OnePlus Nord CE 2 Lite Review: OnePlus will not disappoint fans
OnePlus Nord (Review), which came first, had raised expectations in the segment below Rs 30 thousand. Fans kept hoping for the Nord phone to be launched in the sub-Rs 20,000 segment, and now in 2022, Nord has finally been launched in the sub-Rs 20,000 segment. OnePlus Nord CE 2 Lite 5G is the most affordable OnePlus phone which starts at Rs 19,999. As the name suggests, it Nord CE 2 5G (Review) is a lite version, but in some cases it offers better specifications than that. Does the Nord CE 2 Lite 5G have everything we expect from a OnePlus under Rs 20,000, or is there one among its rivals that sounds better to you?
OnePlus Nord CE 2 Lite 5G price in India
OhnePlus Nord CE 2 Lite 5G The base variant of the smartphone comes with 6GB RAM and 128GB storage and its price in India starts at Rs 19,999. Its 8GB RAM and 128GB storage model is priced at Rs 21,999. Both come in either Blue Tide or Black Dusk colour. I had its top end variant in blue color for review.
OnePlus Nord CE 2 Lite 5G design
The blue tide color gives the OnePlus Nord CE 2 Lite 5G the identity of a Nord phone. OnePlus has used these shades of blue for the Nord models. Even OnePlus Buds are available in Nord Blue shade. The Black Dusk variant has a sandstone finish.
At first glance, you can consider the phone as a Realme or Vivo device. Rather, Realme Q5 And Vivo T1 (Review) also looks almost the same. OnePlus Nord CE 2 Lite 5G has a 6.59-inch display with full-HD+ resolution, which has a camera hole in the top left corner. However, it’s an LCD panel, not AMOLED, which we’ve been seeing on OnePlus phones. The good thing is that you get a maximum refresh rate of 120Hz, which is higher than the 90Hz of the more expensive Nord CE 2 5G. I like the thin bezels on the sides of the display but the chin is thick. This is a normal thing for phones in this segment except Motorola G52.
The frame and back panel of OnePlus Nord CE 2 Lite 5G are plastic. The power button on the right side has a fingerprint scanner. Due to the slight slope of the frame it is easy to find and access. The volume buttons are on the other side along with the SIM tray. OnePlus has given a 3.5mm headphone jack at the bottom. Here you will also get a single speaker and USB Type-C port.
Like the rest of the Nord CE series models, the OnePlus Nord CE 2 Lite 5G is missing the iconic alert slider. The weight of the phone is 195g which is heavier than Nord CE 2 5G. The weight of the phone is obviously felt in the hand. If you attach the accompanying case also, it seems even heavier.
The camera module on the back panel has a textured finish. Here, when the phone is kept under light and viewed at different angles, the color changes from sky blue to yellow. The rest of the back panel is a static blue shade and features the OnePlus logo.
OnePlus Nord CE 2 Lite 5G specifications and software
OnePlus Nord CE 2 Lite 5G has simple specifications but it is right in line with the competition in this segment. I found this a bit disappointing as OnePlus is often known for setting trends, but this time the company did not do so. For processing, it is powered by the Snapdragon 695 SoC which we have already seen in similarly priced phones like Vivo T1, Moto G71 and Redmi Note 11 Pro + 5G. It also has a software RAM Boost feature that can use up to 5GB of internal storage as virtual RAM (in top-end variants).
OnePlus Nord CE 2 Lite 5G has support for Bluetooth 5.2, dual-band Wi-Fi ac, 4G VoLTE, five 5G bands, and six satellite navigation systems. It also has a hybrid SIM slot in which a microSD card up to 1TB can be used in place of the second SIM. The phone has a 5,000mAh battery and supports 33W SuperVOOC fast charging.
OnePlus Nord CE 2 Lite 5G runs on OxygenOS 12 based on Android 12. My unit had the April 2022 Android security patch. The company guarantees two Android OS version updates and three years of security updates for the Nord CE 2 Lite 5G. It is quite good compared to the rest.
The OxygenOS 12 coming to the OnePlus Nord CE 2 Lite 5G has some new features that we first saw in the OnePlus 10 Pro (Review). OnePlus Scout lets you search for things in contacts, apps, and the web, similar to Spotlight on Apple devices. Work-Life Balance 2.0 now lets you create profiles so you can keep separate apps for work. You can also filter notifications to help you stay focused while you work. These profiles can be triggered automatically based on time, location or Wi-Fi access point.
OnePlus Shelf can be accessed via a pull-down gesture from the top edge of the display. With the help of Private Safe, you can protect your media files and apps with a passcode. OnePlus has kept the pre-installed apps to a minimum which is a good thing.
OnePlus Nord CE 2 Lite 5G performance and battery life
The OnePlus Nord CE 2 Lite 5G is a capable budget phone, which ran smooth during the review period. Things of daily use ran smoothly but heavy apps and games took some time to load. Scrolling in the interface was smooth due to the high refresh rate. Multitasking was a breeze and I was able to switch between multiple running apps seamlessly. With the help of fingerprint scanner and face unlock, the phone was able to be unlocked quickly. The speaker is loud but it would have been better if there was a dual speaker setup.
OnePlus Nord CE 2 Lite 5G scored 4,00,763 points in AnTuTu benchmark. In the single core and multicore tests of Geekbench 5, the phone scored 687 points and 1951 points respectively. It scored 17fps and 60fps in GFXBench’s CarChase and T-Rex. If compared with other competing phones with the same processor, these scores are similar.
When it comes to gaming, Call of Duty: Mobile ran smooth on the ‘High’ preset for graphics and frame rates. After playing the game for about 15 minutes, I noticed a five percent drop in battery level, which isn’t bad.
The battery life of OnePlus Nord CE 2 Lite 5G was also good. For me it lasted more than a day and a half with normal usage. The phone lasted 23 hours 35 minutes in our HD video loop test, which is a pretty good time. The 33W SuperVOOC charger that came with the phone charged the phone from 0 to 50 percent in 30 minutes and up to 93 percent in an hour.
OnePlus Nord CE 2 Lite 5G cameras
The phone has three cameras on the back, which includes a 64-megapixel primary lens, a 2-megapixel depth lens and a 2-megapixel macro camera. For selfies, it has a 16-megapixel front camera like OnePlus 9 Pro. One thing that is missing is an ultra-wide camera, which is available on the Nord CE 2 5G.
The camera app is very easy to use and has multiple shooting modes to choose from. Through the viewfinder you can toggle HDR, AI Scene Enhancer, and capture images at the main camera’s full 64-megapixel resolution. There’s also a ‘Pro’ mode that lets you manually adjust different exposure parameters.
Photos taken in daylight with the OnePlus Nord CE 2 Lite 5G came out with good dynamic range and colors. The phone maintained the exposure well. Even small objects visible at a distance were recognizable in landscape shots. AI Scene Enhancer boosted the colors a bit but the result did not look artificial. The dynamic range in the photos taken with the 64 megapixel camera was good but there was a slight lack of details.
Close-up shots were crisp, with a slight blur in the background for the subject. The camera app also suggested how to position the phone when the subject got too close. Images captured in portrait mode had good edge detection and the intensity of the background blur was also adjustable. The 2-megapixel macro camera clicks good pictures but I have to say, I would have been happy if these two lenses were missing in exchange for an ultra-wide-angle camera.
Low-light camera performance was average. Things were lacking in sharpness in the photos and the phone struggled to capture photos with enough detail in darker parts of the scene. After turning on Night mode, it took 3 to 4 seconds to take a shot but the photo came out bright. With this mode the phone was able to capture good details even in shadow areas.
Selfies taken with OnePlus Nord CE 2 Lite 5G in daylight and low-light were good. Portrait shots also turned out good. In low light, it automatically used the screen flash to capture bright photos.
Talking about video recording, the phone can record videos up to 1080p. Stabilization was good in daylight footage, only the footage was a little shaky while moving.
Verdict
I’m glad that finally we have a OnePlus smartphone that comes under Rs 20k. But at the same time, I’m disappointed that the Nord CE 2 Lite 5G doesn’t significantly step up the competition. The features that this phone offers are good but not good enough to make it stand out in the market. Software updates and fast charging are some of its attractive points, apart from this the phone seems to be a mashup of handsets from BBK owned brands like Realme and Vivo. It is similar to these in appearance and performance.
OnePlus Nord CE 2 Lite 5G faces tough competition from Vivo T1 which is also Rs 3,000 cheaper than its base variant, and is similar in specifications. Moto G71 5G (Review) is also cheaper by Rs 2,000 but it does not have a high refresh rate screen. The phone has an AMOLED display and ultra wide camera.
If you have made up your mind that you have to buy a OnePlus smartphone and getting software updates for a long time is on your top list, then you can look at Nord CE 2 Lite 5G. For the rest, I think the Vivo T1 and iQoo Z6 offer the same performance at a lower price. The Moto G71 5G is another option, if you can go with a 60Hz display.
