OnePlus Nord CE 2 Lite 5G Hands-on

Announced last April, the OnePlus Nord CE 2 Lite is now available online for a price tag of only Php12,999.

OnePlus Nord CE 2 Lite 5G

Our review unit has 8GB of RAM (with 3GB Memory Extension) and 128GB of internal storage. The dual nano-SIM tray also supports a microSD card slot for up to 256GB. Our unit comes in a nice Tide Blue color as well with that smooth matte finish at the back.

The plain and simple design of the device is very typical of the Nord CE series and pretty much followed last quarter’s Nord CE 5G but with slight design changes on the camera module.

While the Nord CE 2 5G runs on a Dimensity 900 chipset, this Lite version opted for a Snapdragon 695 chipset which isn’t bad either. Our review unit got a score of close to 400k points on Antutu benchmark.

While the exterior design isn’t far off between the two, the Nord CE 2 Lite had to shed off a few key features — dropped NFC altogether, side-mounted fingerprint sensor instead of in-display, no Gorilla Glass protection indicated, dual camera instead of triple, hybrid SIM+SD card slot instead of a dedicated one.

Where the Lite variant got the better deal is with the battery at 5,000mAh and 33W SuperVOOC fast-charging capability.

Where the Nord CE 2 Lite got plus points is the 5G capability at this price range (Php12,990). There are quite a few other handsets in this category but the Nord CE 2 Lite 5G has a good mix of configurations. Will share more about this handset in our full review so watch out for that.

For the meantime, ff you’re interested in this unit, go check out the listing in Lazada here.

In terms of design, the Nord CE 2 Lite 5G looks plain and unassuming. Pretty much copied the old design of the Nord series with a few minor tweaks. It’s got a metal frame with polycarbonate back panel that has this fancy finish in half-glossy, half-matte pattern.

The triple camera module at the back protrudes from the flat surface, headlined by a 64MP main camera and a 2MP macro lens. The 3rd one is just a depth sensor paired with an LED flash.

Sample shots taken with the rear camera we’re decent at best and nothing else to be really excited about.

The power button on the right also works as a fingerprint sensor, the volume controls are on the left side along with the SIM card slot, noise-canceling mic up top and a Type-C charging port at the bottom, together with the speaker grills, primary mic and 3.5mm audio port.

Under the hood, there’s Oxygen OS 12.1 which is based on Android 12. It comes with the familiar UI if you’re used to OnePlus handsets before but can take quite some time to get used to if you are a first-time user. It’s snappy and responsive, thanks to the simple UI paired 8GB of RAM and Snapdragon 695 chipset. If the 128GB internal storage is not enough, you can add more via the microSD card slot. Take note that the internal storage is only UFS 2.2 so it’s not fast as we’d like it to be but you’ll never really get to notice that unless you’re transferring large amounts of files.

Where the Nord CE 2 Lite got plus points is the 5G capability at this price range (Php12,990). There are quite a few other handsets in this category but the Nord CE 2 Lite 5G has a good mix of configurations.

Will share more about this handset in our full review so watch out for that. For the meantime, if you’re interested in this unit, go check out the listing in Lazada here.

OnePlus Nord Ce 2 Lite 5G specs:
6.59-inches FHD+ IPS LCD @ 1080 x 2412 pixels, 120Hz
Qualcomm SM6375 Snapdragon 695
Adreno 619 GPU
6GB, 8GB RAM
128GB UFS 2.2 internal storage
Dual nano-SIM, 5G
microSD slot (shared)
WiFi 802.11ac
Bluethooth 5.2
GPS with aGPS
64 MP, f/1.7, 26mm (wide), PDAF
2 MP, f/2.4, (macro)
2 MP, f/2.4, (depth)
OxygenOS 12.1 based on Android 12
5,000mAh Li-Po battery, 33W fast-charging
164.3 x 75.6 x 8.5mm (dimensions)
195 grams (weight)

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