The OnePlus brand is one of the most warmly associated companies related to smartphones, despite the fact that I have not had much to do with it so far. However, the policy of this manufacturer and his idea for himself – offering the best devices at the lowest possible price, but taking care of every aspect of the smartphone, always appealed to me. The latter is something that other Chinese manufacturers often forget. Does OnePlus Nord 3 5G fit into this company’s idea?
I have the impression that lately it’s getting harder and harder to find a good “average”. Smartphones from the lower shelves have noticeably begun to catch up with their capabilities and quality of the average shelf, and the “average” ones are dangerously close in price to flagship devices, which is not very good for their popularity.
OnePlus Nord 3 5G specs and box
Unfortunately, we won’t find much in the OnePlus Nord 3 5G package, although the manufacturer fortunately does not follow the general trend of recent times and includes a charger (as much as 80 W!) with a characteristic red cable in its sales set. Unfortunately, in relation to the predecessor, the case was removed from the packaging , which I strongly regret – about which in a moment.
Design and build quality
I never liked the design of OnePlus. And I mean both the beginnings of this series of devices, as well as its later iterations. Nord 3 5G also does not belong to my “top” of smartphones when it comes to appearance, but it’s just a matter of taste.
“Trójka” fits in with current trends: it is a slim smartphone, with slightly rounded backs at the edges, with a flat frame and a display that covers almost 90% of the front. Even the symmetrical frames around the screen were taken care of, thanks to which the smartphone does not have the “beard” I hate.
However, I can’t pass by the performance of OnePlus Nord 3 5G, which slightly disappointed me. First of all: the frame – this one, unfortunately, is made of plastic, not aluminum, which slightly spoils the impression of a high-end smartphone. However, I could turn a blind eye to this, because the material of the frame itself is quite high quality and is quite pleasant to the touch. It’s worse with the backs of the device, which I didn’t like at all.
Visually, the back of the smartphone is similar to the predecessor released two years ago (the main difference is the different design of the camera island), and almost identical to the slightly cheaper “CE” variant , which debuted a few months ago. And – it cannot be denied – no one’s heart will beat faster looking at the appearance of the Nord 3 5G.
It is quite boring and repetitive, there is nothing here that we would not find in other average or budget competitors. The only thing that is quite original is a double island for cameras with two separate flash lamps (rarely used in smartphones), which of course must protrude above the housing.
