With the determination to reach the populated midrange market, OnePlus has released a new contender, the OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite.
Packed with features you’d expect to see on a device at this price, the new Nord aims to stand out by also having an eye-catching design, sharp cameras, and super fast charging. But how does it feel as a daily driver? Is it actually a better option than everything else? We find out in our OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite 5G review.
OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite Specs
- Android 13, Oxygen 13.1
- Dual SIM, Dual standby
- 6.72-inch FHD+ IPS display, 2400 x 1080 pixel resolution, 391ppi
- 120Hz refresh rate
- 2.2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 695 octa-core processor
- Adreno 619 GPU
- 8GB RAM
- 256GB internal storage, expandable via microSD
- 16-megapixel front camera
- 108-megapixel (f/1.8, PDAF) + 2-megapixel (macro) + 2-megapixel (depth sensor) rear cameras, LED flash
- Side-mounted fingerprint scanner
- Stereo speakers, Headphone jack
- HSPA+, 4G LTE, 5G
- WiFI 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band
- Bluetooth 5.1
- GPS, GALILEO, GLONASS, QZSS, BDS
- USB Type-C
- Dimensions: 165.5 x 76 x 8.3mm
- Weight: 195g
- Colors: Pastel Lime, Chromatic Gray
- 5,000mAh non-removable battery, 67W wired charging
Design and Build Quality
The OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite is available in Pastel Lime, which looks really vibrant and eye-catching. It is mated to a glass-like plastic panel that made it extra shiny, while making fingerprint marks and smudges almost unnoticeable. A Chromatic Gray option is also available if you want a more subtle look.
A darker green tone continues on the metal sides, so it looks much nicer in the eyes.
But despite this new color, the layout actually looks a lot like every other phones we’ve already seen. The two camera lenses apart from each other looks the same as the Realme 10 series and the OPPO Reno 8 series.
The build feels really solid thanks to the metal chassis. The flat sides provides good grip, so it’s easy to hold even in landscape.
Although the device feels a bit chunky and heavy, it’s nothing you can’t get used to. It weighs 195g, versus the typical 180g we see on most phones. It also measures 8.3mm thick.
OnePlus included a clear case on the box, which adds a bit of thickness in exchange for protection. This means that it does a great job of protecting the smartphone from accidental drops and scrarches.
It may be bulky, but at least we got a large 6.72-inch display out of it. The bezels are really thin for an IPS panel, which looked even thinner thanks to the punch-hole cutout for the selfie camera.
OnePlus also preinstalled a screen protector to give you peace of mind, despite its Corning Gorilla Glass protection.
The left side has the volume controls, adjacent to the lock/power/fingerprint scanner on the right. The buttons provide enough tactility and responsiveness.
A SIM tray is found on top of the volume rocker. It’s a hybrid setup, so the second slot can only house another nano SIM or a microSD card slot.
There’s a secondary microphone on top for voice isolation on calls. At the bottom, there’s the loudspeaker, USB-C port, primary microphone, and a 3.5mm headphone jack.
Overall, we’re fine with how the OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite looks. It may not be the most unique-looking and comfortable device to hold, but this unique vibrant color is enough to make it stand out among the rest.
Display and Sound Quality
The OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite 5G has a 6.72-inch LCD display with a FHD+ resolution of 2400 x 1080 pixels and 391ppi. It has a 120Hz refresh rate, 240Hz touch sampling rate, 680-nits peak brightness, and support for sRGB and Display P3.
Display quality is fine for the price with decent colors and contrast. HD streaming on Prime Video and Netflix is also possible. Screen brightness for outdoor use is also passable.
What we really appreciate is the large size that makes games and movies more immersive. Plus, it provides more room for comfortable multitasking and reading.
Like other OPPO and OnePlus phones, the new Nord CE 3 Lite has a 200% Volume feature. It gets really loud, with depth, and audible bass. However, the treble is a bit muddy. Still, watching movies, shows, and concerts were enjoyable.
Hardware and Performance
Like most of the competition, the new OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite is powered by a 2.2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 695 octa-core processor, with 8GB of RAM and an Adreno 619 GPU. The unit that the Asia Pacific region has comes with 256GB of storage expandable up to 1TB via the microSD card. Other markets will get a 128GB model and 256GB.
OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite benchmark scores
Much like other Snapdragon 695-powered phones we’ve tested, the Nord CE 3 Lite’s performance is good enough for day-to-day use — sometimes even smoother thanks to the fast 120Hz refresh rate.
But since it’s still not a flagship chip, you’d encounter stuttering here and there. You can easily shrug them off, but after experiencing the Dimensity 1080 on the Redmi Note 12 Pro 5G, there’s definitely something else better in terms of performance. However, that’s probably because it costs Php2,000 more.
For gaming, popular titles like PUBG Mobile, Asphalt 9: Legends, and Mobile Legends ran smoothly under high settings. However, games like Genshin Impact makes it struggle from to time, but nothing too drastic that makes it unplayable. We played Call of Duty Mobile extensively under High Graphics Quality and Max Frame Rate and it was playable with no noticeable frame drops. Overheating wasn’t an issue either even for an extended period of gaming time.
Software and User Interface
Like the flagship OnePlus 11, the OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite runs on Android 13-based Oxygen 13.1 user interface. The UI is clean enough to complement the hardware, plus it’s straightforward, and convenient. It feels very similar to OPPO’s ColorOS, which is unsurprising since they share the same resources when developing their own interfaces.
The software lets you customize the font style and sizes, icons, and UI colors and quick settings, choose between home screen modes, home screen layout, and more.
Dark Mode also looks clean, in case you want to use it. Disappointingly, it lacks adaptive refresh rate as the only options are High (120Hz) and Standard (60Hz).
There’s a side-mounted fingerprint scanner, which worked fast and accurately during our time with it. On the other hand, the face unlock worked even faster and unlocked the phone before we can press the fingerprint button thanks to the Raise to Wake function.
Privacy features include App Lock, Private Safe for sensitive files, and Hide Apps.
Special features include flexible windows, smart sidebar, Kid Space, Simple Mode, and Zen Space.
Thanks to its large display, the split screen mode was actually usable on this one. We were able to run two apps side by side, with Netflix playing in floating mode for entertainment while working.
Three-button navigation buttons are available, but we prefer gestures as it just feels more satisfying on a device this smooth.
One-handed mode is also here, which brings down the UI to help users reach the top with your thumb. It can be accessed by swiping down from the chin of the device.
As expected, it uses Google Keyboard by default, which is easy to get used to and gives convenient access to emojis, dictation, gifs, design customization, and more.
Meanwhile, the camera app is intuitive and easy to use with easy access to other features like Portrait, Night Mode, filters, beauty modes, Pro mode, slow-motion, timelapse, and more.
Camera Quality
One of OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite 5G’s highlight feature is the sharp 108-megapixel Samsung S5KHM6SX03 sensor with electronic image stabilization, f/1.7 aperture, and 6P lens. It is joined by a 2-megapixel macro lens and a 2-megapixel depth sensor. We just wish OnePlus skipped the last two lenses in lieu of a more useful ultra-wide lens.
On the front, we have a 16-megapixel selfie camera with an f/2.4 aperture.
In good lightning scenarios, the main camera unsurprisingly took great images. They have tons of details with no software oversharpening. Contrast is appealing and colors look fairly accurate without any oversaturation. Dynamic range is also usable but a bit muddy.
Unfortunately, it does struggle in challenging lightning conditions outdoors, indoors, and at night. Images have more noise than usual, the colors suffer, and the contrast is a bit off.
Another benefit of having a sharp sensor is the ability to digitally zoom without losing too much quality. If you want to further focus on a subject, you can tap the 3x button from the camera app. It lets you frame your shots better while getting a similar-looking image in terms of quality.
The depth sensor worked well with good edge detection to provide a believable bokeh effect.
If you have good lighting, the macro camera takes decent images if you really need to get up close to a subject. But, expect a drastic drop in quality in low-light conditions.
Meanwhile, the 16-megapixel selfie camera is good, even in low-light. It offers realistic skin tones, colors, and ample contrast, albeit sharpness and details are not the best.
Overall, the OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite has a decent main and front camera if you’re looking for a good daily driver that also takes social media-worthy images. Still, not having an ultra-wide lens is a huge bummer.
Battery and Charging
Like most midrange phones, the OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite has a 5,000mAh non-removable battery. But what most smartphones don’t have is its charging speed thanks to the 67W SuperVOOC technology.
In our PCMark’s battery loop test, the device was able to last for up to 11 hours and 9 minutes before dropping to 20% from 100%. That test runs different workloads to simulate daily use. We ran it with the WiFi and Bluetooth disabled and the screen brightness and volume at 50%.
To give you an idea, this should last you for about a day or two of casual web browsing, messaging, and video calls. But if you’re a heavy user, who play games non-stop or binge-watch shows, then you might have to reach for the charger before going to bed.
Speaking of charging, one of the highlights of the Nord CE 3 Lite is the 67W charging. In our tests, it immediately went from 17% to 91% in only 30 minutes. A full charge from 0% to 100% usually takes around 45 minutes.
Connectivity
Everything is top-notch in this department. The OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite has 5G connectivity, making it future-proof. Dual-band WiFi s here, albeit not the latest WiFi 6 standard, but we won’t sweat it since not a lot of home networks support it right now.
The device also has Bluetooth 5.1, NFC cashless payments and accessory-pairing, as well as GPS, GLONASS, GALILEO, QZSS, and BDS global positioning.
Verdict
The OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite is definitely a good enough daily-driver smartphone for most people. It boasts an eye-catching design, a large and smooth display, immersive stereo speakers, decent performance for daily use, good 108-megapixel main and selfie cameras, and of course, long battery life with really fast charging.
For Php14,990, the new OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite 5G is one of the best deals in the market today. However, there are also other competing devices that offer better performance, if you’re willing to spend a little bit more money.
Still, if you’re captivated by its unique colorway, you want to experience OxygenOS, and want a device that stays up long and charges very quickly, the new OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite 5G is definitely worth the money.
OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite 5G pricing and availability in the Philippines
The OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite comes in a single 8GB/256GB variant for a price of Php14,990. You can also pair it with the new OnePlus Nord Buds 2, which retails for Php3,990.
Pros
- Vibrant, eye-catching color and design
- Large, high refresh rate display
- Immersive loudspeakers
- Good main and selfie cameras
- Long battery life, fast charging
Cons
- No ultra-wide lens
- Low-light camera performance could be better