Top performance with much extravaganza

The Nord 2 is the latest mid-range smartphone from OnePlus that offers near top-level performance. It is a large smartphone with a 6.43in 90Hz OLED screen that looks good for the money. The front and back are made of the older scratch resistant Gorilla Glass 5, not the latest significantly tougher Victus, and the sides are plastic with a metallic finish.

Specifications at a glance

Screen: 6.43in 90Hz FHD+ AMOLED (410ppi)

Processor: MediaTek Dimensity 1200-AI

RAM: 8 or 12GB of RAM

Storage: 128 or 256GB

Operating system: OxygenOS 11.3 (Android 11/Color OS 11.3)

Camera: triple rear camera: 50MP main, 8MP ultra-wide, 2MP mono; 32MP selfie camera

Connectivity: 5G, dual sim, wifi 6, NFC, Bluetooth 5.2 and location

Water resistance: no rating

Dimensions: 158.9 x 73.2 x 8.3 mm

Weight: 189g

The Nord 2 is one of the first mainstream smartphones to use MediaTek’s flagship Dimensity 1200 processor, instead of one made by the dominant Qualcomm. MediaTek has hitherto been known for creating cheaper, lower-power chips for budget devices, but has recently upped its game, attempting to compete on an equal footing with Qualcomm.

Performance Sustainability

OnePlus says the battery in the Nord 2 should maintain at least 80 per cent of its capacity for 1,000 full-charge cycles. Longevity is aided by the optimised charging system. The company offers a trade-in programme for its own phones and models from rivals.

The Nord 2 is one of the first OnePlus smartphones to run a new version of the company’s OxygenOS software – now a customised version of Oppo’s ColorOS, which is based on Android 11 with Google services. It is still one of the fastest and best versions of Android available.

OnePlus offers software support for three years from release for the Nord 2, including two years of Android version updates plus a further year of bimonthly security updates. Samsung offers four years and Apple offers five for their respective phones, so OnePlus still has work to do.

Camera

The back of the phone has three cameras: a 50-megapixel main, an 8MP ultrawide and a 2MP mono, the last of which can be safely ignored.

The main camera shoots images at 12.6MP as standard and is very capable, producing crisp and well-balanced pictures in good light with HDR enabled. Low light performance is equally good with the dedicated Nightscape mode producing usable shots in very dark scenes and marking a significant step up.

The ultrawide camera is decidedly average, however; soft on detail even in good light and struggling in low light. There is no optical zoom camera on the Nord 2, but the 2x digital zoom was surprisingly serviceable. There’s no macro mode either, and the camera struggles to focus for close-up images.The front-facing 32MP camera is very good, capturing an almost all detail in the face in good light.

Price: The updated price of this device is Tk 42,500.