OnePlus Nord 3 review

Alternative offers

The OnePlus Nord 3 turned out to be an excellent sequel to the Nord 2 with a larger, smoother and higher resolution display, flagship-grade hardware, improved cameras, and faster charging. It launches with a rather competitive price at €449 (early bird €499 price for the 256GB), which should put it on your radar immediately.

The over-saturated midrange segment has been thriving lately and that's a win for the consumers. Let's explore a couple of similar offers now.

The first one that comes to mind is another BBK phone - the Realme 11 Pro+ (€500 for the 512GB model). This smartphone has a truly unique design, faster charging, and its main camera can do up to 4x lossless zoom. The Realme 11 Pro+ has an inferior Dimensity 7050 chipset though, so high profile gaming is out of the question even if gaming itself is not.

The €430 Poco F5 is a great alternative to the Nord 3 with an even better Dolby Vision OLED, similarly powerful hardware, speakers, cameras. The Poco F5 supports high frame rate gaming where available, there is EIS for the 4K video capturing, and the battery life is a bit better. The Nord 3 on the other hand has faster charging, a larger and higher-res display, and IP54-rated design (vs. IP53). The Poco F5 seems like a slightly more rounded offer.

You can also consider the €380 Redmi Note 12 Pro+ for its Dolby Vision display, 200MP OIS primary camera, and the 120W fast charging. Its graphics are inferior to the Nord 3's though, and so is the battery life and the ingress protection.

Speaking of ingress protection, the €400 Galaxy A54 could be your thing if waterproofing is a must and your budget falls within this price bracket. The A54 is a very good offer with IP67-rated design, 6.4-inch 120Hz Super AMOLED, and capable cameras. Its performance is not up to par, though, and nor is its charging speed.

Finally, we want to mention the vivo V27 Pro (about €400 where avaialble). It's an excellent smartphone of a similar size, power, and much better camera quality across the board. Consider this one if available on your market and if you prioritize photo quality, selfies included. But do have in mind it has no ingress protection and no stereo speakers.

Realme 11 Pro+ • Xiaomi Poco F5 • Xiaomi Redmi Note 12 Pro+ • Samsung Galaxy A54 • vivo V27 Pro

Our verdict

The OnePlus Nord 3 is easy to like - it has an impressive high-resolution display with even more impressively thin bezels and cutout. The flagship-grade hardware is a real treat in this price range, and so is the flagship battery life and charging. And we cannot but appreciate the IP54-rated body, a thoughtful step that gives an extra peace of mind.

The camera has been improved since the Nord 2, there is no doubt. The main camera saves great photos and videos, day and night, and so does the ultrawide shooter. Over-processed a bit, sure, but still better than what Nord 2 had to offer.

The selfie camera is a bit disappointing, and the macro cam turned out pretty poor. But not having electronic stabilization for the 4K videos is a real crime. That, and the Quad-Bayer selfie sensor.

And, being a BBK-made phone, the OnePlus Nord 3 does not offer high frame rate gaming.

Even with these imperfections, the Nord 3 manages to impress us with everything else - screen, performance, speakers, charging speed and battery life, overall camera quality, fluid OxygenOS. It launches at a competitive price, too, and we do suggest putting the Nord 3 on your shortlist, somewhere around the top picks.

Pros

• IP54-rated dual-glass design, beautiful colors.
• Outstanding display of high-resolution, brightness, refresh rate, HDR10 support.
• Excellent battery life, plenty fast charging.
• Loud and balanced Dolby Atmos speakers.
• Flagship-grade performance.
• Reliable photo and video quality from all cameras but macro.
• Fluid OxygenOS.

Cons

• No EIS in 4K resolution.
• The selfie camera is basic, macro shots are poor.
• No high frame rate gaming, GPU could be prone to throttling.