OnePlus Nord 3 review

Design, build quality, handling

The OnePlus Nord 3 looks a lot like the Nord 2 and 2T, alert slider included, but it has been improved in a few thoughtful ways and we think many people would love the tweaked design.

The Nord 3 is still a dual-glass smartphone with a plastic frame. The screen protection is completely flat and it's now a Dragontrail glass instead of a Gorilla Glass 5. The plastic frame is also flat with a matt finish, and our Misty Green model has a glossy Gorilla Glass 5 back panel with a 2.5D edge.

There is also a Tempest Gray model, which comes with a matte rear side.

The new camera housing is the first and obvious major design change - there are still two black circles that accommodate all cameras, but there is no extra rectangular housing. This way the Nord 3 looks somewhat more premium and, well, flagship-like.

The second one is the official IP54 rating for dust and splash resistance. While this is not complete water proofing like the Galaxy A models, it is higher than your average Redmi IP53 protection and will keep the phone safe not only from spraying water, but also splashing water for 5-10 minutes.

And finally, the screen bezels, the chin especially, have been greatly reduced, now evenly thin, thinner than the most recent iPhones Pro for example. Nice!

Let's take a closer look now.

The new 6.74-inch Fluid AMOLED is a feast for the eyes - bright, fast, colorful, and with a tiny punch hole. It is larger than Nord 2's and with a ton of updates. And, as we mentioned, it has thinner bezels.

Above the screen is the earpiece, which also doubles as a stereo speaker. This one also has a top-facing sound outlet on the frame for audio balance purposes.

The fingerprint sensor is underneath the screen, just like on most phones these days, and it's fast and reliable. There is a Quick Launch function as part of the OxygenOS launcher, where you scan and hold your fingertip a bit and then you can swipe towards one of five predefined shortcuts.

The glossy mint back is really beautiful and shiny. It has the 1+ logo, two black camera circles and two ring-light looking holes.

The top black circle houses the 50MP OIS primary camera and right next to it, outside, is the single-LED flash.

The bottom sickle has the 8MP ultrawide and the 2MP macro cameras. Outside, you can see what appears to look like another LED flash, but it's not. This is a sensor, maybe a color temperature one.

The two camera housings are jutting out of the back, but not abruptly, and manage to still look nice. They make the Nord 3 wobble a bit in a desk, but not as much as the previous models.

The plastic frame is flat and matte and is a big grip booster.

There is an IR blaster, a secondary microphone, and speaker outlet at the top.

The bottom of the Nord 3 accommodates the USB-C port, the dual-SIM tray, the primary microphone, and the second stereo speaker.

The volume key is alone on the left side.

You will find the 3-posotion alert slider and the power/lock key on the right. The slider has excellent feedback and ribbed texture.

The OnePlus Nord 3 measures 162.0x75.1x8.15mm and weighs 194 grams, that's 3mm taller, 2mm wider and 4 grams heavier than the OnePlus Nord 2. Considering the larger display with thinner bezels, we can say that OnePlus has pretty much managed to fit a larger OLED, and battery, inside the same shell.

The phone offers excellent grip thanks to the matte frame and the plain back. It also looks great with its no-nonsense design and catchy colors. The Nord 3 looks and feels premium when handled, and we appreciate the IP54 rating as it gives an extra peace of mind.

Overall, we had nothing but positive impressions from the new Nord 3, and we are quite fond of the incredibly thin bezels.