The Nord series has always been considered to be in the midrange category of the OnePlus line-up. But every once in a while, we get a model that can actually go head-to-head with other flagship offerings. This is a deep dive of the OnePlus Nord 2 5G’s successor: the OnePlus Nord 3 5G.
Table of Contents
Design and Construction
The design of the Nord 3 still sticks with the OnePlus formula as the dual camera islands stand out similar to one of OnePlus’s latest model: the Nord CE 3 Lite. The smartphone has a glossy black which makes it a fingerprint magnet so take note of that.
OnePlus has stated that the Nord 3 has a thickness of 8.15mm and weighs at 193.5. It’s really nice and comfortable to hold and use the phone with one hand. In my opinion, it reminds me of the OPPO Reno8 5G.
For I/O, the USB Type-C charging port, SIM card tray, primary mic, and one of the stereo speakers are at the bottom.
On the left side, we have the volume controls.
The right side has the power button and the Alert Slider that’s an iconic OnePlus design feature.
At the top, we get the other stereo speakers and an IR blaster.
Display, Biometrics, Multimedia
For its display, we have a 6.74-inch AMOLED with a very thin almost bezel-less screen with a 2772 x 1240 resolution and a 93.5% screen-to-body ratio with a 120Hz refresh rate and 450 ppi pixel density. This makes the phone be very responsive and snappy. It also has an IR blaster.
The colors are very vibrant, as you are able to see qualities like true blacks and vivid colors. With its HDR 10 support, it makes watching movies and videos enjoyable.
The audio that comes out of the phone is loud especially on max volume so you won’t have to worry on hearing the videos you watch.
Cameras
The Nord 3 features a triple-rear camera setup with a 50MP IMX890 OIS main camera, 8MP ultra-wide, and a 2MP depth.
Alongside the two camera islands are what seems to be a dual tone LED flash with the 2nd one at the bottom being an Ambient Light sensor which is similar to the one found in the OnePlus Nord 2T.
Meanwhile, the front camera shoots at 16MP.
The Nord 3 can shoot up to 4k@60fps. The colors are punchy as the cameras are able to capture the details of the subjects with ease. The device’s Hi-res mode is able to assist in either taking photos or videos.
Performance and Benchmarks
The Nord 3 has a MediaTek Dimensity 9000 which is a flagship-level chipset. Add to that 16GB of RAM and you get a budget flagship level smartphone with this device. You can also opt to get an additional 12GB of RAM extension effectively almost doubling the memory capacity up to 28GB. The Nord 3 also comes with a Mali-G710 MC10 GPU and 256GB of internal storage.
The Nord 3 is able to take on games like Diablo Immortal, Genshin Impact and Mobile Legends with ease in high settings. I have yet to experience the phone heating up too much as I game on high settings for a long period of time so you don’t have to worry that the device will be too hot to touch.
Here are the benchmark results that we got for the OnePlus Nord 3 5G:
AnTuTu v10.0.1: 910,019
Geekbench Single: 1,127
Geekbench Multi: 3,346
3D Mark Wilf Life: 7,438 (44.5 Avg FPS)
PCMark Work 3.0: 11,914
PCMark Storage 2.0: 16,679
OS, Apps and UI
The Nord 3 is running on OxygenOS 13.1 based on Android 13.
The UI is very responsive and looks great as well. It’s not too overwhelming, nor is it too less either. You can also customize the home and lock screens, icons, and layout to whatever preference or style you want.
Connectivity and Battery Life
The OnePlus Nord 3 5G has connectivity features like Bluetooth 5.3, WiFi 6, GPS and built-in NFC.
The Nord 3 has a 5,000mAh battery capacity that’s capable of 80W SUPERVOOC fast charging. That’s fast charging speed capable of reaching 50% in less than 15 minutes.
In my experience with the phone, it lasted me over a day and a half as I casually use it. When it comes to playing games and taking pictures with the device, however, the battery started to drain way too fast. An hour of gaming would take out at least 20% so there’s that to take note of.
In the PCMark battery test, the phone had a result of 14 hours and 49 minutes. For our battery loop test where the video is 1080p, while the phone has 50% brightness, 0% volume and on airplane mode, it lasted up to 16 hours and 46 minutes.
Conclusion
Overall, OnePlus was able to make a mid-range smartphone that is able to be a decent daily driver.
Android users will be able to pick this phone up with ease and not worry about getting overwhelmed by any new features. Though the phone being a fingerprint magnet was a bummer, its display, responsive UI and camera are able to make up for it. Just do watch your battery consumption though.
Specs and Pricing
As of the making of this review, there is no price announcement for the OnePlus Nord 3 5G. We’ll let you know once we catch wind of it though. The device is available in Misty Green.
OnePlus Nord 3 5G specs:
6.74-inch Fluid AMOLED @ 1240×2772 pixels
HDR10+, 120Hz
Corning Gorilla Glass 5
Mediatek MT6833 Dimensity 9000 chipset
Mali-G710 MC10 GPU
8GB, 16GB LPDDR5 RAM
128GB, 256GB, 512GB UFS 3.1
50MP Sony IMX890 f/1.9 OIS
8MP ultrawide f/2.3
2MP depth f/2.4
LED flash, Ambient Light sensor
4K@60fps
16MP front-facing camera
5G, dual nano-SIM
WiFi-6
Bluetooth 5.3
NFC
GPS (GLONASS, BDS, GALILEO, SBAS, NavIC positioning system)
IR Blaster
Android 13 based OxygenOS 13.1
5,000mAh battery, 80W SUPERVOOC fast charging
Misty Green
Pros and Cons
Pros:
- Display is vibrant
- Snappy and responsive UI
- Camera is able to capture details
Cons:
- Fingerprint magnet
- Games drain battery significantly faster
So what do you guys think of the OnePlus Nord 3 5G? Let us know in the comments!
