OnePus Nord CE 3 Lite 5G – Overview

It’s time to pull my ideas collectively for the OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite 5G after I’ve been utilizing it for a number of weeks.

I’ve already taken the time to place this by way of it unboxing course of and offered a number of very transient preliminary first ideas for the system, nevertheless, that was earlier than I lived with it for any type of time. I needed to dig right down to the very core of the Core Version telephone to seek out out what made it tick and now this has been achieved, I’ve a greater grasp of the subject material.

So let’s get began and see if this telephone that’s at the moment on sale for £269 at OnePlus is value spending a few of your hard-earned money on.
Design

I’ve gone over this in additional element within the unboxing article I wrote once I first obtain the system earlier final month. I used to be fairly happy with the design of the telephone because it has some very good particulars. A few areas that stand out now having used the telephone are damaged down in some element beneath.

-It’s a bit sq.… however in a great way.

I’ve acquired to day this was one of many issues that struck me probably the most concerning the design of this telephone once I first unboxed it and even earlier than that once I noticed the early footage. I’ll go so far as say this was one of many issues that made me wish to assessment the telephone, to start with. When you have been a reader of Coolsmartphone for a while you could bear in mind I used to be an enormous fan of the Xperia lineup of outdated and one of many issues that I appreciated most about their design, which is sustained into immediately’s telephones that they’re pushing out was the “blockiness” of the design. I can’t fairly put my finger on it however I like this.

The Nord CE 3 could be very a lot from the identical college of thought on this regard. it has a big flat glass show a flat plastic again and flat plastic aspect and backside rails making up the body. These all attraction to me. The rails alongside the aspect and backside are properly textured so as to add a little bit of grip to the outside making it simpler to carry and they’re very barely rounded off on the 4 corners which contribute to the consolation when it’s hand. It is extremely related when it comes to the design that’s at the moment being provided of the iPhone 14 lie up and this has been unchanged for what appears like perpetually. I do like this design selection and it suits the market phase appropriately I really feel.

-The buttons are break up between each side of the telephone

I’ve discovered that this can be a design selection that OnePlus began to comply with some time in the past and I prefer it for probably the most half because it signifies that you aren’t confused as to which button does which. So on the right-hand aspect, you’ve got the facility button which additionally pulls double responsibility as a fingerprint reader. It’s properly raised sufficient (nearly 1mm)in order that it may be discovered with ease and has good motion. The fingerprint reader can also be fairly responsive too which is a pleasant contact. the quantity buttons are then positioned on the left-hand aspect virtually precisely reverse the facility button. Because of this not like on my Pixel 7 Professional, I’m not typically urgent the quantity key as an alternative of the facility key. There’s nevertheless a draw back which I want to say and that’s that it is vitally simple to by chance take a screenshot with these buttons the best way they’re positioned which I’ve achieved a number of occasions by mistake!! it’s a simple repair as you possibly can flip the characteristic off within the settings which I’m but to do, each time I bear in mind to do it I then get sidetracked by one thing else.

-The again is plastic.

Now for lots of people, this can be a destructive however for me and given the prices of this telephone I’m not too bummed out by this. I get that having a glass rear panel is nicer as the texture is healthier and it affords a greater really feel within the hand. it does nevertheless imply that the telephone is inherently extra fragile and if you happen to have been to drop it then the glass will break which means an costly restore and potential for different injury. having a plastic again signifies that the telephone is extra resistant to wreck if the telephone does get dropped and it’s cheaper to make within the first place. So for me, this can be a good resolution on the fabric used however they did in my view, particularly on the again color means make a basic mistake. They’ve given the again of the telephone a “Piano black” type end which we see on plenty of automotive interiors nowadays. This is among the most annoying finishes that they might have had as because of this the telephone is consistently lined in smudges and fingerprints. if you happen to give this to a youngster with out the case this telephone will look mining in a matter of seconds. It’s, because of this, I used to be very glad to see that OnePlus has continued to offer a free clear TPU case for the telephone within the field as this was utilized as quickly because the preliminary image had been taken and solely eliminated if I must {photograph} the again panel. When you’re selecting this telephone and hate fingerprints get the Lime Inexperienced one as even when this is identical shiny end you received’t see the fingerprints as a lot on that color model.

-Digicam Modules are exaggerated.

It is a little bit of an odd one to me. I can see what has been achieved as that is the designed course being taken for the Nord collection in its third technology. the digital camera modules on the again of the telephone are fairly huge for the general dimension of the telephone. I can get it for the highest array as that options the larger digital camera however the backside array is a bit nasty wanting because it has 2 digital camera lenses in the identical circle. Because of this if you happen to look a the telephone then you definitely would suppose this has 2 rear cameras however in actuality, you actually solely have the one which is mounted into the highest circle.

I used to be on a video name the opposite day for work and occurred to be doing one thing on my telephone for password authentication and out of the blue I acquired a remark from one among my colleagues saying that the cameras have been ridiculously massive! I then felt compelled to advise him that it was solely the highest one which was the precise digital camera and the underside one contained a depth of discipline sensor and the two MP macro lens The one who commented makes use of a Samsung telephone that by the way has the identical 107Mp sensor on his telephone and was shocked at how massive they’d made the housing for the digital camera when in comparison with his telephone. It isn’t an issue in any means however simply one thing that got here up in my time with the system.

-Sim and Micro SD card assist!

It has been such a very long time since I’ve had the pleasure to make use of a telephone that helps micro SD card growth that I forgot all about this characteristic and the way helpful it’s. I really like that if I wanted to I can throw in a reminiscence card to the telephone and retailer further content material on it. This may be nice for me to take this away on a visit because it means I can throw a load of music and MP4 information onto a big SD card after which I’ll have a means of holding my 10-year-old entertained on lengthy journeys. It additionally signifies that if he was utilizing it and it and the display screen have been to get damaged so long as I set the digital camera to retailer photographs on the exterior storage then he could have all these photographs out there to him on that reminiscence card. Provided that the telephone additionally solely comes with one storage dimension of 128GB having the expandable reminiscence is a superb promoting level as it’s going to permit the telephone for use for longer with out the necessity to purchase further cloud options as soon as that inner reminiscence has been used up. I’ve been utilizing the telephone for a number of weeks with my common app loadout and music on the telephone and I’ve already used 90GB of the stage so being able so as to add further shall be very helpful.

after all that’s solely one of many use instances for the additional slot because the telephone additionally helps a secondary sim which is a acquire very helpful in case you are utilizing this a journey telephone because it means you could have each your main and secondary sim inside it on the identical time. The telephone has varied future that may help you decide which SIM is used or what which will be arrange simply so that you can make the very best use of this characteristic.

-3.5mm headphone jack on board.

So I defiantly didn’t anticipate to see this on such a budget-oriented system as this characteristic was one thing that was for the big half now defunct on all telephones bar the Sony lineup Xperia 1 Collection units that are all £1k plus telephones. I’m happy to see that is again because it was a characteristic I used to get higher audio once I was recording movies at commerce exhibits however it additionally signifies that if I used to be going to be giving this to a baby I can provide them headphones that they’ll use that received’t price me a small fortune however will nonetheless permit an excellent sound expertise. it additionally means one much less factor for them to lose and let run out of energy.

-SuperVooc 67W charging.

Quick charging is a should for telephones nowadays and the Nord CE 3 has this lined with the built-in SuperVooc quick charging functionality which means that even probably the most demanding of customers will discover that they’ll again up to the mark very quickly in any respect. With a recharging pace of 0% to 80% in simply half-hour you possibly can have sufficient energy on your day’s journey within the time it takes you to get your self prepared whiteout having to fret concerning the telephone not being charged. I’ve been utilizing SuperVooc charging on a Realme telephone that my spouse makes use of for practically a 12 months now and it’s a godsend as she by no means remembers to cost her telephone so it all the time wants that fast enhance, which SuperVooc affords.

Nonetheless, it’s typically a cited concern that utilizing quick charging will hurt the battery or the telephone which is the place the SuperVooc Endurance Version facet of the charging protocols comes into its personal. The telephone and charger will use the telephone’s built-in Battery Well being Engine software program to make sure that the telephone’s battery shall be stored in optimum situation so that you just cost it everytime you want it and relying in your charging habits the charging pace shall be adjusted. So if for instance you might be plugging in in a single day on a regular basis then the telephone will decide up on this behaviour and it’ll then decelerate the charging charge accordingly. If nevertheless, you might be extra of cost and sprint type particular person then it’s going to permit the telephone to cost rapidly and quick for the brief interval the telephone is plugged in. That is usually a characteristic that’s solely discovered on flagship-grade telephones so it’s good to see this on a decrease specced system.

So these are a few of the design options that soar out to me concerning the OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite 5G. The important thing overwhelming feeling I get from the telephone is that this can be a telephone that does what it says on the tin however the design is barely a part of what permits this to occur plenty of that does what it says on the tin comes from the {hardware} and what’s contained in the telephone so let’s spend a number of moments going by way of that
{Hardware}

First up and following on properly from the battery tech I’ve simply been taking a look at is that this telephone has a suitably massive 5000mah hour battery which means that it is best to in most use instances not have to fret an excessive amount of about being left with a depleted battery on most days. In most of my utilization, I’ve usually had anyplace from 30% to 40% left in my every day use instances. Now admittedly I’m not a younger man and I don’t spend plenty of time utilizing social media or taking footage as I’m at work for 8 hours of the day and my telephone will simply be ticking over quietly within the nook. Nonetheless, I do use the telephone for a minimum of 2 hrs of media playback over Bluetooth on most days whereas I drive to and from the workplace for work. I’ll usually have a couple of 1hrs use of e mail after which one other hour of net shopping and social scrolling within the evenings throw in a number of Youtube movies and that’s the place we’re at. All of this time I’ve had the telephone related to a Galaxy Watch 5 Professional over Bluetooth as effectively for monitoring steps and notification duties as effectively. I’ve not ever been nervous concerning the telephone working low on juice up to now and most days I can stretch the utilization out to final me as much as days which is sweet to have.

It’s good to see this worth level getting an honest dimension battery and matched with the aforementioned charging pace and tech that is head and shoulders above some higher-end units that I’ve examined and owned over time.

Subsequent up is the display screen that’s I’d say common to good. While I had no issues with its pace and fluidity of displaying content material and navigating on the big 6.72″ 120Hz FHD Show I did have a problem with the brightness of the display screen as I discovered that it was very exhausting to see in direct daylight. That is partly right down to the panel being an LCD and the colors being not as vibrant because of the capabilities of LCD panels by their very nature. The panel was additionally not a really brilliant panel maxing out at 680nits which when mixed with my choice for darkish mode does make it difficult to see when the solar comes out.

I additionally dont suppose it was being helped by the display screen protector that comes pre-applied to the telephone as this appears to be a mud magnet and I discovered myself always cleansing the display screen down particularly once I had simply taken it out of my pocket to make use of it. I’m not positive what materials was utilized by OnePlus for the display screen protector however the mixture of the display screen protector and TPU case meant that the telephone was always being lined in lint and dirt. I did in the end take away the display screen protector because it began to peel on the edges and the mud decide up did scale back a bit so that’s some meals for thought.

Underneath the hood the brains of the telephone are within the type of the environment friendly energy-sipping Snapdragon 695 5G chipset that was a lot highly effective for many every day duties which I carried out on the telephone it was very uncommon for me to see any type of slowdowns on the telephone. Once more as talked about above I don’t are inclined to push these telephones to their max however I used to be in a position to do all I needed to do on it with little or no pace distinction when in comparison with both my Z Fold 4 5G or my Pixel 7 Professional. The one chick was that I did sometimes discover that once I was utilizing some apps that required massive knowledge set to be loaded this was a bit slower than on my flagship units. I didn’t see the identical when taking part in F1 Cell a minimum of not after I went by way of the preliminary loadout of the sport that was as this did take a bit longer than I’d have appreciated, however it’s a massive recreation so I’ll let the Nord CE 3 off for that one. I take advantage of the inbuilt gaming mode to observe the efficiency of the sport and I used to be constantly getting frames charges within the excessive 20s’ by way of the session aside from one very unusual second when the telephone slowed right down to single figures and every part changed into a little bit of an terrible laggy mess. A fast power shut of the app appeared to resolve the problem and it didn’t come again even after taking part in for about one other hour of gameplay time.

One other space the place I used to be eager to check the telephone’s efficiency was once I was utilizing it with Android Auto in my automotive. This has been the downfall of telephones which are a lot better specced than the Nord CE 3 up to now. I’m comfortable to report that the telephone didn’t have any issues when utilizing Android Auto in a wired mode, Sadly, I used to be unable to check the wired performance as my automotive doesn’t assist that characteristic however it labored tremendous when utilizing it for music playback and dealing with voice and texts whereas I used to be on the street.

When it comes to name high quality, the telephone delivered right here calls have been crisp and clear they usually synced up with Bluetooth tremendous each on my watch and my automotive. When it comes to the sign I used to be experiencing the identical type of sign that I sometimes get on most telephones I’ve examined as of late in some particular areas I used to be in a position to get a greater sign on the Nord CE 3 that I generally would get on my Pixel 7 Professional. I’d say that that is one other respect of getting the plastic case design because it permits extra of the sign to get into the telephone’s antennas which not like the Nord CE 3’s counterparts have to make use of sign channels creating potential weak spot within the body. This has been an issue on the OnePlus units because the adoption of the bigger digital camera modules on the OnePlus 10 collection telephones and sadly it’s nonetheless evident on their 11 collection. The excellent news is that this needs to be the case with the Nord CE 3 and the opposite telephones throughout the Nord collection of units.

So when it comes to {hardware} and efficiency, the OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite 5G is nice bang for its buck so long as your expectations are real looking.

Lots of the telephone’s attraction comes right down to the software program expertise that’s offered by the telephone and that brings me properly to the software program aspect
Software program

The idea of the OnePlus telephones, after they have been initially envisioned, was to carry true flagship worth to the lots at a low and reasonably priced worth level. Whereas there have been some shifts on this ethos over time I do really feel that plenty of hose facets nonetheless ring true in the best way that the Oxygen OS 13.1 UI that sits on high of Android 13 nonetheless works. Sure, there was plenty of merging with the dad or mum corporations Color Os that may be discovered on Oppo and Realme telephones however this isn’t essentially a foul factor as Oxygen OS is a very good UI. It doesn’t add an excessive amount of duplication and the place the duplications of apps or capabilities do occur they’re both effectively thought out and helpful or simply sidestepped. I’ve been working this telephone as my every day driver for fairly a while throughout this elongated assessment and I’ve discovered that I used to be by no means left missing when it comes to the best way the software program works.

The UI permits me to set the telephone up the best way I need it to I’ve choices if I need them and if I don’t then I’m not compelled to undertake them. An instance of that is the App Drawer. I can set the telephone to both have on or off as I need. I can have a swipe-down gesture brings up my notifications display screen or it could actually carry down the OnePlus Shelf possibility, which is a spot to maintain helpful widgets for fast entry. Being that I’m a little bit of an old-school consumer I favor the notifications dropdown however I’ve the choice for both which is nice to see. I do recognize the search operate within the app drawer and I’ve discovered myself utilizing it greater than as soon as.

With all that being stated, there are some minor annoyances that you just do be taught to reside with however usually are not discovered on a tool from the pixel lineup. So if I get a notification I must faucet on the small arrow icon to view it on Oxygen OS which is a bit annoying when I’m making an attempt to rapidly clear my notifications. on different telephones I can simply pull down and as I accomplish that all my notifications develop totally permitting me to see what I want and rapidly dismiss irrelevant apps.

Lots of the OnePlus built-in apps require you to approve the Standing Of Utilization earlier than you employ them which is annoying however is barely a problem on the primary use so that is forgivable.

I did additionally discover that the battery administration was generally a little bit too persistent for my liking as I’d be reminded about an app that’s open within the background that I wish to be open too incessantly. If I need the app open then I do know what it’s going to do to my battery. Once more that is in all probability one thing that’s simply me as I do know what I’m doing however for an inexperienced consumer, this could doubtlessly show to be helpful as it’s going to cease the telephone from working unneeded applications within the background. I do really feel that this isn’t as massive of an issue because the Oxygen OS administration software program makes it out to be although as I usually get the identical type of battery life out of the OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite 5G as I get on my Pixel 7 Professional regardless of them utilizing totally different chipsets display screen sorts and many others.

When you can reside with these very minor points within the software program there’s a lot to love about Oxygen OS 13.1 and don’t let the OG Oneplus Oxygen OS hater put you off. I’ve been very happy residing with the telephone every day and can be very happy to advocate this telephone based mostly on the software program implementation to both my spouse or my dad or mum. I additionally know that my son can be very happy with this telephone as it will permit him to do every part he desires to do and extra.

Simply earlier than I wrap up on the software program there may be yet another part that I wish to point out. that’s after all digital RAM. That is one thing that increasingly telephones are beginning to characteristic and I’m happy to see that it’s on board right here because it does permit the telephone to stretch its legs if you happen to want that further little bit of reminiscence for gaming or multi-app use. It’s significantly helpful when gaming because it permits for an possibility known as Championship Mode

This can basically flip your telephone right into a devoted handheld if you find yourself in a recreation and attracts the utmost energy from the telephone for gaming solely every part else turns into secondary. By default, the digital RAM capability is about as 4GB however this may be doubled if required (In my testing I’ve not wanted to do that however it could possibly be helpful for some)

Final however not least let’s take a look at the digital camera.
Digicam

That is maybe one of many weaker facets of the telephone however going into this I used to be conscious that the digital camera was not going to be superb as we do solely have one sensor to work with in actuality right here. The digital camera adopts pixel binning utilizing a 9 in 1 ratio which means that your 108 MP sensor will produce pictures of 12 MP in dimension which is a lot for an entry-level digital camera. the distinction right here although is because the picture is being captured by a excessive MP sensor it could actually pull in additional knowledge about the subject material and basically seize extra mild. this in flip ends in brighter, clearer and extra natural-looking pictures. As well as, you do after all have you ever huge number of seize modes included and a few of these modes will characteristic a side of AI Assitance to tweak your settings to swimsuit the lighting ranges the topic the depth of focus and many others.

You additionally have gotten 3x Lossless Zoom which is after all a digital manipulation afforded by the big sensor dimension however it works moderately effectively as will be seen within the zoomed pictures beneath. However that’s sufficient of me stating the details listed here are some picture si have captured so that you can assess your self and make your judgements.

As you possibly can see from the photographs the digital camera just isn’t too unhealthy in optimum mild circumstances. The macro pictures come out fairly effectively and it does an excellent job of holding the topic in focus when utilizing portrait mode (even when the topic just isn’t an individual!). That is all just about par for the course with any digital camera nowadays. It’s when the sunshine drops that usually issues begin to improper.

I’ve included a number of low-light pictures right here to point out what I imply

The primary of the above pictures was with out night time mode and the second was with night time mode on. As you possibly can see there’s a little little bit of enchancment however it’s not nice as we’ve got plenty of edge blurring on the shot. To be truthful to the Nord CE most telephones would have struggled with the sort of shot. This nevertheless just isn’t one thing that might actively disuade me from this telephone as these are firmly within the minority of the photographs I’d be desiring to take with this telephone. Additionally, the LED flash is greater than brilliant sufficient to make up for the low mild problem.

As for video the telephone can document at as much as 1080p at as much as 30FPS in regular video and it’ll additionally do 720p at as much as 120fps samples of which will be seen beneath.

Final however not least is the selfie mode which is greater than ok. it additionally permits for background blurring and it does a reasonably good job at maintain the deal with the topic while blurring out the background.

I’m proud of the digital camera efficiency for a telephone of this worth level and can be very happy to advocate this to somebody who doesn’t want something extra superior which to be truthful is the overwhelming majority of us.
Conclusion

This telephone is an excellent price range providing and I’ve loved utilizing it. If I had not develop into so accustomed to the high-end flagships that I can use as a result of this web site I’d be proud of this telephone as one for myself. it’s after all not excellent however given what you might be paying it does an amazing job. I discovered it barely irritating once I was utilizing it in very brilliant daylight because of the comparatively low nit ranges that the display screen was in a position to produce. There have been some issues within the software program that did annoy me barely however none of these items have been a deal breaker for me total.

OnePlus has all the time been excellent at hitting the cash-to-spec stability effectively with the Nord vary and for this reason I’m usually such an enormous fan of it. I’ve beneficial that a few of my colleagues look to this telephone as a potential alternative for his or her ageing telephones that they’re at the moment utilizing as they’ve stated that price is a much bigger issue for them than high-end specs. I really feel that that is the market the place the OnePlus Nord cE 3 Lite 5g shines brightest. In case you are looking out for a telephone for a present to a member of the family who doesn’t want the specs to be top-end however desires to know that they’ve one thing dependable and straightforward to make use of that is defiantly one I’d advocate.

When it comes to its competitors there are plenty of low-cost however good ones on this phase b the direct rivals for me although are the Pixel 6A and the Realme 10 Professional. The Pixel 6A I at the moment a tad dearer however it does carry all the Pixel’s distinctive options to the get together and as such this could be a little bit of a step up particularly if the digital camera was one of many important drivers for the consumer. The Realme 10 Professional then again is actually the identical telephone albeit in a unique shell and with barely totally different branding. The principle cause why I don’t suppose Realme can be one I’d advocate is that it’s a largely unknown model within the UK.

So there you could have the OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite 5G, It is a very competent telephone with an amazing price ticket and a few nice specs on board. if you realize somebody who simply wants a smartphone however doesn’t demand the very best curiosity of specs, then this can be a robust suggestion. it’s also an amazing various on your regular telephone in case you are in search of a secondary system for work, or journey to the sketchier areas of the world. (on my current journey to Marroco this could have been an amazing possibility over my Fold 4 because it wouldn’t have been the tip of the world had I wanted to exchange it if it acquired misplaced /stolen and many others). lastly, if in case you have youngsters who haven’t fairly realized the worth of high-end electronics and don’t take the very best care of issues this could be an amazing possibility for them as effectively.

In case you are desirous to get a OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite 5G now is a superb time to purchase as they at the moment are promoting them for £269 on the OnePlus Web site, they’re additionally out there on Amazon for £289.99 with next-day supply if in case you have a main account