OnePlus Nord 2T 5G: the mid-range 5G smartphone with a (very) long lifespan

OnePlus Nord 2T 5G – Best prices:

OnePlus has built its reputation on well-priced mid-range and premium smartphones. Last year, the brand impressed with its OnePlus Nord 2 5G. The manufacturer has now just launched an updated version of the device in the form of the OnePlus Nord 2T 5G.

There are two variants of the Nord 2T 5G. The entry-level 8 GB/128 GB model costs 399 euros, while the high-end 12 GB/256 GB model costs 499 euros. The rectangular camera bump protrudes considerably from the rear of the device, meaning the phone isn’t particularly stable on a desk when the screen is pushed. You can use the provided protective case to solve this problem, but it will hide the color and texture of the back plate.

There are two large circles in the camera bump, with a single lens in the top one and two in the bottom one. The mix of symmetry and offset turns out to be rather appealing. On the front, the device has a single hole-shot camera in the upper left corner of the screen. The screen itself sits in small bezels that deliver an 85.8% screen-to-body ratio. The device has a volume rocker on the left edge, while the bottom houses the USB-C charging/connection port, a speaker grill and a SIM caddy that can accommodate two SIMs.

An unchanged screen

Unsurprisingly for a mid-range handset, this one lacks an IP rating for dust and water resistance. The device’s AMOLED display is little changed from last year’s specs. It measures 6.43 inches diagonally, has a resolution of 2400 x 1080 pixels (20:9, 409 ppi), a refresh rate of 90 Hz and is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 5. The OnePlus Nord 2 released the last year, for its part, had an AMOLED screen of the same size, with the same resolution and the same refresh rate.

OnePlus Nord 2T 5G – Best prices:

According to OnePlus, the display now has two ambient light sensors to ensure that automatic brightness changes are better calibrated. It’s one of those little usability tweaks that can make a big difference in day-to-day use. Other screen tweaks allow you to set the screen refresh rate to 90 or 60 Hz and apply “video color boosting”. The higher refresh rate and improved colors will both result in higher battery usage.

The Nord 2T 5G is the first to be released with the new MediaTek Dimensity 1300 chipset. This provides decent performance of 458 (single core) and 2700 (multi core). The multi-core result is in the same range as the Honor 50 (2885) and last year’s Nord 2 (2518), although the single-core result lags behind (458, compared to 775 and 733 for the Honor 50 and the North 2 respectively). Our review device’s 256GB of storage had 233GB free after Android 12 and OxygenOS 12.1 took their toll. The device does not have a MicroSD card to add external storage.

A frustrating device

Now that OnePlus is firmly entrenched in the Oppo stable, there are a lot of similarities in handset features across brands. OxygenOS shares a lot with Oppo’s ColorOS, so OnePlus has lost some of what made it unique.

Although there are three rear cameras, only two – 50 MP f/1.8 wide-angle and 8 MP f/2.2 ultra wide-angle (120°) – really matter. The third member of the trio is a 2MP f/2.2 mono camera used to enhance black-and-white photos taken with wide and ultra-wide cameras. The front camera is a 32MP f/2.4 wide-angle camera. In fact, the device has the same configuration as its elder, released last year.

Still, the Nord 2T takes perfectly acceptable photos, and OnePlus has increased low-light shooting through software to make night shots look brighter. That said, OnePlus could do well to replace the mono camera with something else. Shooting 4K videos is limited to 30 fps, and slow-motion 1080p videos are shot at 120/480 fps, 720p videos at 240/960 fps. OnePlus has equipped the Nord 2T with a 4,500 mAh battery. Despite numerous attempts, it completely refused to run the PCMark for Android Work 3.0 battery life test for me.

Bottom line: The OnePlus Nord 2T is a frustrating device in that it shares some of its main screen and camera specs with a year-old phone, while marrying them with fast charging and a chipset. update. And while the speakers are truly awful, the alert slider is awesome. Potential buyers should clearly weigh the pros and cons, but it must be said that, for the price, the OnePlus Nord 2T remains an attractive mid-range contender.

OnePlus Nord 2T 5G – Best prices:

Source: ZDNet.com