Content
- Video review
- Equipment and design
- Software
- cameras
- Performance and Benchmarks
- conclusions
Last year, we tested OnePlus Nord 2 ( review-comparison with Nord CE ), which left an extremely positive impression: powerful hardware, cool main camera with OIS, very fast charging, good screen. This year, OPPO released an update to this smartphone, in which they tried to solve the most important task of such sequels: not to spoil anything. Whether OPPO succeeded in this and whether the company was able to bring something new to the OnePlus Nord 2T, let’s figure it out in the review.
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Specifications of OnePlus Nord 2T |
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| Net | 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G | |
| Firmware | OxygenOS 12.1 on Android 12 | |
| Screen | 6.43″, 20:9, 2400 x 1080 pixels, 410 ppi, 90 Hz, Fluid AMOLED | |
| Chipset | MediaTek Dimensity 1300 , 6 nm CPU: 8 cores, 1 x A78 x 3GHz + 3 x A78 x 2.6GHz + 4 x A55 x 2GHz GPU: Mali-G77 MC9 |
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| RAM | 8 GB LPDDR4X |
12 GB LPDDR4X |
| ROM | 128 GB UVS 3.1 |
256 GB UVS 3.1 |
| SIM and memory card | Two nano SIM cards | |
| Camera | Triple , flash Main : 50 MP, IMX766, f/1.8, 1 µm, PDAF+CAF, 6 lenses, OIS, video recording 2160p@30fps Wide Angle : 8 MP, f/2.2, 120 degrees, EIS, 1080p@30fps video recording Mono lens : 2 MP, f/2.2 |
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| Selfie | Left Hole , 32MP, IMX615, f/2.4, 0.8µm, EIS, 1080p@30fps video recording | |
| Battery | 4500 mAh | |
| Charger | USB-C 80W | |
| Wireless interfaces | WiFi 6 Bluetooth 5.2 GPS, A-GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, Beidou, NaviC |
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| NFC | There is | |
| Biometrics | In-screen fingerprint scanner | |
| Sound | stereo speakers | |
| Waterproof | Not declared | |
| Dimensions and weight | 159.1 x 73.2 x 8.2mm 190 g |
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| Price | €399 | €499 |
Video review
Equipment and design
The OnePlus Nord 2T box has become much simpler in design, it was brought to a common denominator with OPPO packages, but the contents remained unchanged: the smartphone itself, case, documentation, SIM needle, USB cord and charger. Its power has grown from 67 watts to 80 watts, although this is actually nothing more than marketing – but more on that later. In the meantime, we conclude that from the point of view of the kit, everything is ok.
The smartphone is available in two colors – light green and dark gray. Eye-catching options, as in the Realme GT series, were not provided here, but with just two colors they covered the requests of most of the audience. The layout of the control elements has not changed compared to the Nord 2, and thanks to the 6.43 “screen, this is still the same convenient smartphone that is easy to use even with one hand. The fingerprint scanner is slightly pressed to the bottom, but it’s even more convenient for me. It doesn’t work very well quickly but clearly.
The only thing that has changed in the design of the OnePlus Nord 2T is the cameras. And then, of course, trash, waste, and what else usually accompanies them. OPPO engineers decided to assemble the cameras in two circles, but did not physically rearrange the lenses so as not to change the design of the phone. As a result, the upper circle looks, albeit too large, but still civil, but the bottom one looks frankly absurd. An attempt by designers to somehow imitate symmetry by adding a circle with an inscription failed: this circle is not visible at all, so all the asymmetry is perfectly felt. Well, according to tradition, OnePlus wrote some kind of abracadabra in a circle: DOL HDR.
The 6.43″ OnePlus Nord 2T display is made using AMOLED technology, the maximum refresh rate is 90 Hz, and the resolution is 2400×1080 pixels. In the new generation, the brightness was pulled up, the maximum reached 650 nits against 570 nits in the previous generation. A useful feature for the summer! No struggle with PWM was not carried out, at brightness below half the screen flickers very much.DC Dimming is not provided – on the other hand, considering how DC Dimming usually works with OPPO, I’m not very disappointed with this. 90 Hz is supported in most applications and in games, but when heated, the frequency drops to 60 Hz, so in heavy gaming sessions you will have to be content with the standard hertz.By the way, frequencies below 60 Hz are not supported by the screen, so you don’t need to worry about lags due to the transition to 10-15 Hz. in PUBG Mobile and 120 Hz everywhere except him.
There is a “one-and-a-half” stereo, the main speaker plays in tandem with the speaker, but that, of course, is inferior in volume, volume, and quality. There is a linear vibration motor aka taptik, the feedback from the keyboard and fingerprint scanner is quite realistic.
Software
After receiving a lot of criticism from users in response to the merger of OxygenOS and ColorOS, OnePlus changed tactics and decided to still support a separate firmware, and now in OxygenOS 12.1, on the basis of which OnePlus Nord 2T is currently running, there is a movement towards separation. For example, many changes in Settings were rolled back, OnePlus Shelf appeared (a ribbon of iOS-like widgets that for some reason opens with a swipe from the upper right corner of the screen). “Hidden apps” have been seriously upgraded, now they are called by typing a password in the “Phone” application. In general, OxygenOS is evolving again, not degrading.
On the other hand, the quality of the firmware still leaves much to be desired. OnePlus hasn’t been able to rename the Recorder app to Voice Recorder for over a year now, and hasn’t fixed a bug for at least three months that causes any shift of the mode lever in Chrome to activate page search. And this is not some kind of problem with the Nord 2T alone, it is reproduced on many models, including even the almost three-year-old OnePlus 8T. OnePlus is aware of the issue and is doing nothing . Another cool bug – the access code to “hidden applications” remains typed in the dialer after switching to a hidden application, so it is very easy to burn it.
cameras
The camera triplet remained completely unchanged in OnePlus Nord 2T: an excellent 50-megapixel base based on a 1 / 1.56 “IMX766 sensor with optical stabilization, a simple 8-megapixel wide without autofocus and a 2-megapixel plug. The only change was the addition of a second flash module ; however, I have never managed to make it glow in any shooting mode. I do not exclude that it is just decorative. Well, now – examples of photos:
The main camera is really good. It takes very nice pictures during the day and quite decent in the night mode (for the class of the phone!). Yes, if you zoom in, you can find problems in night photos, but I generally liked the atmosphere that the OnePlus Nord 2T’s night mode creates. The shots look like they are glowing from the inside – this is not the transformation of night into day, and not just highlighting the frames. OPPO is very bragging about these algorithms and they are really good. True, only for landscapes – in the medium and near plans, they only make things worse. With daytime photos, I repeat, everything is also wonderful. But the shirik will not receive its share of praise – it is frankly budgetary here and cannot boast of anything. Well, it’s still better than if you put two plugs, as in OPPO Reno 8. And I’ll also complain about the impossibility of macro photography: the main camera does not focus well at close range, the width is devoid of autofocus, there is no macro camera either. The last example in the gallery was taken at 6x zoom; you give TVs to inexpensive smartphones!
The 32MP front camera is good. Not something uniquely outstanding, but better than the average for the hospital.
Now for the video part. Despite the powerful hardware, there is no support for recording 2160p@60fps video, and only the main camera records 2160p@30fps and 1080p@60fps. And she writes 4K strangely: without EIS. Optical stabilization alone can not cope with everything, and the video on the go is very shaky. But when shooting at night, there is no ghosting inherent in electronic stabilization. If you want smoothness and double vision, turn on Full HD. True, they didn’t work on the algorithms at all, so you can even see flying roads (there is an example at the link). You can’t switch between cameras while shooting.
Performance and Benchmarks
The OnePlus Nord 2T is based on the MediaTek Dimensity 1300 chipset, an updated version of last year’s Dimensity 1200 topper. not this way. Hardware 1200 and 1300 are completely identical, which means that you should not expect anything new from the OnePlus Nord 2T.
Judging by the benchmarks, the Nord 2T has a slightly faster CPU throttling compared to the Nord 2, but the GPU is much more powerful. I think these are the features of the implementation of the chips, and not the difference between them, because there is no difference between the chips, and how much the Dimensity 1200 implementations can differ, we managed to understand over the past year. Or just a difference in the firmware.
But do not think that since 1300 = 1200, then you can put an end to the phone. In fact, the Dimensity 1200 is almost the best chipset of 2021, so it is not much inferior even to the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1. If not inferior at all. Peak performance here, of course, is much lower, but under load, the frame rate drops much less, and you can enjoy high fps here even in long gaming sessions. Genshin Impact left a very positive impression on the OnePlus Nord 2; Call of Duty: Mobile is also doing well, but it lacks the speed of a wheelbarrow. The average frame rate in SuperTuxKart for an hour of play exceeded 59 fps; given that the game started at 60 Hz, this means maximum stability of the gameplay.
The battery capacity of the novelty remained inexpressive: 4500 mAh. For two hours of YouTube with maximum brightness, the discharge was 19%, for an hour in the game – 29% (tests with maximum brightness). Then during the day I hardly used the phone, as a result, by the time of writing this text, I have 4 hours of screen and 26% of the charge left. In general, with active use, the phone can withstand about 5 hours of screen time, you can count on more only with a dark theme or in very simple scenarios such as video and Telegram.
80W fast charging is another OnePlus Nord 2T upgrade that turned out to be a blast: according to our measurements, it is no faster than the OnePlus Nord 2’s 65W charging. In one case, we got 35 minutes, in the other – 31 minutes. And even though in the last generation, less advertised power gave the same charge time, it’s still very, very fast for a mid-range smartphone. So OPPO well done.
conclusions
Programmers have this rule: if it works, don’t touch it. If something functions well and stably, then there is no need to improve it, because you will probably break it. This is exactly what OPPO did with the OnePlus Nord 2T. Last year’s model, despite the existing jambs (weak width, lack of an audio jack, etc.), turned out to be very successful. And when it was necessary to release an update, the company pretended to speed up charging and replace the chipset, slightly corrected the design (and, mind you, broke it), and that’s it. It didn’t get worse, and that’s the main thing. The OnePlus Nord 2T is still a great mid-ranger with powerful hardware, a comfortable body, smooth software, and a good main camera.
© Oleg Lazarev. mobile phone
