OnePlus Nord CE 2 Lite 5G First Impressions: Looks Promising

The recently launched OnePlus Nord CE 2 5G is a good mid-range smartphone priced under Rs. 25,000. It offers good software, reliable battery life and performance to appeal to those looking for the right all-rounder. The phone also made it to our list of the best smartphones you can buy for less than Rs. 25,000. OnePlus has released the Nord CE 2 Lite 5G which, as the name suggests, is a simplified version. Has OnePlus managed to keep the same balance of features, or has the cost cutting gone too far? I got to spend some time with the new OnePlus Nord CE 2 Lite 5G and here are my first impressions.

OnePlus Nord CE 2 Lite 5G starts at Rs. 19,999 in India for the 6GB RAM and 128GB storage variant. Another option with 8GB RAM and 128GB storage costs Rs. 21,999. The base variant is only available in Black Dusk, while the more expensive variant is only available in Blue Tide.

OnePlus Nord CE 2 Lite 5G in blue is instantly recognizable as a Nord smartphone. This time it’s not a solid shade of blue; instead, the hue changes from sky blue to yellowish as it moves under the light. The area around the camera module has a textured finish. If you want something more subtle, the Black Dusk version has a matte finish much like the iconic sandstone OnePlus One.

The OnePlus Nord CE 2 Lite 5G in Blue Tide is instantly recognizable as a Nord series smartphone.

In a short time with the OnePlus Nord CE 2 Lite 5G, it managed to resist fingerprints pretty well. OnePlus still comes with a transparent case in the box, which is very convenient. You’ll also find Nord stickers, a SIM eject pin, a Red Cable Club membership card, a 33W SuperVOOC charger, and a branded red USB Type-C cable.

OnePlus Nord CE 2 Lite 5G features a large 6.59-inch display. It has a camera hole in the top left corner that houses a 16MP selfie camera. It is an LCD panel with a maximum refresh rate of 120Hz and a touch sampling rate of 240Hz. The display has thin bezels on the sides, but the top and bottom bezels are thicker.

The flat sides of the phone body make it comfortable to hold in your hand. The fingerprint scanner, which is located in a small recess on the right. Positioning is convenient, the groove serves as a guide for the finger. The volume buttons are on the left, along with the SIM card tray. You’ll only find the secondary microphone on the top, while on the bottom you’ll find a USB Type-C port, main microphone, speaker, and a 3.5mm headphone jack.

Side fingerprint scanner is easily accessible

Pick up the phone and you’ll notice its weight of 195g. The curved sides of the back panel hide its thickness. The OnePlus Nord CE 2 Lite 5G has three cameras on the back, and the camera module protrudes just enough to make the phone wobble when placed on a flat surface. You get a 64MP main camera with EIS, a 2MP depth camera, and a 2MP macro camera. There is no ultra-wide-angle camera here, as in the Nord CE 2 5G.

The OnePlus Nord CE 2 Lite 5G is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 695 SoC. We have already seen this SoC in competing devices such as Vivo T1 (review), Moto G71 5G (review), Redmi Note 11 Pro+ 5G (review) and Realme 9 Pro 5G. This phone supports Bluetooth 5.2, dual-band Wi-Fi, and five-band 5G. It has a hybrid dual-SIM tray, so you’ll need to choose between a second SIM and a microSD card.

The OnePlus Nord CE 2 Lite 5G has a triple camera setup but lacks an ultra wide camera.

OnePlus Nord CE 2 Lite 5G runs Oxygen 12.1 OS based on Android 12. The user interface offers many new features and customization options. I’ll dive in and cover them all in a full review. My device had the March 2022 Android security patch installed. OnePlus is promising two major Android updates and three years of security updates for the Nord CE 2 Lite 5G, which should give it some edge over the competition.

After using the OnePlus Nord CE 2 Lite 5G for a while, I can say that it looks pretty promising. However, competition is fierce in this price segment. I’ll be testing its cameras, performance, battery life, and software shortly, so stay tuned to Gadgets 360 for a full review of the OnePlus Nord CE 2 Lite 5G.