OnePlus Nord 3 5G is the best Nord yet; it's just that good [review]

OnePlus Nord series was started as a means to get smartphone users onboard the OnePlus ship even as its flagships got more and more premium, price-wise. After many iterations, the Nord has evolved into a brand of its own as consumers find many worthy options while shopping smartphones on a budget. Continuing the streak of success, the newly-launched Nord 3 makes quite a splash in the mid-range segment, making it hard to ignore in 2023.

OnePlus Nord 3 builds on the OnePlus' success formulae of solid design, great battery, smooth performance and reliable cameras. Touching base on all the essentials, the Nord 3 offers more as competition grows from rivals like Xiaomi, Poco, iQoo, Samsung and even Apple to an extent. But the question remains, is the OnePlus Nord 3 5G worthy of being your next choice for a primary smartphone. We have the answer.

Before we get to that, here's a look at the key specifications of the OnePlus Nord 3 5G:

1. Display: 6.74-inch 1.5K SuperAMOLED display, HDR10+, 120Hz, 1450 nits
2. Camera: 50MP IMX890 OIS sensor with 8MP 112-degree wide-angle and 2MP macro sensors
3. Selfie camera: 16MP
4. CPU: 4nm Dimensity 9000 octa-core chipset
5. RAM: 8GB/ 16GB LPDDR5X
6. Storage: 128GB/ 256GB UFS 3.1
7. OS: OxygenOS 13.1
8. Battery: 5,000mAh with 80W SuperVOOC
9. Add-ons: IP54, HyperBoost engine, GPA Frame Stabiliser, Zen Space, Zen Mode, O-Relax
10. Weight: 193.5 grams

Price: Rs 34,999/ Rs 37,999

Design and display

OnePlus knows remarkably well how to impress with design. The Nord 3 does just that. It's quite a premium design for a mid-range phone, light on eyes, still very practical. The material design feels great in hand, the flat frame adds the aesthetics. OnePlus sent us the Misty Green variant, which has a glossy glass back, protected by Gorilla Glass 5. Yes, it's a fingerprint magnet, but nothing a case wouldn't fix. If that's still a concern, OnePlus offers Tempest Gray shade - that ought to fix it.

OnePlus Nord 3 gets everything OnePlus is good for, all the way down to the Alert Slider. The power button is on the right, volume controls on the left, the USB Type-C port sits between SIM card tray and stereo speaker grille, which is another aesthetic pleaser. The entire package is sealed tight to get IP54 certification for dust and water resistance.

OnePlus Nord 3's camera module on the back is streamlined, with two equal-sized camera modules holding three sensors and two LED flash modules besides each module. The uniformity that OnePlus has given here is visually pleasing, just like the rest of the phone.

Turn over the phone and we see a 6.74-inch display, which is brighter and smoother than what we've seen in other Nords. It gets as bright as 1450 nits and the refresh rate peaks at 120Hz, ideal for those smooth animations all the way. But that's not all. The bezels have been further trimmed, they are barely there. The display supports HDR10+ support for those quality streaming in your favourite OTT. From gaming to multimedia, the Nord 3's display is crisp, vibrant, and bright, even for a sunny Sunday afternoon. The camera cutout doesn't get in the way of any content.

What's surprising is that the Nord 3 display uses a Asahi Dragontrail Star and not Gorilla Glass 5 like the rear panel. Rest assured, the Nord 3's design and display is a favourable one.

Camera

It's not often we get to see major upgrades in the cameras of mid-range phones. We like what we see in the Nord 3 though. A triple camera setup, but the weight is carried by the primary 50MP IMX890 sensor. Though the 8MP ultra-wide sensor is a welcome, the macro sensor isn't as useful. A monochrome or a depth sensor would've made more sense.

As the main sensor does the heavy lifting, the results are impressive. The 50MP main camera shoots really well in daylight and in the night as well, capturing good light, natural colours with a touch of vibrancy in colours. Shooting in low light also produced good results. The photos didn't lose the intensity of the colours, but also picked up some noise, which is not noticeable at a glance. In extreme low light cases with ultra-wide mode, the noise is evident. But the software optimisation is hard at work to improve the end results. The portraits came out really nice, compensating for any shortcomings with the midnight shots taken in ultra-wide mode. The outlining is accurate with a good depth effect, even without a dedicated sensor. There are some filters and we found the B&W filters useful, so much so, we didn't miss the third sensor. In fact, we wouldn't have missed the macro sensor if OnePlus just went with two sensors. But it's the outlook and quite understandable.

The selfies taken with the 16MP sensor were crisp and vibrant, a little too sharpened to give a sense of clarity.

Check out some unedited camera samples below:

Performance

OnePlus Nord 3 is powered by Dimensity 9000 chipset, which also powers the OnePlus Pad - a mean machine. We had little reservations about the performance after using the OnePlus tablet. The Nord 3 comes with 16GB RAM, which can be expanded by another 12GB from the storage as Virtual RAM - a feature which has grown quite popular and works well.

OnePlus Nord 3 upholds the OnePlus reputation in terms of performance. The phone performs very well, be it gaming or daily usage. The smooth performance combined with 120Hz refresh rate makes it an ideal combination. Playing games is also a delight. Don't expect flagship-grade experience, but for a mid-range phone, the Nord 3 does quite well. We tried out Undawn and BGMI and both games worked smoothly without lags or frame drops. On a daily basis, the phone didn't run into any issues, no lags or stutters so far as well.

OnePlus Nord 3 runs OxygenOS 13.1 out of the box, which is based on Android 13. The best part, among other things, is the zero bloatware. The customisation options are all there - split screen, smart sidebar, themes, digital wellbeing and parental controls, etc. The software support on Nord 3 ensures buyers get till Android 16 while security updates can be provided for four years.

OnePlus has under-display fingerprint sensor, which works as intended. The face unlock is also swift to unlock, but we choose fingerprint sensor for better security. The stereo speaker is quite loud, suitable for gaming and even streaming. But that's the Nord-USP anyway.

Battery

OnePlus Nord 3 packs a sizeable 5,000mAh battery and there's 80W charger in the box. The improved battery size does add some extra life. For daily usage, the phone can last a whole day. This is with moderate use, with 5G, GPS, 120Hz refresh rate. But with high-performance usage, the phone cannot hold up that long. But the 80W charging speed is a boon. It can charge the phone in under one hour. There's wise charging feature, which is a must for those who leave their phones plugged in overnight.

Verdict

OnePlus Nord 3 5G is a solid package. This is the phone that gets the basics right in a grand fashion. It offers everything you can ask for in a mid-range phone - good performance, great design, decent cameras, reliable battery with super fast charging and bright display. If we have to nitpick, OnePlus could get some improvements in the camera and software areas, but nothing too much to complain about. For the price, OnePlus Nord 3 is really a good phone.