T3 - UK (2020-08)

time of writing. We’ve seen it hold its
charge for a couple of days at least, but
that’s with sporadic rather than
everyday use – given the 4,115 mAh
battery size and OnePlus’ past record,
we’d say you’ll comfortably get a day
from the Nord. We can tell you that
in our unscientific test involving
two hours of video streaming at
maximum brightness and a low-ish
volume, the phone dropped from
100% battery life to 78%, so you’ll get
around 10 hours of streaming with
the brightness ramped up.

A question of compromise
So how has OnePlus got the price
of the Nord so low? There are
compromises here, they’re just not
that easy to spot. Let’s take the
OnePlus 8 – starting price £599 – as a
comparison: it has a (slightly) faster
processor and a (slightly) bigger
screen than the Nord, and its display
supports HDR10+ playback, so your
movies and shows will look a little
better. The OnePlus 8 also has Wi-Fi
6, two speakers rather than one, and a
bigger battery, though the Nord beats
it in terms of camera sensors on the
front and back.
None of these are dealbreakers for
most people, but it shows the sort of

subtle tweaks that OnePlus has made

with the Nord to get it to a more

affordable level. We’d say the OnePlus

Nord is the better value for money

phone, and in the bang for buck

department it would rank higher

than most of the handsets we’ve come

across in the last couple of years. Yes,

better screens and better cameras are

out there on the smartphone scene,

but you’ll have to pay a lot more

money to get them.

Other missing features you might

want but don’t get with the OnePlus

Nord are wireless charging, IP68

waterproofing (though a few light

splashes and rain showers should be

fine), and a headphone jack – it’s the

USB-C port or wireless if you want to

bring headphones along. There’s a

fingerprint sensor built into the

display, which works better than

most we’ve tried in the past, and the

option of face unlock too.

As we’ve said, there are a lot of

phones in this price bracket now, but

we’re struggling to think of one that

we’d recommend for £379 or £469

ahead of the OnePlus Nord. Maybe

that will change with the arrival of

the Pixel 4a from Google, but for now,

the combination of features, power

and style that OnePlus has put

together here is a definite winner.

Don’t let our five-star rating trick you

into thinking that this is a perfect

phone – you can find handsets with

better cameras and faster processors

and IP68 waterproofing – but for the

money you spend this is a really

impressive combination of hardware

and software. The mid-range

continues to be the most compelling

part of the smartphone market, and

that has to be good news for anyone

wanting to buy a phone that won’t

break the bank.

WE’RE IMPRESSED Fluid, bright display; great

camera for the price; OxygenOS still impresses.

WE’D IMPROVE 1RZDWHUSURRĆQJQR

wireless charging; no Wi-Fi 6 support.

THE LAST WORD The Nord scores very high

in all areas and is the best bang for your buck.

VERDICT

Find the best deals for the OnePlus Nord

at: bit.ly/t31pnord

AUGUST 2020 T3 63

OnePlus Nord

The Nord has both

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in the display and a

face unlock option

CHIC & SLEEK

As well as offering a simple

but stylish aesthetic, the

Nord is also slim and light

at only 8.8mm thick and

weighing just 184g.