OnePlus Nord 2 long-term review

Conclusion

The OnePlus Nord 2 isn't a proper high-end device, and it's not technically a 'flagship killer' either. Then again, it's also not exactly a run-of-the-mill midranger. It has this tendency to evade easy and neat categorization, which is intriguing for sure, but doesn't answer the question you're (probably) all here for: is it a good phone?

Unfortunately, that's not an easy question to answer. The closest we can come to that is by saying... It's complicated. Let's start with the good parts. The Nord 2 has a flagship-level main camera, on paper, and in real life, that claim is definitely delivered upon when shooting in low light. During the day, it's less of a delta between it and competitors at the same price point, while the ultrawide proved slightly better during the day than its specs had us expect (though at night, it's probably best ignored for most shooting scenarios).

Performance is very good, and in day-to-day tasks that aren't heavy gaming, you won't see any difference between the Dimensity 1200 SoC employed here compared to, say, a Snapdragon 870. We'd call the 65W fast wired charging flagship-level since very few devices, regardless of price point, have ever gone above that, and the convenience of a quick top-up is hard to overstate. This neatly brings us to battery life, which is very good, and that assessment turns into "outstanding" once you factor in the capacity it has to work with.

The screen is where we get into tricky territory because while the panel itself is perfectly adequate for the price point, the refresh rate isn't. That is, in fact, one of the low points of the Nord 2 package, in a world in which even Samsung's comparably priced midrangers opt for 120Hz. A year ago, this would have been less of an issue, but now we can't overlook it - even though you might be perfectly fine with the improvement you're getting with 90Hz if you're coming from a device with a 60Hz panel.

The philosophical issue remains, however - OnePlus could have gone with a 120Hz screen but chose not to. We assume that was, in part at least, for cost-cutting purposes, and we'd forgive that if the Nord 2 would significantly undercut its competitors in price, but it doesn't. It might also be that the company didn't want the Nord 2 cannibalizing the sales of its more expensive devices, but that's an anti-consumer move through and through, and we can't get behind it.

Speaking of philosophical things, let's now turn to software. OxygenOS has, over the years, attracted a cult-like following thanks to its staying close to stock Android while providing more customization options - and most of those we found well thought-through and not just gimmicks added to pad marketing materials. Now though, OxygenOS is undergoing a process of transformation that will probably end with it being nothing more than ColorOS with another name (looking at you, Realme UI).

We're not there yet on the Nord 2, but things are likely to change once the Android 12 update hits. For now, OxygenOS 11.3 on the phone has ColorOS underpinnings but looks and feels mostly like OxygenOS used to. It also has bugs. Plenty of them, randomly appearing and disappearing. The handset got a bunch of updates while we were using it for this review, and the security patch level was always current or only one month behind, which isn't amazing but isn't bad at all at this price point.

And yet, the bugs. Unfortunately, in the recent past, OxygenOS has acquired the infamous reputation of being bug-ridden, and we can't really say that our experience using the Nord 2 was anything close to bug-free. That said, all of the bugs we mention in the Software section may be irrelevant to your use of a phone. Do keep that in mind, but there's a bigger point to be made here, and that's the lack of predictability.

Some bugs were introduced by specific updates and then fixed by the next ones; others lingered around for months. Any new update can bring new bugs, and frankly, that's unacceptable in our book in 2022. Not to mention that the transition from OxygenOS 11 to ColorOS-based OxygenOS 12 for the OnePlus 9 and 9 Pro has been anything but smooth, and that transition is also in the Nord 2's future. Will it go better since this phone already has an underlying ColorOS layer? Maybe. Hopefully. But we can't guarantee that, and if you're thinking of buying this phone now, that will be something you'll have to deal with.

So, overall, the Nord 2 is an intriguing product that isn't quite like any of its competitors. It's better in some aspects and worse in others, and whether it might, in early 2022, be the one for you depends entirely on what you prioritize most in your phone use. We've enjoyed all aspects of our time with it except those specifically pointed out as bugs or annoyances, so we can't really tell you to avoid it no matter what.

But we would think long and hard if you specifically need its unique assortment of features. And if not, Samsung has a Galaxy A52s 5G to sell you for what is now a very similar price. Don't like Samsung? Check out the Xiaomi Mi 11 Lite 5G or 11 Lite 5G NE. Or, if you want more performance and care less about camera prowess, the Poco F3 (which we've reviewed long-term last year) can definitely provide for you.