nord: OnePlus Nord CE 2 Lite: First impressions – Times of India

OnePlus recently expanded its Nord series of affordable smartphones with the launch of the new OnePlus Nord CE 2 Lite handset. The smartphone is powered by a Snapdragon 695 5G mobile platform and runs on Oxygen OS 12.1 based on Android 12. The base variant with 6GB RAM is priced at Rs 19,999 whereas the 8GB variant that we received carries a price tag of Rs 21,999. The Nord CE 2 Lite offers fast performance, a colourful display and a stylish design. We got the opportunity to use the phone for some time and here are our first impressions.
Design
The OnePlus Nord CE 2 Lite smartphone has got flattened edges on all four corners while the sleek and lightweight design gives it a classy look. The front panel of the phone fits a 6.59-inch display with the 16MP front camera hole placed on the top left corner. The phone can be used with one hand. The back panel is divided into two sections — a rugged upper part that houses the camera island and a smoother lower part that carries the company’s logo. The camera island is a protruding rectangular module which includes the triple camera setup. The power button is placed on the right side of the display while the volume rockers and the SIM tray are on the left side. The bottom part includes the speaker grille, USB Type-C charging port and the 3.5mm audio port.
Display
The device sports a 6.59-inch LCD screen that supports FHD+ resolution (2412×1080 pixels) which looks quite colourful. The display supports a 120Hz refresh rate which comes as default and claims to have a pixel density of 402ppi. The Nord CE 2 Lite’s display offers a lot of screen space as the bezels surrounding it are pretty thin. The screen is perfectly readable outdoor under direct sunlight. The colour reproduction of the display is good enough for gaming and binge-watching.
Hardware and Software
The Nord CE 2 Lite is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 695 5G chipset paired with Adreno 619 graphics unit and 8GB RAM. The device comes with 128GB of internal storage and supports virtual RAM up to 5GB. The smartphone packs a 5000mAh battery unit that supports 33W SuperVOOC charging. The device was performing smoothly during our initial testing and we didn’t experience any visible lag. Games and other heavy apps were running smoothly. For the complete battery and performance analysis, you will have to wait for our complete review.
The smartphone runs on the OnePlus proprietary skin the OxygenOS 12.1 which is based on Android 12. The new UI skin has a new design and advanced privacy and security features. The new OxygenOS 12 comes with an enhanced dark mode and offers faster and more stable performance with improved usability, better battery management and enhanced data privacy. Apart from the native Android 12 features, this new OS layer also allows users to add helpful widget components for work, rest and play.
Camera
The Nord CE 2 Lite is equipped with a triple rear camera setup that includes a 64MP primary camera with f/1.7 aperture and EIS support, a 2MP depth assist camera with f/2.4 aperture along with a 2MP macro lens with f/2.4 aperture. The smartphone also sports a 16MP front camera which is a Sony IMX471 sensor that supports f/2.0 aperture as well as EIS. The camera delivered some really good photos in daylight during the initial testing. The pictures offered adequate detailing and vivid colour reproduction. The selfie camera also captures some lively photos and the device supports multiple shooting modes (about which we will talk about in the complete review). The initial camera performance of the smartphone is quite notable.
What we think
This device is the company’s first smartphone to start under Rs 20,000. The new device is the ‘Lite’ version of the OnePlus Nord 2 CE smartphone that was launched earlier at a starting price of Rs 23,999. Considering its pricing, the phone seems to offer all-around specs and looks like an up-and-coming affordable mid-range smartphone. The smartphone runs on the latest Android operating system, comes powered by an octa-core 5G processor and offers SuperVOOC fast charging. However, you will have to read our full review to ensure whether it will be a good buy or not.