OnePlus India recently introduced two new smartphones under the 3rd gen Nord Series which includes the Nord CE3 5G. The main highlights we can see are its 120 Hz Fluid AMOLED display, 50 MP IMX890 primary camera, 80W SuperVOOC fast charging, and packs the all-new 6nm Qualcomm Snapdragon 782G SoC. Compared to its predecessor Nord CE 2 5G, the major upgrades are its display, cameras, CPU, fast charging, battery, and more while the company has already launched the Lite variant – OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite 5G a few months ago. Here’s more about the smartphone in our OnePlus Nord CE3 5G review.
OnePlus Nord CE3 5G Specifications & Features
- Display & Design: 6.7-inch Fluid AMOLED display, 10-bit color depth (1.07B colors), Full HD+ resolution (2412 x 1080 pixels, 394 ppi pixel density), 120 Hz adaptive refresh rate (60 / 90 / 120 Hz), 240 Hz touch sampling rate, 2,160 Hz PWM Dimming, 93.4% screen-to-body ratio, aspect ratio of 20.1:9, sRGB support, Display P3, HDR10+, 8.2 mm thickness, 184 grams weight
- Software: OxygenOS 13.1 interface, Android 13 operating system
- CPU: 6nm Qualcomm Snapdragon 782G octa-core SoC clocked up to 2.7 GHz (1 + 3 + 4 Kryo 670 cores)
- GPU: Adreno 642L Graphics
- Memory: 8 GB OR 12 GB LPDDR4X RAM, up to +12 GB with RAM-Vita feature
- Storage: 128 GB OR 256 GB UFS 3.1 internal storage
- Main Camera: Triple cameras (50 MP f/1.8 24 mm Sony IMX890 OIS, 1/1.56″, 1.0 µm primary + 8 MP f/2.2 Sony IMX355 1.12 µm, ultra-wide-angle 112° FOV + 2 MP f/2.4 macro), 6P lenses, PDAF, OIS + EIS, up to 4K@30fps, 0.6x – 20x zoom, LED flash
- Selfie Camera: 16 MP f/2.4, 1080p @30fps
- Others: in-display fingerprint scanner, face unlock, stereo speakers, Dolby Atmos, Hi-Res Audio, Hi-Res Audio (Wireless), X-axis linear motor, 4D haptic vibration
- Cellular: 5G network, dual SIM, VoLTE support
- Battery & Charging: 5,000 mAh battery, 80W SuperVOOC fast charging, 61% in 15 minutes
- Colors: Aqua Surge, Gray Shimmer
- Price: ₹26,999 (8 GB RAM + 128 GB storage), ₹28,999 (12 GB RAM + 256 GB storage)
- Availability: From August 2023 on Amazon India, OnePlus India’s official website, OnePlus Experience Stores, and authorized retail stores.
Design, Display, & Build Quality
The OnePlus Nord CE3 5G uses a flat-edge streamlined design with a minimal camera bump. The backside doesn’t use premium glass like its sibling Nord 3 5G, it rather uses plastic on the back and sides, but it still looks and feels good. It’s 8.2 mm thick, weighs about 184 grams, and comes in two color variants – Aqua Surge, and Gray Shimmer, you can see we have the Aqua Surge.
The front side sports a 6.7-inch Fluid AMOLED display with minimum bezels for a great viewing experience. The display uses a resolution of Full HD+ (2412 x 1080 pixels, 394 ppi pixel density), 10-bit color depth (1.07B colors), and an adaptive refresh rate of 120 Hz (60 Hz / 90 Hz / 120 Hz). Other display features include a 240 Hz touch sampling rate, 2,160 Hz PWM Dimming, 93.4% screen-to-body ratio, aspect ratio of 20.1:9, sRGB support, Display P3, and HDR10+.
The screen supports an in-display fingerprint sensor, and you also get a classic You don’t get an Alert Slider on the side which was also missing in its predecessor. It comes with dual stereo speakers with Dolby Atmos on the side for a better multimedia and gaming experience.
Moving to the buttons and ports on the phone, the right side has a power button and volume keys, you get USB Type-C at the bottom with a microphone (another at the top with an IR Blaster) and loudspeakers (another at the earpiece). The bottom also has a hybrid dual SIM tray with support for 5G connectivity, VoLTE, and a microSD slot on SIM2.
Software, User Interface, & Features
The OnePlus Nord CE3 5G runs on OxygenOS 13.1 based on the Android 13 operating system and uses a security patch dated 5th June 2023. OnePlus India has promised 2 years of Android OS upgrades and 3 years of Android security updates for Nord CE3 5G.
The OxygenOS 13 is OnePlus’ latest customized Android-based operating system that packs loads of features on top of all the native Android 13 perks. OxygenOS is currently one of the best Android interfaces you can get with a host of features and customizations, plus it’s free from bloatware. The user interface is clean, smooth, and lag-free, and the overall UI experience is smooth, thanks to the 120 Hz refresh rate and UI optimizations.
The OxygenOS 13.1 on the Nord 3 5G has a bunch of things to offer, from a refreshing UI experience, a re-designed Home Screen, icon packs and customizations, display enhancements, Always-on display customizations with tracking and insights, fingerprint animations, edge lighting, HyperBoost Gaming Engine, RAM Vita, Zen Space, Privacy and Security features, and more. You can tweak the UI with the various Oxygen OS customizations and optimizations as per your needs.
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, OnePlus Store, IR Remote, and so), 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.
Hardware, Performance, & Gaming
Moving to the hardware and performance of the Nord CE3 5G, it’s powered by the 6nm Qualcomm Snapdragon 782G octa-core SoC which is for the first time in the country. The Nord CE3 5G is the first smartphone to use the Qualcomm Snapdragon 782G in India.
The Snapdragon 782G is clocked up to 2.7 GHz (1 + 3 + 4 Kryo 670 cores) with Adreno 642L GPU and paired with up to 12 GB LPDDR4x RAM, and up to 256 GB UFS 3.1 storage. The Qualcomm Snapdragon 782G is a fast midrange SoC manufactured in a 6nm and equips octa-core CPUs clocked up to 2.7 GHz. The CPU setup consists of a 1 + 3 + 4 cores configuration (1x Cortex-A78 clocked at 2.7 GHz + 3x Cortex-A78 clocked at 2.4 GHz + 4x Cortex-A55 clocked at 1.9 GHz).
The smartphone comes in two RAM and storage variants i.e. 8 GB LPDDR4X RAM with 128 GB UFS 3.1 storage and 12 GB LPDDR4X RAM with 256 GB UFS 3.1 storage. The smartphone comes with up to +12 GB extended RAM via its RAM-Vita feature. The microSD card storage expansion is available on the phone with up to 1 TB capacity (on SIM2).
The Snapdragon 782G is more likely an upgrade version of the Snapdragon 778G, Qualcomm has introduced the Snapdragon 782G as a Snapdragon 778G refresh. To say about its performance, it’s notably faster than the Snapdragon 778G due to its higher 2.7 GHz clocked rate. The performance would be also faster than the older Snapdragon 765G (OnePlus Nord 1st gen) and slightly faster (in terms of CPU performance) than the new MediaTek Dimensity 7050 which we saw in some recent smartphones.
The Adreno 642L is a decent GPU for gaming and can play many games in High graphics settings. For cooling, the Nord CE3 5G comes with a VC cooling system with a 4,129.8 sqmm large vapor chamber for heat dissipation which means it has a dedicated cooling system to prevent the phone from heating on longer gaming or extreme usage.
Cameras
Moving to its cameras, there’s nothing much changed in the camera specs as compared to its higher-end sibling, Nord 3 5G. The Nord CE3 5G comes with a 50 MP primary camera with Sony IMX890 which is a flagship-grade sensor. The Nord CE3 5G uses a triple camera setup on the rear side identical to the one seen on the OnePlus Nord 3 5G.
The camera setup includes a total of three cameras with the main 50 MP camera utilizing the Sony IMX890 image sensor. The 50 MP IMX890 primary camera uses a sensor size of 1/1.56 inches, 1.0 µm pixel size, f/1.8 aperture, 24 mm equivalent focal length, 6P lenses, PDAF, and supports both, OIS (Optical Image Stabilization) and EIS (Electronic Image Stabilization). No telephoto camera is available, however, it has OIS + EIS which is pretty much useful in zoomed shots.
The two secondary cameras include an 8 MP ultra-wide-angle with a Sony IMX355 image sensor, 1.12 µm pixel size, f/2.2 aperture, 112° FOV, and a 2 MP macro with f/2.4 aperture, and 4 cm shooting distance. The front side has a 16 MP f/2.4 selfie camera for selfie and video calling needs. It may seem that the cameras are aided by two separate LED flash, but there’s a fake one for design aesthetics, the phone comes with only a single LED flash besides the main camera.
Camera features include Ultra Steady Mode, Dual-view Video, HDR, Nightscape, Portrait Mode, Video Portrait, Pano, Macro, Slo-mo, Time-lapse, Text-scanner, Retouching, Filters, Google Lens, Extra HD, and Pro Mode. The selfie camera offers Face Unlock, Screen Flash, HDR, Nightscape, Portrait mode, Pano, Steady mode, Time-lapse, Retouching, Filters, and Dual-view Video.
Like its sibling, the main camera is a stunner, it captures brilliant shots with crip details with very good colors + contrasts and even captures impressive low-light shots. The OIS + EIS helps eliminate blurry and grainy photos while the ultra-wide camera takes great images, you also get to record amazing wide-angle videos, selfies turn out to be really well, while the macro camera performance is okay. You will likely capture a better shot from the main camera in zoom mode rather than using the macro mode.
The 50 MP primary camera offers from 0.6x to 20x zoom (rear) and supports up to 4K recording at 30 fps (rear) unlike the Nord 3 5G camera which records videos at 60 fps. The slow motion recording is normal, you get 1080p slow motion video recording at only 120 fps and 720p at a fair 240 fps. You won’t get to see the super 480 fps or 960 fps slow motion in either of the video modes. Take a look at the camera samples we took from the OnePlus Nord CE3 5G.
OnePlus Nord CE3 5G Camera Samples
Battery Runtime & Charging
As for its battery, the Nord CE3 5G also packs the same battery capacity i.e. 5,000 mAh dual-cell (2x 2,500 mAh) with support for 80W SuperVOOC fast charging. Compared to its predecessor, the Nord CE 2 5G, the battery capacity is upgraded from 4,500 mAh to 5,000 mAh, as well as, the charging speed which has been increased to a high-rated 80W SuperVOOC Charge. For its battery life, a 5,000 mAh battery can give you as much as 2 days battery life on normal usage or a day and a half on moderate usage (depending on the usage).
The dual cell helps in achieving faster charging speeds, the two batteries are charged parallelly which cuts down the charging time in half. The 80W charger takes about 15 minutes to charge up to 61% and retains 80% battery health after 1,600 charge and discharge cycles as per OnePlus. You get an 80W SuperVOOC Charge Type-A charger in the box with a rating of 11V, 7.3A (80W).
Verdict – OnePlus Nord CE3 5G Review
The OnePlus Nord CE3 5G has been significantly improved compared to its predecessor, the major upgrades are its display, cameras, CPU, fast charging, battery, and more. One of the key highlights of the smartphone is its flagship-grade 50 MP IMX890 primary camera which captures amazing photos and delivers stunning image quality. Plus, the new Snapdragon 782G offers seamless performance, the charging is super fast at 80W, and a great multimedia experience (120 Hz 10-bit AMOLED + Dolby stereo speakers), in addition to a bunch of OxygenOS 13 perks, all make the smartphone a compressive package for its price. The price starts at ₹26,999 which you can grab with some ongoing discounts listed below.
OnePlus Nord CE3 5G Price in India – Where To Buy?
The price for the OnePlus Nord CE3 5G starts at ₹26,999 for its 8 GB RAM and 128 GB storage variant and ₹28,999 for its 12 GB RAM and 256 GB storage variant. The sale starts today i.e. 1st August 2023 on Amazon India, OnePlus India’s official website, OnePlus Experience Stores, and authorized retail stores.
