OnePlus Nord 3 Review: A Package Deal

OnePlus introduced a new iteration of the Nord series after two years of gap, but is it worth the wait? OnePlus Nord 3 comes with the right upgrades in all the departments apart from the camera. That leaves much to be desired. With every brand contesting in the under-Rs 40,000 price segment, OnePlus’ most premium Nord is stacking up well against its rivals. Should you buy it? Keep reading to find out.

Design: Minimalistic and chic

OnePlus Nord 3 comes with a premium glossy look with two huge camera holes in the back. You will get round edges that will give a good hand-feel but since it is slippery, you might have to use the silicone case that comes with the smartphone, which is of the exact same colour as the phone. 

In my personal opinion, I did not like the Misty Green colour variant as it looked dull, but that is subjective. It also comes in a Tempest Gray colour variant for those who prefer the classic no-nonsense look. 

OnePlus Nord 3 features the company’s signature alert slider, but misses out on the 3.5 mm headphone jack. Honestly, I was a bit disappointed by this. Overall, for a mid-range segment, the smartphone looks premium. Now, it won't turn heads, but certainly a classy choice if that is what you're looking for. 

Beautiful Display

OnePlus Nord 3 5G features a 6.74-inch Super Fluid AMOLED panel that offers a 120Hz refresh rate for smooth scrolling. It also comes with 1450 nits of peak brightness, which is good enough for outdoor settings. Buyers will enjoy streaming their favourite shows and movies as the colours it offers are crisp and sharp even from different angles. The dual speakers will make the cinematic or gaming experience even better.

Overall, OnePlus has done a good job with the display in Nord 3.

Good Camera

OnePlus Nord 3 comes with a triple rear camera setup that offers a 50MP Sony IMX890 primary camera that offers OIS, an 8MP ultra-wide-angle sensor and a 2MP macro lens. In the daylight, the smartphone managed to capture good-looking images with fine details, vibrant colours, and good dynamic range. The contrast across the images was high but in a likable way. The portrait mode also performed well by offering appropriate blur and decent subject separation. In low-light, the camera shot bright and colourful images with slight noise. The camera isn't excellent as you can find more camera-centric smartphones that offer better capabilities, like Vivo V27 Pro, but that is definitely not a deal-breaker. No one buys OnePlus just for the camera, they go for it as an overall package. All-in-all, the images were decent and clean. 

Click here to see the camera samples

Performance and Battery

OnePlus Nord 3 is powered by MediaTek Dimensity 9000 chipset and offers up to 16GB RAM and up to 256GB of internal storage. It runs on Android 13 based OxygenOS UI 13.1. It offers battery optimisations, colour customisation options and more features but no major update there. 

The smartphone can easily handle day-to-day tasks or games. The phone was fast and smooth while scrolling through social media or switching between apps. I did not notice any lag, heating issue or throttling problem. 

As for the battery, the 5,000 mAh battery offered 9-10 hours battery life with regular usage including social media scrolling, texting, always-on-display and calling. With 80W fast charging support, it can charge a dead battery in much less than an hour. 

Should you buy it?

This OnePlus phone faces competition from Poco F5, Motorola Edge 40 and Samsung Galaxy A54 5G. The OnePlus Nord 3 comes with flagship-grade hardware, beautiful display, IP54 rating and a great battery. All these factors at a competitive price makes it a worthy upgrade from its predecessor. 

Looking at the competition, Motorola Edge 40 does offer an eye-catching design and IP68 rating, Poco F5 offers support for 120W fast charging and Galaxy A54 5G comes with the famous 120Hz AMOLED display, OnePlus Nord 3 still makes a compelling case. The newly launched OnePlus phone offers great performance, camera quality, display and battery life, hence, it is one of the best devices in under Rs 35,000 price segment.

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