But aside from a few minor changes, the recently released OnePlus Nord 2T is essentially the same phone as the Nord 2. But at the same time takes care of the kinks found in Nord 2. So, despite the few improvements over its predecessor, is the Nord 2T a solid offering? Let’s talk about that in this review.
OnePlus Nord 2T review: Design and Display
Since we have been using the phone as our primary phone for more than a week, there are a few features that we particularly like, such as its well-made design. We wouldn’t necessarily object if the form factor were extremely comparable to that of its predecessor, after all, it is an iteration of Nord 2. The glass coating and gently curved rear of this phone make it quite comfortable to hold in the hand.
Additionally, we cannot express how much we adore this alert slider, which is particularly useful during meetings. One thing that we were not in particularly awe of is its camera module. When you look at them attentively, you will notice that they are not symmetrical since they are randomly arranged inside two large circles, which in our opinion is odd. Please share your opinion of the design in the comments area below since the form factor and design are subjective, did you like its rear? Remember that the OnePlus Nord 2 has a cleaner camera location and fewer ringlets than the 2T, which we found more attractive. Be aware that the Nord 2T’s glass panel attracts fingerprints. If you decide to use the phone without a cover, as we did, keep a microfibre towel at hand to wipe it down during the day because it picks up fingerprints very easily. We reviewed the phone in Jade Fog shade, a sort of mint green colour option that looks beautiful and expensive, but we would have preferred a matte finish over the shiny glass finish. Another version of this phone, the Gray Shadow, has a matte back and looks pretty beautiful if you enjoy matte finishes as we do.
In order to increase durability, OnePlus has added Gorilla Glass 5 protection to both the front and back of the smartphone. However, the mid-frame, which has rounded corners, is built of polycarbonate, yet is very premium.
Additionally, the power and volume buttons provide really pleasant tactile feedback, which makes using this gadget pretty pleasant and easy to reach. Over that, the display contains an optical fingerprint reader that functions fairly well. Regarding the display, the OnePlus Nord 2T 5G features a 6.43-inch full-HD+ AMOLED display with a hole-punch design and a resolution of 1,080 x 2,400 pixels. It comes with a 20:9 aspect ratio, a 90Hz refresh rate, and HDR10+ certification. In addition to being well built and designed, this phone has the same display as the Nord 2 and we had no qualms here. The colours are pretty vibrant, the contrast is excellent, and the display quality is really amazing. The company has also done a good job of optimising the 90Hz refresh rate; we haven’t experienced any stutters, so that’s also nice. Here, we’d like to point out that many smartphones in this price range feature a 120Hz refresh rate, thus given that this device is the successor to the OnePlus Nord 2, it would have been a boon if OnePlus had used 120Hz display instead of 90Hz.
OnePlus Nord 2T review: Performance and Camera
In terms of performance, the OnePlus Nord 2T 5G is powered by the MediaTek Dimensity 1300 SoC and up to 12GB of LPDDR4X RAM. Similar to the design and build quality, the phone’s performance is also largely acceptable. In normal use, we encountered no issues. We played Call of Duty at the highest settings possible without seeing any performance slowdown. High-end games like Genshin Impact can be played at extremely high settings, but at a frame rate of less than 60FPS. We occasionally had lag in this area, but we were able to get stable performance by setting the graphics to high and maintaining a frame rate of 60. Another issue we found, when we played Genshin Impact for long was that the OnePlus Nord 2 started to get hot. However, when we played other games this was not the case. Other typical functions, including multitasking and accessing apps, run smoothly on this device. Also, both the typing experience and the vibration feedback are also pretty pleasant. Because of the OS’s careful optimization, the OnePlus Nord 2T’s overall performance has been satisfactory. The software experience is still OnePlus’s biggest selling point. The UI of the OnePlus Nord 2T 5G, which runs OxygenOS 12.1, functioned without any glitches. Except for Netflix, there isn’t much-preinstalled bloatware. Additionally, according to OnePlus, 2 years of OS updates and 2 years of security fixes will be available.
Let’s have a look at the camera tech specs of the OnePlus Nord 2T before comparing it to the OnePlus Nord 2, which was released last year and had fairly strong cameras. With a 50-megapixel Sony IMX766 primary sensor and an optical image stabilisation (OIS)-capable f/1.8 lens, the phone sports a triple back camera array. The camera setup also includes an 8-megapixel ultra-wide camera with a 120-degree field of view and a 2-megapixel monochrome sensor with an f/2.2 lens. A 32-megapixel Sony IMX615 camera with an f/2.4 lens is located on the front of the OnePlus Nord 2T 5G for taking selfies and making video calls.
As you can see, the daylight captures have decent detail and sharpness levels. Most of the time, the colours are realistic and don’t oversaturate the pictures. However, occasionally, the sharpness was less of a concern and could have been better. Overall, the dynamic range appears to be good; there is nothing to be concerned about.
Since we were testing the cameras during monsoon and it was mostly cloudy where we were, we were unable to test the cameras in really intense sunlight.
Moving on to the ultra wide-angle camera, it should be noted that while the photographs contain respectable detail, the sharpness levels are plainly not as good as would be expected from an 8MP sensor. Comparatively speaking to the primary sensor, colour reproduction has been handled fairly well. The ultrawide sensor is therefore usable but not of the best quality seen from Oneplus.
Moving on to the close-up photographs, you get good details and the pictures are sharp. The colours are generally executed properly and do not oversaturate pictures. This phone lacks the macro sensor that is present in many other phones in this price range. You receive attractive portraits when shot, and these are of good quality when compared to the previous version. The sharpness and details, as well as the skin tones, are excellent. Overall, the portraits you obtain are excellent and reliable because of the clever edge detection.
Low-light photographs taken indoors under artificial lighting also appear well-done where noise levels are kept to a minimum. A night mode is available for use in extremely dim lighting situations, providing well-lit, detailed photographs. Once more, the new AI engine helps to some extent manage the noise. The primary camera has OIS, which enhances the photos in low light. Moving on to selfies, the 32MP front sensor likewise produces good-quality images. There are plenty of details, and the sharpness levels are excellent. Also wonderfully done was the skin tone. There is a night mode for selfies, and the low-light selfies turned out to be good as well. In terms of edge detection, the portrait mode performs admirably overall, too. The video recording follows next; it can capture videos in 4K at 30fps with perhaps only OIS on the offer. Although the resolution is outstanding, the colours appear to be a little overexposed, which is typical of most 4K movie modes. Because there is no EIS present, it is not advised for moving footage. In terms of colour and motion accuracy, 1080p at 60 frames per second is better than 4K because it supports EIS and does a decent job with the hues. Additionally, 1080p at 30 frames per second supports EIS too and looks beautiful all around with accurate colour reproduction. The video also appears to be stabilised well and has acceptable crispness. The ultra wide-angle camera may also be used in 1080p mode, and it has decent visual quality, despite the fact that EIS was not operating in this mode. The phone can slow down video up to 72dB at 960 frames per second or 1080p resolution. The OnePlus Nord 2T’s front-facing camera sample can capture videos in 1080p HD. The camera on the OnePlus Nord 2T is the same as the one on the Nord 2, which was released last year, and the results are essentially the same. The primary camera produces good portraits, close-up photos when used in the daylight and good low-light photos. Also attractive are the selfies. Although users won’t be dissatisfied, the phone’s cameras aren’t going to really amaze you. They are sufficient for the majority of situations. The 4,500mAh dual-cell battery inside the OnePlus Nord 2T can be fast charged at 80W using the included charger. According to OnePlus, the battery can be charged from 1% to 60% in under 15 minutes, which is roughly accurate to the company’s promise. In our tests, the phone took 15 minutes to charge from 1% to 66%. So it finished charging in approximately 28 minutes. Therefore, it took the gadget 28 minutes to charge to 100%. With such good rapid charging, you can simply charge in a few minutes even if your battery dies. Last but not least, we’re not overly satisfied with Nord 2T’s speaker quality. The highs sound quite crisp and the audio is not balanced, but they are loud and there is no distortion at the loudest volumes either. They’re fine for occasionally watching movies and other things, but if you listen to a lot of music, you’ll find that their audio quality is only fair. Maybe the next iteration of the phone can have better loudspeakers.
Verdict
Okay, so based on what we’ve covered so far, you must be able to infer that the OnePlus Nord 2T is a good smartphone in its class and that purchasing it won’t be an unpleasant process. However, while using this phone, we couldn’t help but wonder if it was a pointless expansion of Nord’s product line. We mean that it is nearly identical to the OnePlus Nord 2 in every way. We believe it would have been preferable if the firm had instead released the OnePlus Nord 3 with better enhancements, skipping this phone entirely. But wait, when you compare it to the misses that happened with the Nord 2, the Nord 2T takes care of everything and plugs all holes. It is stable, looks nice, has great performance and will not burn a hole in your pocket, literally. Pros
Well Built No heating issue Charges Rapidly Nice cameras
Cons
Same cameras as of Nord 2 Could have given a 120Hz display instead of 90Hz Average sound quality
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