OnePlus Nord 3 5G review: a job done exceptionally well

Here's my take on OnePlus' new Nord-series smartphone - OnePlus Nord 3 5G.

• By Ashish Kumar -
Published On: July 5, 2023

OnePlus Nord 3 5G reviewWhile the OnePlus Nord portfolio has multiple models, it is the signature numeric series in the Nord range that garners high anticipation. These handsets not only share similarities with the company's flagships but come at more affordable prices. Continuing in the same vein, OnePlus has introduced the Nord 3 5G smartphone, featuring similar camera capabilities and display quality as the OnePlus 11 5G (review). The handset also boasts the same battery capacity and fast charging speeds as the flagship model; however, at its core lies flagship-level MediaTek chipset instead of Snapdragon. 

Let's delve into this review to determine how impressive the OnePlus Nord 3 5G is and whether it justifies its asking price, making it a worthwhile consideration.

Verdict

The OnePlus Nord 3 5G excels in almost every aspect, from its captivating display and smooth performance to its capable cameras, long-lasting battery life, and rapid charging speeds. While its design may not be as visually striking as some other contemporary smartphones, the handset remains ergonomic and comfortable to grip, ensuring a pleasant user experience.

Design

• OnePlus has kept things simple with the Nord 3 design. Unlike some of its competitors, the phone sports a Corning Gorilla Glass 5 protection at the back with flat edges, instead of a curved frame and leather back. While this choice gives the device a premium and glossy appearance, it also makes it prone to fingerprints. However, fret not, you get a good-quality rubber case with the device that not only safeguards the body but also provides protection to the screen against scratches while lying face down on a surface.
• The flat edges of the handset offer a secure and comfortable grip. Additionally, with a weight of 193.5g, the device feels relatively lightweight and more comfortable to hold compared to other smartphones that have a glass back. The phone has a plastic frame and four rings around the back: two for the cameras and one each for LED flash and Phase Detection Auto Focus (PDAF) sensor. Additionally, the phone holds an IP54 certification, making it resistant to water splashes.

• The rest of the Nord 3 5G design choices remain the same as its predecessor, the OnePlus Nord 2T (review). There is an alert slider, along with the power button on the right spine, while the left spine of the phone rocks the volume rocker. At the bottom, you can find a USB Type-C port for charging and data transfer, a SIM ejector tray, and a speaker grille. The earpiece up top acts as the secondary speaker. The phone also sports an IR blaster at the top edge to wirelessly control home appliances. The fingerprint scanner is on the front, located underneath the display, enabling lightning-fast device unlocking.

Display and audio

• Speaking of the display, the OnePlus Nord 3 5G features a 6.74-inch Super Fluid AMOLED panel that bears a dynamic 40Hz-120Hz refresh rate, 10-bit colour depth, and HDR10+ support. This combination results in an incredibly smooth and responsive display experience. The animations are buttery smooth, making interactions enjoyable, and scrolling feels effortless. The colours on the screen appear sharp and crisp, while the viewing angles are outstanding. 
• The brightness level of the display is right up there to be viewed even under direct sunlight. Additionally, the phone's razor-thin bezels, along with Widevine L1 certification and HDR10 support, ensure that you get an exceptional viewing experience regardless of your environment. In addition, the handset boasts exceptional audio quality thanks to its dual speakers that have been finely tuned by Dolby Atmos, ensuring an immersive audio experience.

Cameras

• In the optics department, the OnePlus Nord 3 5G packs a 50MP Sony IMX890 primary camera with OIS, which is the same sensor as the OnePlus 11 5G. This is accompanied by an 8MP ultra-wide sensor and a 2MP macro unit, along with an autofocus (PDAF) sensor, which is quite reliable. Images shot from the primary camera were quite good in the daytime. The colours appeared vivid, although slightly oversaturated, while still retaining enough dynamic range and capturing finer details. This resulted in sharp and well-defined images. Moving on, in low-light situations, the Nord 3 5G employs long exposure shots automatically to capture acceptable details, albeit with some noise. The colours may not be quite accurate, but it gets the job done.
• The 8MP ultra-wide camera features a 112-degree field-of-view (FoV), allowing it to capture expansive shots, provided there is ample sunlight. The level of detail and colour accuracy might not be as good as the primary sensor, but this is a common characteristic observed in smartphones with ultra-wide (UW) sensors. That being said, the sensor exhibits minimal distortion or warping around the edges of the frame, resulting in clean and accurate wide-angle shots. The lowlight and indoor shots from the camera look quite grainy even with night mode. The 2MP macro sensor on the smartphone is just so-so. It fails to deliver crisp shots due to its small sensor size.

• For selfies and video calling, the OnePlus Nord 3 5G features a 16MP front camera within a punch-hole setup. This camera performs well in both daylight and low-light conditions, capturing likeable images. While the camera tends to reproduce accurate skin tones, it does apply some smoothing to facial details, resulting in a slightly softened appearance. OnePlus has included various filters and skin-retouching tools for users to experiment with and customise their selfies according to their preferences. Much like the primary camera, the Nord 3 5G's front snapper of the Nord 3 5G also supports portrait mode, but I don't think it does a stellar job with edge detection.
  

Software

• On the software front, the OnePlus Nord 3 5G comes pre-installed with Oxygen OS 13.1 based on Android 13 right out of the box. While the latest iteration of Oxygen OS 13 may not have undergone significant visual changes, the company has addressed minor bugs and introduced improvements. Notably, the Zen mode has been enhanced to further minimise distractions from notifications. A new O-Relax app has been introduced, featuring a collection of soothing sounds, calming white noise, and mini games to aid relaxation.
• For the first time, the company has promised three years of major software upgrades and four years of security updates for a Nord-series phone. Moreover, the handset is TÜV SÜD rated, ensuring fast and smooth performance for at least the first 48 months of usage.

Performance

• The OnePlus Nord 3 5G rocks MediaTek Dimensity 9000 SoC under the hood. This brings significant improvement to the phone's performance compared to its predecessor. In synthetic benchmark tests, the handset achieves a score of 8,45,270 points on AnTuTu, which is approximately 19 percent higher than the AnTuTu score of the Nord 2T. Furthermore, the Nord 3 5G excels on Geekbench, topping the charts with 984 points in the single-core test and 3,284 points in the multi-core test. In the CPU Throttle test, the handset demonstrates minimal throttling, with performance dropping down to 80 percent from its peak level while running 50 threads for half an hour.

• The real-world performance of the device is also quite impressive. Throughout my usage, I never experienced any noticeable slowdowns while multitasking or gaming. The OnePlus Nord 3 5G effortlessly handled resource-intensive tasks such as playing BGMI with HD graphics and a smooth 90fps, without encountering any lags or frame drop issues. The handset packs 4,129mm2 vapour chamber cooling that aids in dissipating the heat. I did notice the increase in the device's temperature while performing intensive tasks for an extended duration, which is acceptable. 
• Memory-wise, the smartphone offers up to 12GB of LPDDR5X RAM and up to 256GB of fast UFS 3.1 storage. The storage is not expandable, but you can increase the RAM virtually by up to 12GB using a portion of the ROM.

Here's a speed test done using Airtel 5G Plus network in Safdarjung Enclave, Delhi.

Battery life and charging speeds

• The battery life of the OnePlus Nord 3 5G is truly remarkable. With its 5,000mAh battery capacity, I experienced a full 9 hours of screen-on-time while using apps and features like Always-on-display, navigation, WhatsApp, social media scrolling, and even indulging in some light gaming. Additionally, the phone received a commendable score of 13 hours and 50 minutes on the PCMark 3.0 battery test, indicating its exceptional power efficiency.
• The OnePlus Nord 3 5G charging speeds are remarkable too. The handset supports 80W fast charging, which allows it to achieve full charge from nothing in about 50 minutes.

Final verdict

The OnePlus Nord 3 5G is a compelling smartphone, but it faces tough competition from other devices in the segment like the Motorola Edge 40 (review), POCO F5 (review), and iQOO Neo 7 (review). In comparison to the Nord 3 5G, the Motorola Edge 40 offers an excellent design, an IP68 rating for water and dust resistance, 15W wireless charging, and a near-stock version of Android. However, it could experience occasional heating and its battery life might not be as impressive.

As for the POCO F5, it boasts an impressive battery life but is burdened with bloatware that might impact the user experience. Meanwhile, the iQOO Neo 7 stands out with its support for 120W flash charging, allowing the device to be fully charged from 0 to 100 percent in approximately 27 minutes. However, it lacks an ultra-wide sensor, which might be a deal-breaker for some users.

The OnePlus Nord 3 5G not only boasts an ultra-wide lens but also has the best display I have seen in the segment so far. Apart from this, the handset can handle pretty much everything thrown at it, with no concerning heating issues, and the software is largely free from bloatware. The phone offers a respectable battery life too and can be juiced up within an hour with 80W fast charging. So, as long as you don't mind spending a few extra minutes charging the phone, the OnePlus Nord 3 5G will serve you well. The handset is retailing in India starting at Rs 33,999.

Editor's rating: 4 / 5

Reasons to buy

• The OnePlus Nord 3 5G display is among the best in the segment.
• The cameras deliver strong performance in both daytime and low-light environments.
• The handset offers smooth, lag-free performance.

• The battery life and charging speeds of the OnePlus Nord 3 5G are truly remarkable.

Reasons to not buy

• The storage on the phone is not user-expandable.
• Unlike some of its competitors, the phone sports a glass back and flat edges instead of curved.