Gone are the days when people admired OnePlus as the ‘go to’ brand for providing a great smartphone experience. Now the scenario is a bit different. The recently launched OnePlus 9 series and the much awaited OnePlus Watch, hasn’t been really well received by the audiences for several reasons. For instance, the OnePlus 9 series initially had some absurd battery life, overheating issues and the much hyped Hasselblad failed to be a ‘game changer’ as much as it was anticipated. As for the OnePlus Watch, it provided less features for the price but at the same time is stellar in terms of battery life.
On the bright side, with several updates, things are started to improve. But that would probably still not justify the price at least for the Indian variant of OnePlus 9 which omits on so many aspects.
OnePlus as a business first and smartphone brand later, would venture to various segments of the markets to set its foot and acquire more customers. The OnePlus Nord same time last year marked the beginning of OnePlus to cater the under Rs. 30K mobile segment. Fast forward a few months, US saw the launch of OnePlus N100 and N10 which were proper budget and Oppo rebranded phones.
Now in June 2021, the OnePlus Nord CE 5G launches on the same principles of the Nord – build a smartphone from scratch and includes only the necessities. But the Nord CE 5G goes even further by cost cutting on several aspects. Making it cheaper than the OnePlus Nord. By the way the ‘CE’ in Nord CE means ‘Core Edition’ as per OnePlus themselves.
What OnePlus Nord CE has to Offer
From the exterior Nord CE is very much similar to the original Nord. But things start to drastically change when looked closely. Which can be seemingly disappointing.
OnePlus decided to get rid of glass back on Nord CE and instead used polycarbonate for the back panel instead of glass like Nord. On the bright side, this gives a matte finish. Also, as per various reviews, the plastic used is indeed a class apart from midrange phones of like Realme and Redmi.
The camera module is also strikingly similar but Nord CE has 3 cameras namely wide, ultra-wide and a depth lens. The LED flash has trickled down a little closer to the OnePlus logo.
Another addition (which was marketed as a feature) is the arrival of 3.5mm headphone jack. For some reason was not presented on the original Nord, afterall it was midrange phone. Right! OnePlus TWS earphones were also launched around the same timeframe as Nord last year. Clever brand.
OnePlus Nord CE 5G comes with a headphone jack.
— Gadgets Hub (@thegadgetshub) June 2, 2021
Actually it’s a mid-range phone so this shouldn’t be hyped tbh. pic.twitter.com/bFLrSTZsxR
Coming to the front of OnePlus Nord CE, the ultra-wide selfie camera has been removed and the bezels have been ever so slightly are more wider. Either way, looks like a typical phone in this price range. Nothing fancy. The display is retained which is 6.4″ 90Hz AMOLED. Would be a pleasure to watch content which also supports HDR. No complaints there.
At the core of OnePlus Nord CE is the Snapdragon 750G is a slight downgrade from SD765G found on OnePlus Nord. It is based on 8nm architecture vs 7nm on SD765G and slight downgrade in GPU. Practically, it won’t matter much in day to day operation and both would perform more or less similar. But where Nord CE excels is in terms of battery, thanks to 4500mAh which is decent amount capacity in 2021.
Tech specs of OnePlus Nord CE 5G –
| Display | 6.43″ Inches FHD+ 90Hz AMOLED |
| Processor | Snapdragon 750G |
| Rear cameras | 64MP Omnivision (main) + 8MP (ultra-wide) + 2MP (depth) |
| Front camera | 16MP |
| Battery | 4500mAh with 30W Wrap Charge (fast charging) |
| 5G bands | 1 (N78) |
| Miscellaneous | 3.5mm headphone jack, mono speaker, In-display fingerprint scanner |
| Price | 6+128GB – Rs. 23,000 8+128GB – Rs. 25,000 |
What I Think of the Overall Design
Everything looks perfect on OnePlus Nord CE in terms of build and design. But couple of things which are a let down is the let go of ultra-wide angle selfie camera. No other brand equips that on in its phone these days. It could be a great addition which only the Nord series had. But also it would accumulate more of the screen, so maybe that’s why OnePlus decided to remove it. Afterall, it depends of preference. Coming from a huge sized notch, it would’ve not been an issue more me atleast. But considering the market as whole, sure should have been a strategical decision. Or cost cutting? Who knows.
Another let down, nothing major though is plastic back panel. At the price point of Rs. 23,000 – Rs. 25,000 more premium materials should’ve been put. But…. as the saying from famous YouTuber goes, glass is glass and glass breaks. Either way, this is one part to cut the costs on OnePlus Nord CE.
What I Think of the Software
As you’ve read from the title of this article, OnePlus Nord CE excels in software and software alone. Or atleast that’s what I feel. It’s the core OnePlus experience the brand is trying to deliver at low prices in form of Nord series and with Nord CE it takes it even further.
The software being Oxygen OS on OnePlus devices is one of the best out there. Not because of its look and feel. Rather the minimal non-annoying experience it provides. Sounds weird but, unlike other Android skins, Oxygen OS has remained cleaned with lack of any annoyances such as unwanted apps, no spammy notifications from first party apps, not automatically installing random apps through OTA without the user’s permission. This is clearly seen with the likes of major Android skins out there like MIUI, RealmeUI and OneUI.
Apart from Netflix and several Google apps, OnePlus Nord CE’s software remains clean and to the point. Yes, apps on other phones can be uninstalled but what about ads and notifications which certain first party apps push out from time to time.
OnePlus learned the right way and catered to users’ feedback when it preinstalled Facebook suite of apps such as Facebook, Instagram and Messenger on OnePlus 8 series. It received alot of backlash for the same and presently neither OnePlus 9 series nor the Nord CE has those apps. Credit where due.
Another time when OnePlus recieved backlash was with the overhaul of OxygenOS on OxygenOS 11. It took inspiration from OneUI which many users didn’t prefer. But now since even Google is embracing one handed UI on Android 12, this shouldn’t be seen as much of a problem going forward.
What Exactly is ‘Core Edition’?
The ‘CE’ in OnePlus Nord is known as Core Edition as per OnePlus. Let’s dig deeper to know what excatly it is beyond just the name.
Core of something is like a necessary part of it, without which that ‘something’ doesn’t have a meaning or any value. So in this case, OnePlus went ahead with Core Edition as the phone having only the necessary aspects and nothing which won’t hamper the day to day usage of the phone. Like as mentioned above it has 90Hz display which just works, plastic back instead of glass because well even with plastic the phone is usable and so on.
Checkout some funny and witty replies when OnePlus asked the community what does ‘CE’ stand for
The CE in OnePlus Nord CE 5G stands for ______ ______
— OnePlus (@oneplus) June 7, 2021
Who is the OnePlus Nord CE For & Should You Buy It?
With that being the case who exactly is the OnePlus Nord CE 5G for and why one should buy it.
1) Glimpses of OxygenOS Experience
If anyone wants to checkout the OxygenOS at best possible price, the OnePlus Nord CE is the way to go for. You’ll get everything what the high-end phones from OnePlus offer in terms of software. Even a highly customizable Always On Display is also present. Even OnePlus is targeting the phone towards early adopters and first time users of OxygenOS with in lieu their next phone would also be a OnePlus. India being a highly competitive market under Rs. 20,000 people never really got to experience OxygenOS due to the fact that its phones were always targeted towards the high-end and premium market. Which makes this a perfect opportunity.
2) Simple & Clean Software
OxygenOS is downright one of the simplest and cleanest software around. Also one of my personal favorite. This is because of no bloatware, no spammy notifications, no random app installations after an update and only the apps which you need, nothing you don’t. Tired of the shady experience on MIUI? OxygenOS can solve that issue.
3) A Decent Phone
Apart from some cons, OnePlus Nord CE is perfect for a person who isn’t a power or heavy user. It delivers performance pretty well on various aspects such as processing, battery life and cameras. This is phone which just works for the price. Though not taking in account of bugs in the software initially like the OnePlus 9 series.
