The OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite 5G is the newest smartphone in the Nord series and is the successor to the last year’s OnePlus Nord CE 2 Lite 5G. The Nord CE 3 Lite 5G is also a 3rd generation device from the company launched alongside the OnePlus Nord Buds 2. Features and highlights include a 120 Hz display, 108 MP HM6 camera, 67W SuperVOOC fast charging, Qualcomm Snapdragon 695 SoC, and more. Here’s more about the phone in our full OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite 5G review.
OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite 5G Specifications
- Display & Design: 6.72-inch IPS LCD display, Full HD+ resolution (2400 x 1080 pixels), 120 Hz adaptive refresh rate, 680 nits peak brightness, display P3, Asahi Dragontail Star Glass protection, 8.3 mm slim design, 195 grams weight
- Software: OxygenOS 13.1 interface, Android 13 operating system
- CPU: 6nm Qualcomm Snapdragon 695 octa-core SoC clocked up to 2.2 GHz; Kryo CPUs (2x Kry0 Gold + 6x Kryo Silver CPUs)
- GPU: Adreno 619 Graphics
- Memory: 8 GB LPDDR4X RAM
- Storage: 128 GB OR 128 GB UFS 2.2 internal storage, microSD support up to 1 TB (hybrid slot)
- Main Camera: Triple cameras (108 MP f/1.7 Samsung HM6 primary + 2 MP f/2.4 depth + 2 MP f/2.4 macro), up to 1080p@30fps video recording, 720p @120fps slow motion video recording, LED flash
- Selfie Camera: 16 MP f/2.4, 1080p @30fps
- Others: Side-mounted fingerprint scanner, Face Unlock, dual speakers (200% volume)
- Cellular: 5G network, dual SIM, VoLTE support
- Battery & Charging: 5,000 mAh battery, 67W SuperVOOC fast charging, 80% in 30 minutes
- Colors: Pastel Lime, Chromatic Gray
- Price: ₹19,999 (8 GB RAM + 128 GB storage), ₹21,999 (8 GB RAM + 256 GB storage)
- Availability: From 11th April 2023 on Amazon India, OnePlus India’s official website, OnePlus Experience Stores, and authorized retail stores.
- Launch Offers: ₹1,000 off on ICICI bank cards and EMI (till 17th April 2023), extended 1-year warranty plan at just ₹99 (till 30th April) 2023), OnePlus RedCoins discount of up to ₹600 on purchases made on OnePlus.in, or OnePlus Store App, 120 GB cloud storage, 12-month extended warranty, dedicated customer helpline, and more with Red Cable Care ₹1,499 on oneplus.in, Amazon.in, and OnePlus Experience Stores. Offer (till 30th April 2023), Jio Offers: For Jio Plus (Postpaid) users – on recharge of ₹399 plan offers 75 GB monthly data and 3 Add-on SIMs, benefits up to ₹3,500 – a total of 100 GB additional data (10 GB for 10 months) worth ₹1,000, additional coupons of ₹2,500 value.
Design, Display, & Build Quality
OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite 5G is a midrange smartphone under ₹20,000 budget and we can see some significant upgrades in the smartphone from its predecessor Nord CE 2 Lite 5G are its larger 6.72-inch display, 108 MP cameras, 67W fast charging, and a slimmer design (8.3 mm).
The OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite 5G has a flat edge streamlined design with a minimalist camera bump, is 8.3 mm slim, 195 grams in weight, and comes with Asahi Dragontail Star Glass protection. The OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite 5G is available in Pastel Lime and Chromatic Gray, two color variants.
On the front side, the phone equips a 6.72-inch IPS LCD screen with a resolution of Full HD+ (2400 x 1080 pixels) and an adaptive refresh rate of 120 Hz (30 / 48 / 50 / 60 / 90 / 120 Hz). Other display features include 680 nits peak brightness, a touch response rate of 240 Hz, an aspect ratio of 20:9, sRGB support, display P3, Eye comfort, and Dark mode.
The 120 Hz IPS LCD display offers a decent viewing experience, but some rivals in this range offer an AMOLED display with a 90 Hz or 120 HZ refresh rate, so Nord CE 3 Lite 5G lacks behind in terms of display quality compared to the AMOLEDs with high brightness.
Moving to the sides, the right side has a power key that doubles as a fingerprint scanner, the two separate volume controls are on the left along with a dual SIM tray that also carries a microSD card slot on SIM2. The SIM tray can hold two SIMs with 5G functionality and support for VoLTE.
The bottom side has a USB Type-C port, loudspeakers (stereo, 2nd at earpiece), a 3.5 mm jack, and a microphone while the top holds another noise-canceling microphone and loudspeaker at the earpiece. The phone with its dual loudspeakers delivers a far better audio output.
Software, User Interface, & Features
The Nord CE 3 Lite also runs on the latest Android 13 operating system with the new OxygenOS 13.1 on top using the 5th February 2023 security patch. OnePlus India has promised 2 years of Android OS upgrades and 3 years of Android security updates for Nord CE 3 Lite 5G. So, you can expect the Android 14 and 15 to come to the Nord CE Lite 5G.
The OxygenOS 13 is OnePlus’ latest customized user interface and packs a bunch lot of features on top of all the native Android 13 perks. OxygenOS is currently one of the best Android interfaces you can get and offers a host of features and customizations and it’s free from bloatware.
The OxygenOS 13 is the latest UI version and it offers a refreshing UI experience on the Nord CE 3 Lite 5G with a re-designed Home Screen, icon packs and customizations, display enhancements, Zen Space, Privacy and Security features, and more.
You don’t get bloatware or any pre-installed apps on the phone, only the essential ones like GApps, Netflix, Prime Video, and a few OnePlus apps (O Relax, Zen Space), the rest of the UI is just so clean. The O Relax provides some nice ambient sounds for relaxation while the Zen Space allows you to isolate yourself from smartphone distractions.
You will also find traces of OPPO’s ColorOS inside the settings page, a few familiar features in the camera app and so. The user interface is clean, smooth, and lag-free, and the experience overall is smooth. You can tweak the UI with the various Oxygen OS customizations and optimizations.
Hardware, Performance, & Gaming
For its hardware and performance, the Nord CE 3 Lite 5G has a midrange 5G chip, the 6nm Qualcomm Snapdragon 695 5G octa-core SoC clocked up to 2.2 GHz, and an Adreno 619 GPU. The SoC is paired with 8 GB LPDDR4x RAM and up to 256 GB UFS 2.2 storage. You get the Nord CE 3 Lite 5G in a single 8 GB RAM LPDDR4x variant, the RAM expansion technology offers extra +8 GB RAM with a total of 16 GB RAM physical + virtual.
The Nord CE 3 Lite 5G comes in two storage variants i.e. 128 GB UFS 2.2 storage and 256 GB UFS 2.2 storage with the same 8 GB LPDDR4x RAM on both models. The storage option has increased from its predecessor, users can now opt for a 256 GB higher storage variant. The storage can be expanded via a microSD card of up to 1 TB (hybrid slot).
The SoC consists of 8x Kryo CPUs (2 + 6 core configurations), two high-performance Kryo 660 Gold cores clocked at 2.2 GHz, and six power-efficient Kryo Silver cores clocked at 1.7 GHz.
As for the performance, you will get mostly identical performance results as seen on its predecessor, Nord CE 2 Lite 5G due to the same CPU equipped on both. You can expect a slightly higher performance compared to the Snapdragon 765G and more significant than the Snapdragon 720G. The performance fits the price bracket and is suitable for everyday use, also good for gaming and multitasking.
In terms of graphics, you will find an Adreno 619 GPU for gaming and graphics-demanding apps. For gamers, the Adreno 619 can run several games smoothly on default graphics settings. You can expect to run games from medium to high graphics with this GPU.
Cameras
On the camera’s front, the Nord CE 3 Lite 5G packs a 108 MP primary camera in its triple camera setup on the rear side. The primary camera has been revamped from its predecessor, it’s doubled the megapixels, 64 MP on the Nord CE 2 Lite 5G vs the 108 MP Nord CE 3 Lite 5G.
Digging more into the cameras, the 108 MP primary camera uses Samsung ISOCELL HM6 (S5KHM6SX03) sensor with a 1/1.67-inch sensor size, f/1.7 aperture, and EIS support, no OIS is available on the camera. The secondary cameras include a 2 MP depth and a 2 MP macro with f/2.4 apertures on both while the front side has a 16 MP f/2.4 selfie camera for selfie and video calling needs.
Camera features include AI Scene Enhancement, Dual-view Video, HDR, Nightscape, Portrait mode, Pano, Macro, Slo-mo, Time-lapse, Text-scanner, Retouching, Filters, up to 1080p video at 30 fps, slow motion 720p video at 120 fps, and more. The selfie camera offers Face Unlock, Screen Flash, HDR, Nightscape, Portrait mode, Pano, Time-lapse, Retouching, and Filters.
The main camera allows users to record up to 1080p videos at 30 fps and slow-motion videos up to 720p at 120 fps. The video recording capabilities are average, you don’t even get 60 fps recording, and the slow-motion video has a limited resolution.
The 108 MP camera is a performer and serves just the right for its price, the HM6 sensor is slightly better than the HM2. The new image sensor HM6 has improved the overall light intake ability by 123% when compared to the ISOCELL HM2. The cameras perform well in daylight, the overall picture quality is decent, take a look at these camera samples we took from the OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite 5G.
OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite 5G Camera Samples
Battery Runtime & Charging
The OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite 5G packs a 5,000 mAh battery with support for 67W SuperVOOC fast charging. Compared to the previous generation, fast charging is significantly increased from 33W while battery capacity remains the same. You are likely to get a better charging speed at this rate (67W) and it’s, so far, clearly ahead of the competition.
The battery life is suitable for this price segment, the phone survives up to 2 days depending upon the usage. The 67W fast charging can charge the battery up to 80% in 30 minutes which is quite fast, you can expect the phone to charge in about 45 minutes. You get an 80W Type-A charger in the box which is rated 80W power (11V, 7.3A).
Verdict – OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite 5G Review
The OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite 5G is suitable for midrangers, it has a bunch of features like 67W SuperVOOC fast charging, 120 Hz display, 108 MP camera, 5G support, Snapdragon 695, stereo speakers, and more. It packs a large 256 GB storage which is a plus, the OxygenOS 13 offers loads of features, perks, and additions. We would miss the AMOLED screen, and like to see better video recording capabilities on the phone, rivals with an AMOLED display and similar specs are available in the segment. But for this price, a OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite 5G is a still good pick, especially the 256 GB storage variant. The price for the Nord CE 3 Lite 5G starts at ₹19,999 and it can be grabbed with some ongoing discounts.
OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite 5G – Where To Buy
The price for the OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite 5G starts at ₹19,999 for its 8 GB RAM and 128 GB storage variant and ₹21,999 for its 8 GB RAM and 256 GB storage variant. It is available from 11th April 2023 on Amazon India, OnePlus India’s official website, OnePlus Experience Stores, and authorized retail stores.
OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite 5G Offers
The launch offers include ₹1,000 off on ICICI bank cards and EMI till 17th April 2023, an extended warranty starting from 11th April 2023 till 30th April (1-year warranty plan at just ₹99).
OnePlus RedCoins discount of up to ₹600 on purchases made on OnePlus.in, or OnePlus Store App, 120 GB cloud storage, 12-month extended warranty, dedicated customer helpline, and more with Red Cable Care ₹1,499 on oneplus.in, Amazon.in, and OnePlus Experience Stores. Offer valid from 11th April 2023 till 30th April 2023.
Jio Offers: For Jio Plus (Postpaid) users – On recharge of ₹399 plan offers 75 GB monthly data and 3 Add-on SIMs. Jio Plus users will get special benefits up to ₹3,500 – a total of 100 GB additional data (10 GB for 10 months) worth ₹1,000, additional coupons of ₹2,500 value.
