OnePlus Nord 2 5G Review | Best New Mid-Range Smartphone?

Reviewing the OnePlus Nord 2 5G, one of the best mid-range smartphones of 2021 and stiff competition for the Pixel 4a. While Google's phone boasts superior camera results, the OnePlus Nord 2 serves up strong performance from the Dimensity 1200 chipset. Check out my unboxing for a full tour and here's my thoughts after a week of testing.

Mediatek's platform delivers 5G support across two SIM slots while also handling gaming without stress. I did find the phone got quite hot with hardcore Android titles like Genshin impact, but CODM, PubG etc will run fine for hours. Speed isn't an issue, battery life is also a winner.

The OnePlus Nord 2 5G camera hardware can take good looking photos in most conditions, although rivals like that Pixel 4a beat it in strong and low light. I was happy enough with most of my snaps and video however.

Check out my comparison vs the Core Edition (CE 5G) model, and my round-up of the best £400 mid range smartphones in 2021!

OnePlus Nord 2 5G Review Chapters:
0:00 - Less waffle, more review
0:32 - Design
1:49 - OxygenOS & Features
4:00 - Display & Audio
5:34 - Performance & Gaming
6:13 - Battery life
6:49 - Camera
9:36 - Verdict

[TechSpurt]

From the OnePlus Nord 2 onto the Poco X3 GT, full review of that coming next week. Cheers for watching!

[GreenAmigos]

I bet this guy is the best Dad ever. You can just tell.

[brownwallet]

I like how he always emphasize headphone jack because it's one thing I really care about choosing a phone too

[lassetapani]

Just got Nord 2 phone. I liked very much. Fast changing, good and almost clean oxygen/android experience feels really nice after Samsung phone.

[aronjames]

ive been using the nord 2 for about a week now, and i cannot explain how smooth the UI is compared to the previous Samsung Ui i had been using. the only doubt i had was that the tempered glass wasn't as smooth as id expect it to be.

[fruitenantcolonel]

"It's about as intelligent as an inbred poodle with a glue sniffing habit"

Seems like a quote straight out of a Blackadder episode!

[aseembaranwal]

Have been using this phone for 2 days now, one thing you forgot to mention is the WiFi6 and the Carrier aggregation on 4G+ bands as well as the 6 5G bands. The connectivity is Supersonic.

[mindknee]

Love this guy he's so calm and humble by he's gesture #thanks for a good review 🇵🇭

[shubhamdeokate]

I am loving my 8/128 Grey Nord 2!!
OnePlus gave 2 system updates after unboxing, also fixed FHD/HDR streaming!
Love the primary sensor Camera!
Selfi camera is also good, ultra wide is ok, (has one extra 2mp garbage)
They will update few bugs/issues soon I am loving support from OnePlus!
Battery life is very good, also very fast charging (in the box ;)
Very good regular performance, gaming also good!
Only one thing I miss is a Headphone
(My OnePlus Buds Z working great)
Cheers!

[lucasbrown]

The specs are pretty great no doubt. The camera is the best highlight of the phone IMO. Dimensity 1200 AI is a powerful choice

[startinggridful]

I would say that author definitely deserves Oscar, great job!

[kiomi]

My Oneplus Nord 2 Blue Haze 12GB RAM/256GB arrives the 3rd of august, excited! Thanks for the review as well :)

[abcun]

Not a bad phone, but for me it’s the Nokia XR-20 I have my eyes on. Really want that bad boy…LOL…cheers mate and thanks for all your hard work!

[gordonallinson]

I enjoyed my Nord 1 but was frustrated by the camera in all but perfect lighting. Pre-ordered the Nord 2 partially on impulse on the grounds that it was a Nord 1+ bigger battery and better camera, but enjoying it so far. It's more of the same but the auto brightness (for me) is far better, the first was so dim and had to be manually adjusted. I hadn't actually realised how much I missed stereo speakers and the display appears to be better in spite of being almost identical on paper.

[DanTheStripe]

Your jokes are fucking hilarious man. I've been watching a few of your videos looking for a new phone and I always crack up at your metaphors. Superb

[luttrell]

I'm still happy with my original Nord, but this does look like a decent update. I'll probably hold off until the Nord 3 arrives eventually. Thanks for another good review 👍

[ThomasTVP]

Bought the Nord 2 mostly for the quality of the main camera, which does indeed edge out the one on my older Huawei P30 Pro, a phone that cost twice as much when new. Sure, there's no telephoto lens on the Nord 2, but I used the one on the Huawei only a few times anyway. Given that the software optimization by OnePlus isn't very good (yet), I'm satisfied by the results. Night mode is also fine. Unfortunately, the ultrawide is pretty mediocre, but I knew that before I bought the phone. Everything else about the phone is okay or better than okay, so I would recommend this phone within its price range.

[thekrixhna]

I bought Grey Sierra. It's really good. Loving it. ❤️

[Davidwv]

I was about to trade in my OnePlus 6T for an iPhone but then I saw the specs of this phone. It looks amazing for the price

[StuieHunter]

Thinking of getting this to replace my OnePlus 7 Pro....it looks fine for everything I do, but I wish the screen was bigger, then I wouldn't even think twice.