Performance Exemplified

With flagship-level hardware and cameras, the OnePlus Nord 2 5G delivers exceptional performance, as K Madhavan Pillai discovers.

-  K Madhavan Pillai

OnePlus Nord 2 5G

Following the philosophy of its predecessor, the OnePlus Nord 2 5G brings users some high-end features to the upper segment of devices, at a competitive price point. It boasts a 6.43-inch Fluid AMOLED display with a 90 Hz refresh rate, FHD+ resolution, and a MediaTek Dimensity 1200-AI Octa-core chipset specially developed for this phone. It is 5G compliant, with Bluetooth 5.2, dual band Wi-Fi a/b/g/n/ac/6, speedy warp charging and with a sleek, pleasing design. The top-of-the-line variant I tested had 12GB RAM with UFS3.1 256GB internal memory.

The Camera Array and Impressions

The rear triple camera setup is actually more all about the single 50MP primary camera, which uses a Sony IMX766 BSI CMOS sensor with 1μm pixel size, with PDAF and OIS, and a f/1.88 lens. The rear module also features a separate f/2.25 8MP ultra-wide (119.7°) camera and a 2MP monochrome camera.

While optical zoom and macro capabilities are not available in the Nord 2, these are generally not implemented all that well in other phones either, and I did not miss them. There is a digital zoom of 2x and 5x available, which is a convenience for general users, but the automatic deterioration on cropping and interpolating makes it a last option for photographers. Similarly, the ultra-wide camera is useful as a last measure, but it does not match the capabilities of the main sensor.