OnePlus Nord CE 2 review 2024: most affordable phone

Even though “CE” stands for “Core Edition,” the OnePlus Nord CE 2 is not a more affordable version of the OnePlus Nord 2. Its design is reminiscent of both Oppo and OnePlus, but its performance is significantly inferior to that of its mid-range ancestor, and it does not have the flagship-level main camera sensor that the Nord 2 has.

Although it may be unfair to describe to the OnePlus Nord CE 2 as money for old rope, it is the first impression that we were left with after using the device. The plastic design of the phone is only slightly enhanced, and the display and camera technology on the phone are the same as those found on the OnePlus Nord CE that came before it.

OnePlus Nord CE 2specifications

OnePlus Nord CE 2 review: Design

The design of OnePlus‘s new cheap mid-range phone hasn’t changed all that much. It’s another phone made of plastic, and it looks and feels pretty normal. It’s a little bit thinner than its sibling at 7.8mm. In fact, since the OnePlus 6T, this is the brand’s thinnest phone. It’s also a little bit taller and slimmer than it used to be, but only by fractions of a millimeter.

The new phone weighs 173g, which is only a three-gram increase from the old one. At least, it’s not too heavy for a smartphone of today. This second-generation model still has a 3.5mm headphone jack, and there is still no warning slider. This last thing is still missing, which is a shame because it has always been a nice way for more expensive OnePlus phones to stand out. You can buy this phone from its official website

OnePlus Nord CE 2 review: Display

Most of OnePlus’s new Nord phones have the same screen, but there’s a good reason for that. The 6.43-inch AMOLED screen here has a refresh rate of 90Hz and a wide range of colors. Even though it’s not a top-of-the-line screen, it’s still one of the better ones around this price. At some point, OnePlus will have to upgrade these cheaper Nord phones to the faster 120Hz refresh rate, but 90Hz is fine for now. It still keeps animations and scrolling smooth and fast, and to be honest, only competitive games would really benefit from a faster refresh.

OnePlus Nord CE 2 review: Cameras

On the back, there are three cameras: a 64MP f/1.79 wide-angle camera, an 8MP f/2.2 ultra-wide-angle camera with a 119° field of view, and a 2MP f/2.2 closeup camera. The two main cameras’ point-and-click shots were fine, but not great. The macro camera, on the other hand, is not very useful because it has a set focus and can’t get very close to the subject. If shooting is important to you, you might want to look somewhere else.

OnePlus Nord CE 2 review: Connectivity

The USB-C port on the Nord CE 2 5G is only connected to a slow USB 2.0 bus. You can’t mirror your device over a wired connection, so you have to use Miracast instead. Aside from these small problems, we found that the Nord CE 2 5G was pretty up-to-date when it came to networking. It had Bluetooth 5.2, NFC, dual SIM, Always On, and a headphone jack. You can even add up to 1 TB of extra storage with microSD cards.

OnePlus Nord CE 2 review: Performance

The Mediatek Dimensity 900 chip that runs the Nord CE 2 might not be Mediatek’s flashiest, but it’s still near the top of the line. This means that Android 11 works smoothly under OxygenOS 11 without slowing down. It’s also better at multitasking because it has 8GB of RAM. The storage is a little slower than on the Nord 2, but you wouldn’t notice. The performance isn’t even mid-range, let alone cheap, and everything moves quickly. OK, so some games lose frames, and it’s not a top-of-the-line phone, but that’s what you’d expect from a cheap phone.

OnePlus Nord CE 2 review: Battery and Charging

It has a nice and bright 6.43-inch 1080p OLED display with a smooth 90Hz frame rate, a long-lasting 4,500mAh battery that can be charged at a fast 65W with a charger that comes in the box, 5G support, and a headphone jack. You can get it in blue or gray.

Using the 65W fast charger that came with the phone, I was able to charge it from 0% to 21% in just five minutes, which is amazing for a cheap phone like this. In 15 minutes, it got to 57 percent, and in 35 minutes, it was almost fully charged (97 percent).

Price and availability

OnePlus USA does not yet officially sell the Nord CE 2 5G, so it is not mentioned on their website either. But imported ones from other countries are easy to find, for example on Amazon, where prices start at around $400.

Final Words

The OnePlus Nord CE 2 is a great mid-range phone that doesn’t cost too much, but it does have a few flaws. In fact, its biggest problem might be that you could get the even better Nord 2 for just a little bit more money. For the price, the performance, battery life, and charging are all good, and the look is nice enough to make you forget its plasticky roots. The camera has some problems, but they are normal for the price.

OnePlus Nord CE 2 review: the good and the bad

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