OnePlus Nord N20 5G review

Design

The OnePlus Nord N20 5G brings new design elements not before seen from OnePlus until this year. Although having flat edges is a trendy touch that caught on by Apple, let's just say that the Nord N20 isn't entirely original in some of its design choices. Flat edges, oblong power and volume keys, and bulging camera rings do remind us of another popular brand, but not a particular model.

Compared to its predecessor, the N20 does more to stand out amongst other budget smartphones on display at the pre-paid carrier store - in this case: in-store displays at T-Mobile and Metro stores in the US. The look is stark, handsome, and sharp. An otherwise generic silhouette is more attractive thanks to juxtaposition of the matte frame, glossy back plate at the bottom, and the chrome rings around the cameras.

The flat edged frame wraps all the way around the device. At first glance, you might think it was made of a single piece, but closer inspection reveals that the seams are hidden right at the each of the corners of the frame. The matte finish of the frame, the glowing reflection behind a grain-like matte texture on the back plate, accented by two chrome camera rings and a glossy strip make the device easy on the eyes - especially under a lamp.

It is sleek with relatively thin bezels, save for the bottom one. The punch-hole camera is a nice touch, and the update to an AMOLED panel means the fingerprint scanner is now in-display. The Nord N20's footprint is moderately sized, though measuring in at 159.9 x 73.2 x 7.5 mm it is pleasantly slim. It's also light at 173g.

The bottom of the phone includes a 3.5mm headphone jack, USB-C port, and single loudspeaker. The sim tray can be found on the left side, just above the volume keys, and the power key on the right. We like the placement of the keys; they fall naturally in line with where they should be - not too far up, not too low. Plus, they are satisfyingly tactile.

The Nord N20 5G is a rebranded Oppo Reno7 Z 5G. They are identical, down to the dimensions and placement of the cameras, ports, and chipset, though the physical differences between them are very much "you can copy my homework but change it up so it's not obvious" vibes. Oppo's Reno7 Z does have slightly more RAM (8GB versus the N20's 6GB) as smartphone markets are more competitive outside of North America.

Build quality and materials

The sandwich design of the Nord N20 5G doesn't disappoint. Though sturdy, it does flex with a whisper of plastic and metal. The display's buffer and back panel are made of plastic and the exterior frame is chamfered, made to look like metal and it in indeed convincing. A rigid chassis keeps everything together.

The display is protected by 2.5D glass, though it is hardly curved at the edges. It remains to be seen how well the plastic back panel will protect against scratches, though the texture should do well enough to hide scratches.

Despite the all-plastic build, the Nord N20 is stylish and sleek. The design is made to look like it was precisely crafted from more expensive materials.

Controls, sensors and connectivity

The Nord N20 5G has a conventional layout with all the basics: a power key on the right, volume buttons on the left, USB-C and headphone ports on the bottom, and an in-display optical fingerprint scanner.

The fingerprint scanner's placement isn't the most ideal given that it's lower towards the bottom edge, and this is something that OnePlus had addressed with the OnePlus 10 Pro's being higher up on the display compared to the 9 Pro's that sat towards the bottom edge as well. This is just a detail, as it can easily be forgiven at this price point.

The SIM tray sits flush above the volume keys, and it supports a nanoSIM and microSD cards up to 512GB. The Nord N20 5G supports T-Mobile's Extended Range (n71 and n2) and Ultra Capacity 5G bands with support for MIMO (multi in, multi out) over 5G. It also supports T-Mobile's Extended Range LTE bands 12 and 71 in addition to LTE-A 4x4 MIMO. Bluetooth 5.1 in the standard while GPS L1+L5 Dual Band + GLONASS, Galileo, and A-GPS positions systems are supported as well.

Other sensors include an accelerometer, digital compass, gyroscope, ambient light sensor, proximity sensor, barometer, and SAR sensor. Sadly, although this is a OnePlus device, there is no physical alert switch that we've come to expect from other OnePlus devices.