5 Things We like About OnePlus Nord 3 And One Thing We Didn’t

OnePlus has finally upgraded the Nord lineup in India, and here are some of the things we liked about the phone and some we didn't.

Venkatesh Gorantla

Published On: Jul 6, 2023 | Last Updated: Jul 6, 2023

OnePlus Nord 3 has finally launched in the market this week, making it the first full-fledged upgrade on the Nord 2 that came out a while back. We did get the Nord 2T in the middle, but the less said, the better. Now, talking about the OnePlus Nord 3, the company has worked on making it a proper premium mid-ranger by dishing out a quality display, reliable hardware that is above its pay grade, and software that is hard to find in the segment.

But priced at Rs 33,999, the OnePlus Nord 3 has a lot more competition in 2023, which is why it will need more than just hardware upgrades to satiate the consumers. We already have the full review of the OnePlus Nord 3 here, but to help you better summarise the new Nord phone, here are the five things we like about the OnePlus Nord 3 and one thing we didn’t like:

Table of Contents

5 Things We Like About OnePlus Nord 3

Premium Design

The Nord 3 gets a same-ish design feel but the materials and the overall changes give it a refreshing outlook. The back panel is made of glass that gets Corning Gorilla Glass 5 protection and the frame is flatter, while made of plastic. But the overall hand-feel makes it feel slightly different in a good way.

The phone gets an IP54 rating which makes it splash-resistant and the alert slider makes its debut on a Nord phone this year. And yes, the front screen gets Asahi Dragontrail Star to protect it from scratches and any serious damage.

Quality Display

In addition to the design, the Nord 3 also features a slightly bigger 6.74-inch AMOLED display with probably the thinnest bezels in the segment. The screen gets a 120Hz refresh rate which makes it smoother than the predecessor and you have higher brightness levels up to 1450 nits along with Widevine L1 compliant, which allows you to stream Netflix and other streaming app shows in HDR quality. The bigger screen means the content looks more immersive without any drop in the colour levels and contrast.

Flagship-Grade Performance

OnePlus is using the MediaTek Dimensity 9000 SoC with up to 16GB RAM on the Nord 3, which is a sure-shot recipe for success. The hardware delivers flagship-grade performance, allowing you to indulge in heavy multitasking, enjoy your favourite games at the highest tilt and notice barely any hiccups on the way.

OnePlus has also taken advantage of its clean OxygenOS 13.1 version which does not have a lot of bloatware and that itself gives it a big up over the rivals. You are also assured to get three years of OS updates, and fours of security updates.

Impressive Primary Camera

The Nord 3 cameras have also been refreshed, including the primary 50MP which is a Sony IMX890 sensor that gets optical image stabilisation (OIS) as well as electronic image stabilisation (EIS) support.

Having these two on board allows the new 50MP shooter to click quality and detailed images in both day and low-light conditions. Even when clicking photos at night, the shutter speed manages to keep its pace, which is a promising sign. What we also liked about the camera is the natural colour tuning which keeps the blues and greens in their original state.

All-Day Battery Life

OnePlus Nord 3 packs a 5000mAh battery which supports 80W wired charging with the bundled adapter. OnePlus seems to have done a good job tuning the software with the hardware to deliver a long battery life on the Nord 3.

Having a bigger capacity than the Nord 2T seems to have done the trick, and even if you engage in the High-Performance Mode (HPM), the 80W charging support should easily get you back up to speed in around 40 minutes.

One Thing We Didn’t Like About OnePlus Nord 3

Mediocre Secondary Cameras

While the main camera takes all the laurels, the secondary units on the Nord 3 flatter to deceive. You have an 8MP ultrawide sensor and a 2MP macro sensor, both of which feel like a downgrade when clubbed with the Sony IMX890 sensor at the back.

While the 8MP camera manages to deliver some quality images, it would have been better if OnePlus had kept it to two cameras on the Nord 3 and not given the 2MP sensor altogether.