Nord CE 2 5G announced: Price-performance contender for 2022?
The mid-range smartphone market in 2022 is gearing up to become a pure trench warfare! After Xiaomi and Realme present their midrangers, OnePlus starts the counterattack with the Nord CE 2 5G. It features 5G, 65-watt Quick Charging, and an AMOLED display with 90 hertz at a particularly tempting price. Here is all the info!
TL;DR
- OnePlus Nord CE 2 5G presented.
- New mid-range phone offers a particularly good price-performance ratio.
- 5G, 65-watt Quick Charging and AMOLED display with 90 hertz.
In recent years, OnePlus' product portfolio has slowly but surely evolved towards the upper class. Former "flagship killers" are now just as expensive as the typical iPhone, Galaxy and co. and even the Nord series is now more premium than budget. With the Nord CE 2 5G, however, OnePlus now shows once again that the price-performance hit is to be found in the "core edition".
OnePlus unveiled the new mid-range phone today, February 17. Still with no estimated launch for the US, the phone will have an MSRP of €349 in Europe. Before going further, I recommend taking a look at the spec sheets of the Realme 9 Pro+ and the Redmi Note 11 Pro 5G for comparison. Everything prepared? Then let's go!
This is what OnePlus' latest Core Edition has to offer
Even though OnePlus has adopted quite a few Oppo features after the merger, the company again emphasizes its proximity with the community. Pete Lau, OnePlus CEO, emphasizes that OnePlus has improved the qualities that are most popular with the community. Apparently, OnePlus fans are impatient because the manufacturer has once again improved Quick Charging.
Quick-charging with 65 watts
OnePlus inserts a dual-cell battery with 4,500 mAh into the casing of the Nord CE 2 5G. Compared to the predecessor, the OnePlus Nord CE that we tested, the 65 W SuperVOOC technology charges the battery twice as fast. Power for a day is supposed to be achieved in just 15 minutes. A full battery charge, on the other hand, takes 32 minutes. Wireless charging is not on board for this model, however.
The 6.43-inch AMOLED display, which offers a refresh rate of 90 hertz, works on the same level as the predecessor. Furthermore, it is certified for HDR10+ and can thus play HDR content from Netflix, YouTube and other streaming services. The fingerprint sensor is also embedded in the display. The display itself is embedded in a casing that measures 160.6 x 73.2 x 7.8 millimeters and weighs 173 grams.
5G SoC and 128 gigabytes of storage space
Performance-wise, the OnePlus Nord CE 2 5G is powered by a MediaTek 900, a typical 5G SoC for the mid-range. If you like smartphones with a lot of storage, you might be disappointed: The smartphone only comes with 8 gigabytes of RAM and 128 gigabytes of internal storage. You can expand the storage by up to 1 terabyte via micro-SD cards if you need more. On the other hand, the wireless standards are up to date.
The Nord CE 2 5G supports Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.2. You can also use NFC tags or compatible digital payment options. For wired music enjoyment, you will also find a 3.5-millimeter jack on the top of the phone.
Triple camera with 64 megapixels and focus on night photography
In 2022, night photography seems to be a strong buzzword once again. Because OnePlus emphasizes that it has once again improved taking photos in low-light conditions when describing the triple camera with 64 megapixels. OnePlus places a fast lens with an open aperture of f/1.7 in front of the 64 MP sensor of the main camera.
The other cameras are OnePlus typical. an ultra-wide-angle camera with 8 megapixels and a macro lens that resolves with 2 megapixels. Selfies are taken with 16 megapixels, and videos can be recorded at a maximum of 4K at 30 frames per second.
Android 12 only in the second half of 2022
The update warranty of the OnePlus Nord CE 2 5G is a bit sobering. This is because the smartphone is shipped from the factory with Android 11, which runs OxygenOS 11. OxygenOS 12, which is based on Android 12, is supposed to be rolled out in the second half of 2022.
According to OnePlus, version updates will be available for two years. This means that Android 13 is already the end. Security updates are available for three years, and many other manufacturers outpace OnePlus here as well.
Prices and availability
If you fancy the new OnePlus Nord CE 2 5G, you can pre-order the phone in Europe from March 3, 2022 by visiting the brand's website or selected online retailers. There is currently no release date for the model in the US. The colors are Gray Mirror and Bahama Blue.
What do you think of the new OnePlus Nord CE 2 5G? Are you planning to buy the new phone? Let me know in the comments!
I have no trust in the quality of OnePlus. The rolling of them back into Oppo did not help this view. The engineering and QA have been sloppy and of low importance to the brand.
I doubt Pei's Nothing will impress me any better. His leadership has always been to overhype and underdeliver.