OnePlus Nord 2 5G review: unboxing and first impression of the smartphone
A TEST REPORT from Nils Ahrensmeier 
on July 22, 2021, 16:45 | Write a comment
The OnePlus Nord 2 follows the OnePlus Nord from 2020. TechnikNews already had the chance to have the device review.
The Nord 2 offers a lot again on paper. Dimensity 1200 AI, 6/12 GB of RAM and 128/256 gigabytes of internal storage. In addition, the main camera from the OnePlus 9 series and also the fast 65 watt charging. All this at an affordable price from 399 euros - more on this in our news.
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Unboxing the OnePlus Nord 2
The OnePlus Nord 2 came to us in a media kit with sleeves, the customer will only get the device. As usual, there is a quick charger in the box, a cover and a display film are already preinstalled. A Video unboxing I also filmed.
OnePlus Nord 2: first impression
The device feels high-quality on the first impression. Our gray model repels fingerprints well and sits comfortably in the hand. The only thing that could be criticized is the frame of the device. For a price of 399 euros, there is little to complain about, especially when it comes to the competition.
The OnePlus Nord 2 is easy to hold and feels high quality. (Picture: TechnikNews)
Display
The display, which at 6,43 inches is relatively small for a smartphone in 2021, is convincing. The quality is given with Full HD + and AMOLED, only the maximum brightness and refresh rate of 90 Hertz could be better. A small "chin" on the underside of the display also looks a bit out of date.
The display of the OnePlus Nord 2 is very similar to that of the Nord CE. (Picture: TechnikNews)
Hardware
I was a little skeptical when it came to choosing the processor. MediaTek doesn't really have a good reputation in the industry, but in my opinion it has improved in recent months. The performance is excellent in everyday use, and in Geekbench the values are only slightly below last year's flagships (Note 20 Ultra/Galaxy S20), but still significantly below a OnePlus 8 Pro.
The Geekbench values are only slightly below an Exynos 990. (Image: TechnikNews
camera
The main camera makes good pictures on the first impression, the 8 megapixel ultra-wide-angle camera is just "okay". The money from the third sensor (mono) should have been invested in a better ultra-wide-angle camera (like Asus for example with the SAMSUNG 8 has made). The camera AI is surprisingly good. This recognizes the scene that is currently to be mapped and thus sets an automatic focus. Videos in 1080p look good, in 4K the stabilization jerks a little.
The first test photos with the OnePlus Nord 2 are available here
Rechargeable battery
The battery showed very good values in the first test. In everyday life, I get almost 90 hours of SoT at 6 Hertz and with a connected smartwatch, and with WarpCharge 65 it is recharged from 30 to 0 percent in around 100 minutes.
The battery of the OnePlus Nord 2 does a good job on the first impression. (Screenshot: TechnikNews)
The haptic feedback and the loudspeaker are a lot better than the Nord CE. The vibration motor does a fine job but is not up to the flagship level. The stereo speakers sound good, as does the sound during phone calls.
OnePlus Nord 2 software
The smartphone software is very interesting. The device is the first with "OxygenOS 11.3", which for the first time runs with "Color OS substructure". OnePlus itself says "the customer will not notice this step". I disagree a little. The camera app is now almost identical to the one from ColorOS, some settings have been changed, so changes can definitely be felt. Is that bad? Personally, I think it's good when OnePlus / Oppo can keep their promise. They justify the step with: “In the past, the teams had to do the work twice, so there were fewer and slower updates. Now we only have to do everything once, so updates are longer and faster ”. OnePlus promises 2 years of OS updates (i.e. Android 1 and 2) and 12 years of security updates for the device (as for the Nord CE).
Left: OnePlus Nord CE (Oxygen OS 11), right: OnePlus Nord 2 (Oxygen OS 11.3). (Picture: TechnikNews)
But I know that I'm more of an exception. Many people like OnePlus precisely because of OxygenOS and will be annoyed by this step. By and large, however, the rest of OxygenOS hasn't changed.
So the OnePlus Nord 2 is a very promising smartphone again, my full test is already in progress.