OnePlus Nord 2 5G review: The mid-range champion of 2021

The OnePlus Nord 5G sold that well in 2020 that the brand decided to follow it up with the appropriately named Nord 2 which features a bump in power thanks to MediaTek’s Dimensity 1200AI chipset, plus improved cameras and flagship-level charging speeds. OnePlus also went with a couple of understated colorways for the Nord 2, which makes a nice change from the bright but slightly garish Blue Marble finish of the Nord 5G. Priced from a reasonable £399 for the 8/128GB variant and £469 for the 12/256GB model, does the OnePlus Nord 2 improve upon its predecessor?

Join us after the break to find out.

Design

Carrying on the design language of the OnePlus 9 series, the Nord 2 5G has a classy if unremarkable exterior with a satin-like effect. It’s fantastic at repelling fingerprints and perhaps a tad grippier than the usual glossy glass aesthetics that are so popular right now. Starting a trend that will carry on through the review, the Nord 2 5G doesn’t look or feel like the typical mid-range smartphone.

As it did with the original Nord but strangely not the Nord CE 5G, OnePlus kept the oh-so-handy alert slider that the brand has become renowned for. It’s a stalwart feature that other smartphone manufacturers could stand to copy take inspiration from. Thanks to OnePlus keeping the dimensions almost exactly the same as its predecessor, the Nord 2 5G is comfortable to hold and fits in the front trouser pocket easily.

Hardware

Performance

As with last year’s model, the Nord 2 5G boasts a 90Hz AMOLED display which offers vibrant colors and is bright enough to be viewed outside in bright sunlight without needing to find a patch of shade. It’s still an FHD+ resolution but it is a very good quality display and great for everything from reading text to playing videos and games.

Our review unit has 12GB of RAM, which combined with the power of the Dimensity 1200AI chipset results in an absolutely slick user experience without a stutter in sight. We’ve run the Nord 2 5G through the usual benchmarking apps to give you a general idea as to how it performs.

Battery

You’ll get a full day’s usage out of the OnePlus Nord 2 5G with single-digit numbers left in the tank at bedtime without resorting to any energy-saving options such as dark mode or even the least intrusive power-saving mode.

Of course, the Nord 2 5G has yet another flagship feature and one that puts the Pixel 5a to shame – the 65W Warp Charge. This means that it takes just 30 minutes to recharge a flat battery back up to full, and OnePlus even includes a 65W wall charge in the box, how cool is that! Wireless charging isn’t present on the Nord 2 5G, but considering how much OnePlus has packed in already, we can forgive them this omission.

Software

Software is Android 11-based OxygenOS 11, which coincidentally now features that same code-base as OPPO’s ColorOS 11 which may be a big deal to some but in everyday usage, the majority of users won’t notice a thing. In fact, the merging of the codebase and integrating of certain resources will hopefully result in better software support for the OnePlus Nord 2 5G.

As is the case with OxygenOS 11, there are tons of customization options but without much in the way of bloatware or resource-hogging services. The Dimensity 1200AI chip delivers plenty of power to handle everything that comes its way, which means there’s no need to settle for a sub-standard software experience. OnePlus is promising OS upgrades to Android 12 and 13 along with 3 years of security updates, in case you were wondering.

Visually, OxygenOS 11 is pretty clean, unobtrusive, and easy to use, which is a good thing for consumers.

Camera

The camera section is usually where mid-range smartphones fall down but OnePlus played it cleverly by using the same 50MP Sony IMX766 sensor from the OnePlus 9 series as the main camera on the Nord 2 5G. Naturally, it’s supported by an 8MP ultra-wide lens and for some reason, a 2MP dedicated monochrome camera.

The 8MP ultra-wide produces good if unremarkable photos and the less said about the 2MP monochrome sensor the better as OnePlus could have saved a pound by leaving it out. The star of the show is the previously mentioned 50MP snapper that boasts Optical-Image-Stabilization and quite simply elevates the Nord 2 5G to a level above its direct competitors.

There’s plenty of detail and colors are bright and vibrant without being over-saturated, although you can choose one of the built-in filters for added punch if you need to. Shutter speed is as quick as it should be and even the zoom is useful although it’s based on digital cropping as opposed to having an actual zoom lens.

In a nutshell, the OnePlus Nord 2 5G’s camera experience is a good one, and quite possibly as good as you’ll find for £400.

Verdict

Powered by MediaTek’s Dimensity 1200 chipset, the OnePlus Nord 2 brings a ton of features to the mid-range table including some that a few flagship smartphones don’t match such as 65W Warp Charge, whilst the 50MP Sony IMX766 camera sensor, the same one featured in the OnePlus 9 series, works a treat as the main snapper. The original Nord didn’t lack power but switching to MediaTek’s premier Dimensity 1200AI chipset takes performance on the Nord 2 to a different level entirely. The 90Hz AMOLED display is bright and accurate, the in-display fingerprint sensor is very, very good, and you’ll struggle to figure out where the corners were cut to achieve such a reasonable price.

We are that impressed by the Nord 2 5G that we’ve given it the rare ‘Editors Choice’ award. If you have £399/£469 for a new phone, the OnePlus Nord 2 is the mid-range flagship champion of 2021, putting some much pricier phones to shame.

OnePlus Nord 2 5G | £399/£469 | OnePlus Store, Amazon