OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite review 2024: a budget contender

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Last year, the OnePlus Nord CE 2 Lite was one of the best 5G phones that didn’t break the bank. It came with some high-end features, like a 120Hz screen, a 64MP main camera, and a big battery with 33W wired fast charging, and it was priced in a way that made it seem like a good deal. The recently released OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite, which is its successor, ups the ante with a better camera system, faster charging, and a new design at a small price increase. We have been using the OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite for a little over two weeks.

We like some things about it, but it’s not the best phone in this price range. With its 120Hz screen, 108MP main camera, and 67W fast charge, the device looks like a great deal for £300. But the older SoC and choppy performance that comes with it, along with the problems we had with the screen, make it hard to suggest over devices like the Redmi Note 12 5G and the Google Pixel 6a that are about the same price. The Pixel 6a has the best camera and speed in this price range. The Redmi Note 12 5G has a much better 120Hz AMOLED screen and a newer Snapdragon 4 Gen 1 SoC.

OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite Specifications

Specification	Value
Display	6.43-inch AMOLED (1080 x 2400)
Processor	Qualcomm Snapdragon 720G
RAM	6GB/8GB
Storage	128GB/256GB (expandable)
Rear Camera	64MP (wide), 8MP (ultrawide), 2MP (depth)
Front Camera	16MP (wide)
Battery	4,500mAh
Operating System	OxygenOS based on Android 11
Connectivity	5G, Wi-Fi 5, Bluetooth 5.1, USB-C
Weight	6.49 oz (184 g)

Design and Build Quality

The OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite doesn’t look like a typical OnePlus phone very much. And that makes sense if you look at the Realme 10 Pro, which is almost the same phone made by the same family. BBK Electronics owns the brands Realme, OPPO, OnePlus, and Vivo.

It feels like a pretty big Android. This is because it looks like a brick, is 8.3mm thick, and has a big size. But if you want something slim and light, you should look at the OnePlus Nord 2T instead. The back and sides of the OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite are made of plastic. This style is not very expensive, but the injection molding process used to make it keeps it from looking flat like some plastic styles do. You can buy this smartphone from its official website

Screen & Speakers

The larger display of the OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite 5G makes it slightly larger than its predecessor. This screen is larger than the 6.59-inch one on the CE 2 Lite 5G. It’s 120Hz refresh rate complements its Full HD+ (1080 x 2400) resolution. It’s good that, unlike other budget Android phones, it defaults to the highest possible refresh rate. We think that OnePlus’s choice of display technology is the primary issue here.

The screen of the Nord CE 3 Lite 5G isn’t as impressive when compared to the full AMOLED displays on the Poco X5 pro 5G and the somewhat more expensive Xiaomi 12 Pro. In the more neutral-looking Natural color profile, it gives about par color output, covering gamuts of 85.5% sRGB, 60.6% Adobe RGB, and 62.7% DCI P3.

OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite: Cameras

Although the OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite has three cameras in total, only one of them is functional. Since the primary camera’s 108 megapixels already takes photographs with a natural depth of field, there’s no need to switch to portrait mode or use the 2 megapixel macro and depth sensors. Truth be told, the gadget may have benefited from having only an ultrawide camera in addition to the primary 108MP Samsung HM6 sensor and the 16MP selfie lens.

OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite: Performance

Both the 2 MP depth sensor and the 2 MP macro camera are completely unnecessary, and OnePlus could have done without them. Both of these sensors are useless and just exist for appearances’ sake. The Nord CE 3 Lite 5G’s front-facing camera hasn’t been improved since the previous model, and it’s not very good at what it’s supposed to do. Under direct sunlight, the 16 megapixel front-facing camera has trouble capturing fine details. It also has a subtly brightening effect on the skin tone.

Battery Life & Charging

Given the size and thickness of the OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite, a 5000mAh battery is the bare minimum I would anticipate. This is significantly larger than the 4500mAh capacity of the Nord 2T.

It has a slightly extended battery life compared to the Nord 2T and earlier flagship models from OnePlus. Nonetheless, it’s only okay, not spectacular, in my opinion. The Sony Xperia 10 IV also has the same processor, but in my experience, it lasts a lot longer. However, it has a smaller 6-inch screen, making direct comparisons difficult.

Final words

The OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite excels as a budget-friendly midrange option. The phone lacks the classic OnePlus magic, but it does have some interesting features. A headphone jack is included, which is unusual for phones in this price range. Moreover, we haven’t heard louder stereo speakers in a long time.

OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite review: The good and The bad

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