OnePlus Nord 2 long-term review

Design, handling

From the front, the OnePlus Nord 2 is a modern smartphone released in the past two years or so. That's the vibe you get, and it's perfectly fine, but nothing special - it really doesn't stand out at all. This is a common theme with most devices these days, we're not singling it out for it, just noting that it won't turn any heads unless you haven't seen an Android smartphone for a few years.

The backside is a little bit different, though. Close enough in design to many recent phones (especially from the Oppo / vivo / Realme stable), but distinct enough that it doesn't fully feel generic without actually going to the other extreme (of standing out on its own) either.

It's a nicely done design that is not revolutionary in any way, but the execution still deserves praise. Our review unit's Blue Haze hue is indeed something to behold, and we appreciate the fact that it doesn't seem to show fingerprints at all. That usually comes with a matte finish, but this one looks shinier (for lack of a better word) than your average run-of-the-mill matte finish. But it's not exactly glossy either.

It's a very interesting in-betweener, and that may just prove to be the theme of this whole review because that could, in fact, be the best way to think of the OnePlus Nord 2 as a whole. All of this means the Nord 2 is slippery but far from the worst offenders in this area - while also not being among the least slippery devices we've long-term reviewed.

The camera island... is a camera island, and it serves its purpose. It houses cameras. And a flash. It looks nice but isn't the best we've ever seen. It fits in elegantly with the rest of the rear, and overall the phone's design seems to give off a vibe of well thought through, but not excessive in any way. The back glass curves to the sides unlike the screen, and this gives the handset a slimmer feel. The plastic frame is glossy and can get fingerprinty as a result, except it's not something you're usually actively looking at, so you may not notice.

The screen element seems to sort of sink into the frame, when you look at it from the front, and that gives the handset a more premium look than your average mid-ranger which has the screen panel sitting on top of the rest of the hardware. The difference is very subtle, though.

Unlike cheaper Nords, this one retains OnePlus' trademark alert slider, and we're very happy for that (and still can't figure out why no other Android device maker, not even Oppo, which is now merged with OnePlus, has copied it). It's such a good user experience to quickly be able to physically toggle a switch between the three alerting modes, without having to unlock the phone or look at the screen or anything like that. What's more, you can just glance at the position of the slider and instantly figure out which alerting mode the handset is currently in.

Handling is great, owing to the Nord 2's smaller dimensions and lighter weight compared to most devices nowadays. It's only 2-3mm narrower than the prototypical mainstream Android phone, but that does improve handling a lot, and that's especially true for people with smaller hands. An added aid is that it's also less tall than most other handsets, which makes reaching for things at the top of the screen ever so slightly easier.

Don't get us wrong, we still wouldn't call this a small phone, but it's refreshingly smaller than most and a lot of people might like that. This reviewer goes with "the bigger the better" rule of thumb, but the Nord 2 isn't so small as to become a nuisance even for such a person. So, you could say it's in an interesting middle position between small phones and big phones. It's that theme again.

Case

Unsurprisingly for a Chinese phone, you get a case in the box, and this one is a bit better than the usual jelly case that tends to get bundled. It feels sturdier and, while mostly transparent, it does have a neat arrow-like part that's slightly matte. It seems pretty protective, too, but we haven't really dropped the Nord 2 during our time with it so we can't tell you whether it would survive a drop when it's in the case - though we don't see why not.

Additionally, even though this isn't a 'proper' flagship, OnePlus continues its tradition of offering a bunch of different cases that you can purchase separately, and that is something we really appreciate. Reputable third-party case makers usually focus on the most popular models from the most popular brands only, so many times if you buy a more 'exotic' phone (its degree of exoticism being tied to the particular country you live in, of course), you may find that you don't really have any great options for cases.

While the OnePlus cases are anything but cheap, at least they're all very well made - we had an assortment of three to play with during our time with the Nord 2, and they're all nice feeling, though we're partial towards the ones with the trademark OnePlus Sandstone finish. It's just so grippy!

Speakers, vibration motor

The OnePlus Nord 2 has perfectly adequate dual speakers that get the job done without being among the loudest or highest-quality we've ever heard. On the other hand, they're not quiet nor low-quality either, so this is one area where what you get is exactly what you may have expected given the price of the device. The speakers don't punch above that level, nor are they disappointing.

Overall, it was a nice experience using them, but obviously, they work best in environments that don't have a lot of ambient noise. There you may find the volume wanting, but this is true for many phone speakers. We are glad there's two of them, even if the earpiece is pulling double-duty and there isn't a symmetrical top speaker to go with the bottom one. This is always preferable to having just a single downward-firing unit.

The story is very similar with the vibration motor, although not entirely so. Subjectively we'd say it's a little bit better than the phone's price might make you believe, while still not getting close to the best on the market. Then again, those are generally mounted onto phones that are higher-end and more expensive, so we wouldn't fault OnePlus for this. On the other hand, it has to be noted that the Nord 2's motor isn't one of those cheap, tinny, horrible ones you sometimes find on much cheaper devices.

Vibrate on touch setting

So while it's not among the best, it's definitely not among the worst either. It is, for lack of a better phrase, middle-of-the-road. Unfortunately, you don't have any control over how intense the haptics are for general UI interactions, there's only an on/off switch for "Vibrate on touch" and that's it.