OnePlus Nord 3 it didn’t give us any particular surprises.
No wow effect, no unpredictable goodies, no revolutionary elements.
However, this does not mean that it is not a good smartphone. We could define it as a solid product, a device that is positioned in the mid-range of the market and that offers everything we need.
Curious to know more? Let’s get into the OnePlus Nord 3 review.
The OnePlus Nord 3 review
Let’s start immediately from the price, so as to help you place it immediately in that wild jungle that is the world of telephony.
OnePlus Nord will be available from July 12 in the version da 8/128 GB a 449 € while going up a 549 € for the variant from 16/256 GB.
The Early Bird offer will be active throughout the month of July – exclusively on OnePlus.com, with users being able to purchase the most powerful variant for €499.
Design
It is perhaps the element that has least convinced us. And yes, you’re right, it’s all extremely subjective but let’s try to explain why we weren’t particularly satisfied with the aesthetics of OnePlus Nord 3.
We could boil it all down to two factors:
The last born of the OnePlus house arrives in two colors: Tempest Grey – a classic dark gray – e Misty Green, what we tried.
A part of us, looking at the official photos already present on the OnePlus website, was convinced that the Misty Green version was more opaque and a little more… pastel green. In reality, the rendering is a little different live: the body perhaps tends more towards blue, although it depends a lot on the environment in which you are and on how it is affected by the light. Not a bad thing, of course. We just expected it different.
And we didn’t expect a glossy back cover that tends to retain fingerprints.
On the materials front we have glass and metal but the haptics are less premium than we expected. However, it remains a resistant terminal, thin (8.15 mm) and with IP54 certification.
What else to say? First of all we have the beloved slider, located on the right edge. In an instant, activate or deactivate the ringtone or select only the vibration.
Just below we have the on and off button while on the right is the volume rocker.
On the upper profile we point out the presence of the infrared – so you can use the smartphone instead of the remote control – while below we have the USB-C input and the SIM tray.
Display
On the front we have un display Super Fluid AMOLED da 6,74″ with a resolution of 2772×1240 pixels and a variable refresh rate: it passes at 40 Hz to 120 Hz based on the content being viewed at that moment, at least by activating the “Auto Select” mode. Alternatively you can opt for 120Hz or 60Hz.
Good color rendering, with deep blacks and vivid tones; here too you can adjust the settings and select the color mode by choosing between Lively, Natural and Pro, as well as defining the temperature of the display.
We then have support for HDR10 and HDR from Netflix and Amazon Prime Video and 100% coverage of the sRGB and DCI-P3 color spaces.
The brightness is also goodso even under the sun you won’t have major problems.
OnePlus Nord 3 review: performance
OnePlus Nord 3 monta the MediaTek Dimension 9000 processor 3.05 GHz, flanked by 8 or 16 GB of RAM which can be further expanded thanks to the appropriate software functionality. Indeed, with a touch you can add up to 12GBhowever stealing space from the internal memory which we remind you to be 128 or 256 GB.
We have done everything with this device and it has never given signs of slowing down. Well yes, you can play it without problemstaking advantage of the X-Axis vibration, for an even more convincing feedback, and the heat dissipation system that provides a larger vapor chamber and materials such as graphite and copper to keep temperatures low.
To complete the gaming experience they think about it i due speaker con driver Dirac, Dolby Atmos support and Hi-Res audio certification. The acoustic experience is quite satisfying and immersive even without the use of headphones.
Autonomy is not bad either, with the 5,000 mAh battery that allows you to cover the whole day; in addition you can count on the fast charge – the SuperVOOC – of 80 watts to go from 1 to 100% in just 32 minutes.
We conclude with the software. We have the OxygenOS 13.1 based on your Android 13.1 which looks more and more like Oppo’s ColorOS, thanks to the recent merger of the two companies. What does it mean? Similar aesthetics and similar functions which, however, enrich the user experience.
Finally, we point out that OnePlus Nord 3 can count on 3 major release di Android – then new versions of the operating system – and about 4 years of security patches.
Camera
OnePlus Nord 3 comes with the same main sensor as OnePlus 11: a 50 megapixel Sony IMX890 with optical stabilization, assisted of course by artificial intelligence.
The shots it gives aren’t bad at all: we have an adequate amount of detail, good management of the lights and a fairly natural color rendering. “Enough” because the feeling is that it tends to desaturate a bit unless you activate the AI processing.
The 8 megapixel ultra-wide-angle is discreet, while we did not find the 2 megapixel macro particularly useful.
On the front instead we find the 16 megapixel selfie camera which allows you to take home rather convincing self-portraits. And yes, if you want you can apply all kinds of filters, from the one for skin texture to the one that enlarges the eyes.
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OnePlus Nord 3 review: conclusions
OnePlus Nord 3 is a good mid-range which, however, struggles to distinguish itself from the competitionespecially in a range that has recently been stormed.
As anticipated, however, it does its thing: it is performing, has an excellent display, can count on excellent software and the photos are suitable for social use.