePlus 8. The OnePlus Nord 2T is therefore presented as a version slightly improved from Nord 2 5G.
If we take a look at the new features, they first concern its design: modernized, it is reminiscent of that of the Nord CE 2 that we tested at the start of the year. They are obviously due to the chip that drives the device, now a MediaTek Dimensity 1300 flanked by 6 to 8 GB of RAM (128 or 256 GB of storage), but also to a slightly faster charge. The 65 W of the Nord 2 5G give way to an 80 W charge (like the OnePlus 10 Pro) which, the brand promises, allows a full full of its 4500 mAh battery in 27 min.
For the rest, the smartphone retains a 6.43-inch AMOLED 90 Hz screen, Full HD + and hiding a fingerprint reader. The Nord 2T has this year again a 50 megapixel rear photo sensor (IMX766 from Sony) accompanied by wide-angle optics (f / 1.8), an ultra wide-angle module of 8 Mpx and a monochrome sensor of 2 Mpx taken advantage of by the portrait mode. On paper, there are no technical changes, but OnePlus promises the best in terms of night photo capture and relies on HDR video.
Logically, the Nord 2T is announced under Android 12 with OxygenOS 12.1. OnePlus is committed to rolling out two OS updates and three years of security updates.
A 120 Hz screen for the Nord CE 2 Lite
This is also the lot of the Nord CE 2 Lite, announced under Android 12, unlike the recent Nord CE. Light version of the smartphone released in the first quarter, the device is distinguished by its screen which sports a diagonal of 6.59 inches (6.43 inches for the Nord CE 2), is based on IPS technology and not Amoled, but offers a refresh rate of 120 Hz as compensation. Like Xiaomi’s recent Redmi Note 11 Pro 5G, the smartphone uses Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 695, including a 5G modem, to supplement its 6 or 8 GB of RAM. Finally, we note that the Nord CE 2 Lite’s dorsal photo block retains its main 64 Mpx sensor, but loses the second 8 Mpx with its wide-angle optics. There only remains a 2 Mpx module dedicated to depth measurement.
The release of the two new OnePlus smartphones demonstrates its now clear desire to bet on a Nord range destined to be sold on a larger scale than its high-end terminals – the brand claims 10 million Nords sold since the launch of the series. Count for the Nord 2T prices of 429 € (8/128 GB) and 529 € (12/256 GB), 319 € for the Nord CE 2 Lite. Both devices will be available from May 24, 2022 with a launch offer reserved for the Nord 2T from May 19 to 24, during which time OnePlus Buds Z2 will be offered with the smartphone.