OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite hands-on review

Verdict

The OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite is really just the Realme 10 Pro with a different name. The most notable difference is the faster 67W charging, which offers a modest improvement in charging speed. The only other difference is the choice of color options for both phones, with the Nord CE 3 Lite having the fetching Pastel Lime and the Realme 10 Pro having the unique Hyperspace Gold.

As such, you could really just go with either phone as they are otherwise about as identical as two phones can get. We are not even sure why Oppo is even launching them in the same market together; it's not as if the old OnePlus values mean anything anymore, and any fans of the brand could just as well buy a Realme phone for all the difference it makes. The Nord CE 3 Lite doesn't even have the alert slider, one of the last remaining unique OnePlus features.

Aside from that, the Nord CE 3 Lite is a pretty standard budget phone that has all the basics in place. The biggest issue with the phone is the bogus advertised 120Hz refresh rate, which may as well be marketed as 90Hz.

It's hard to be too critical at this price point. Having said that, the Redmi Note 12 5G costs about the same but packs in an AMOLED display, IR blaster, and IP53 rating. Assuming it's available in your region, it would be our first pick but the Nord CE 3 Lite is also a decent budget option otherwise.

Pros

• Thin and attractive design.
• Good main camera image quality.
• Headphone jack and microSD expansion.
• Fast charging.

Cons

• LCD display with poor calibration.
• No ultra-wide camera, poor macro cam.
• Display very rarely uses the max 120Hz refresh rate.
• No 4K video recording.
• No OnePlus alert slider.