Remember the OnePlus Nord 2 smartphone? At one time, it was considered one of the best gadgets of the company due to the combination of high performance, decent camera and user-friendly software at an affordable price. For me, this is the whole point of OnePlus smartphones. And now the company has officially unveiled the updated OnePlus Nord 2T model, which provides the potential buyer with the same benefits, but with a small list of differences. So if the user has always wanted a cool mid-range smartphone, but did not take the Nord 2, it’s time to take a closer look at the version with the “T” index.
Characteristics
- Processor: MediaTek Dimensity 1300, 8 cores (1×3.0 GHz Cortex-A78, 3×2.6 GHz Cortex-A78, 4×2.0 GHz Cortex-A55), Mali-G77 MC9.
- Memory: 8/128 GB, 12/256 GB.
- Display: 6.43 inches, AMOLED, 90 Hz, 1080×2400 pixels, 20:9 aspect ratio, 409 ppi.
- Main camera: 50 MP (f/1.9, 24mm, PDAF, 1 µm), 8 MP (f/2.2, 120˚), 2 MP (f/2.2).
- Front camera: 32 MP (f / 2.4).
- 4500mAh battery, 80W fast charging.
- OS: Android 12, OxygenOS 12.1.
- Dimensions: 159.1 × 73.2 × 8.2 mm, 190 grams.
Case design
We can say that the OnePlus Nord 2T smartphone looks more or less the same as the OnePlus Nord 2, so it is very difficult to distinguish smartphones from the outside. The main difference of the new gadget is the rear camera format, which looks a bit strange compared to the original device. The fact is that inside the lower circle, located on the camera platform, there are two holes for the cameras. These are exactly the same cameras as in the original OnePlus Nord 2, only they are located differently. And it looks, frankly, a little strange – the cameras are not located in the center.
When it comes to the display, it will be even more difficult to find at least some differences between the gadgets – the same diagonal, the same brightness, the same resolution and even design. There is no visible difference between these two gadgets on the front side, they have similar characteristics – we are talking about both the color palette and the refresh rate of 90 Hz.
Accordingly, outwardly this is the same smartphone as the original OnePlus Nord 2 – I do not see any compromises that the company had to make in the new version of the device. Moreover, the potential buyer will receive the same branded protective case and a pre-applied protective film on the smartphone screen right out of the box.
At the same time, I don’t quite understand why OnePlus decided to change the design of the camera system. Perhaps this is due to the desire to create some kind of illusion of change, without actually giving the user anything new. Even the same mediocre speakers are installed here, and the fingerprint scanner is still located under the display – literally nothing new.
Performance and Benchmarks
The new smartphone is equipped with MediaTek’s Dimensity 1300 processor, a system-on-a-chip with eight processing cores (Cortex-A78 main core at 3.0 GHz, three high-performance Cortex-A78 cores at 2.6 GHz and four energy-efficient Cortex-A78 cores). A55 up to 2.0 GHz). And if the Dimensity 1200-AI processor in Nord 2 was the product of a collaboration between OnePlus and MediaTek, then the Dimensity 1300 looks like just a ready-made proposal for the middle class.
In terms of the graphics processor, everything is also quite expected – based on the system on a Dimensity 1300 chip, an ARM Mali-G77 processor is installed – it contains nine processing cores and supports MediaTek HyperEngine 3.0 gaming technology. Moreover, the processor is capable of working in 5G networks, improves the response of the touch screen to clicks, improves the power saving mode, and implements ray tracing in games.
Accordingly, many users might think that a newer system on a chip will bring increased performance, but this apparently is not entirely true. The fact is that in the process of testing the smartphone, we could not notice at least any noticeable difference between the Dimensity 1200 and Dimensity 1300 processors – their performance is approximately equal in synthetic tests, and in Geekbench 5 the results are almost identical.
So if we talk about the performance of the new gadget, this is the same smartphone as the OnePlus Nord 2. OnePlus itself also said that the main differences of the new system on a chip are shooting videos and photos. I tested several video games on this gadget, and made sure that this is true – there is practically no difference in processors. Games like PUBG Mobile and COD Mobile work quite well, and you can even run a variety of emulators on the device, so the performance is quite adequate for the price.
In addition, it is worth recalling that the user gets up to 12 GB of RAM and up to 256 GB of internal memory, so this is a fast and smooth device, and if you are not a gamer, then most likely you will not even notice that this is not a flagship processor. But updating from Nord 2 solely for the sake of performance also makes no sense – “under the hood” smartphones are the same.
Operating system
The original OnePlus Nord 2 smartphone was the company’s first device to launch on a firmware that was the result of the combination of ColorOS and OxygenOS, and the new device uses the same software. It’s still just a skin on top of ColorOS, but ultimately it’s not that bad. For example, all the features that users really love in OxygenOS are fully implemented on OnePlus Nord 2T – the gadget boasts a game mode, the same user interface, convenient multitasking and more. Moreover, the smartphone runs on the Android 12 operating system out of the box, and the company promises to release system updates within two years.
Image quality
When it comes to the quality of pictures from the main camera, OnePlus Nord 2T is surprisingly similar to the original gadget in every aspect. Yes, OnePlus said that thanks to the improved AI capabilities, the results of night shooting should be better, but in other aspects, photos and videos will be exactly the same. The main camera of the OnePlus Nord 2T is capable of taking really fantastic pictures, but the other cameras of the device are not so good anymore.
The quality of the video is also excellent – OnePlus Nord 2 copes well with excessively loud sounds and at one time made it possible to record the track On Melancholy Hill by Gorillaz at a concert in London in high quality. The new smartphone, of course, the video is absolutely identical.
But I would also like to see OnePlus add better secondary cameras to its mid-range smartphone. The wide-angle camera doesn’t do the job very well, and the depth sensor can easily be swapped out for something a little more useful. The main camera is really good, but that’s all there is to praise.
Autonomy and charging speed
There is one problem with the 80W charging upgrade – as we noted with the OnePlus 10 Pro, the 80W charger was worse than the 65W charger included with the Nord 2.
OnePlus’ 65W charger is a great charger not only because of the amount of current it can provide to OnePlus devices, but simply because it’s one of the best Power Delivery chargers on the market. The gadget can charge a lot of devices with 45W without any problems – I often used this charger to connect to my laptop, my Google Pixel, portable console and a whole host of other devices that support Power Delivery technology.
So boosting the charging power to 80W is very much like a marketing gimmick since it doesn’t really give you any noticeable result. And even if you end up gaining a few minutes of your time that you would have spent charging your gadget, you lose a lot of the benefits of a really high-quality charger.
In addition, the battery life has not changed at all in comparison with the characteristics of the original gadget. This means you’ll get the same five to six hours of screen time, depending on how much you use your device. And in fact, it’s even better than what flagship devices are capable of at the moment. But OnePlus Nord 2T can be charged in about half an hour – it’s really very fast, but it doesn’t change the situation.
Review
Don’t get me wrong, the OnePlus Nord 2T is a great phone in its own right, but I don’t understand why they released it at all. Whenever OnePlus released an updated gadget with the T index, there were some significant and noticeable changes in it, but this time the tradition was broken. On top of that, the OnePlus Nord 2 was already a great smartphone and no one asked for an upgrade – so what’s the point?
My theory is that MediaTek released the Dimensity 1300, replacing the Dimensity 1200 entirely. It’s basically the same set of components, but with some minor improvements that most users simply won’t notice. Accordingly, OnePlus decided to re-release the Nord 2, because according to reports, the smartphone sold very well, but it is no longer possible to release it further on the Dimensity 1200. So my guess is that the Nord 2T was released simply because the company has access to the Dimensity 1300 and 80W charging technology, plus if OnePlus re-released a gadget called Nord 2 but with a different processor, it could confuse buyers.
Of course, this is just my guess, but this is the only reasonable explanation why the company released this smartphone. After all, this is clearly not a ploy to force users to upgrade from Nord 2 to a new gadget – I simply cannot imagine a situation why a user would agree to this. It’s far more likely that OnePlus has supply chain issues and just got out of the situation.
But is it worth it to end up buying the OnePlus Nord 2T? I think yes. If you need a new smartphone and don’t want to pay a lot of money for it, then this gadget is just a great choice, which was the Nord 2 before it. It even costs the same as the latest Nord, so it’s a worthy device in its own right. But it should be understood that the difference between OnePlus Nord 2 and Nord 2T is, in fact, only a slightly different design of the camera system. But you’ll still get a near-flagship device experience, and for most users, that’s more than enough.
✅ Benefits
- Works quickly and smoothly.
- Fast charging.
- Unlocked bootloader.
❌ Disadvantages
- Minor update compared to Nord 2.
- Just two years of OS updates.
- Mediocre speakers.
This is a translation of the XDA Developers review.
Source: Trash Box
Donald-43Westbrook, a distinguished contributor at worldstockmarket, is celebrated for his exceptional prowess in article writing. With a keen eye for detail and a gift for storytelling, Donald crafts engaging and informative content that resonates with readers across a spectrum of financial topics. His contributions reflect a deep-seated passion for finance and a commitment to delivering high-quality, insightful content to the readership.
