OnePlus Nord 'Core Edition' is something of an unusual phone in its position. The first OnePlus Nord in itself was supposed to represent the core essentials of OnePlus phones. Stripped down, but without real compromise. So in essence, the OnePlus Nord CE is a Core Edition of a Core Edition phone.

Great performance; Attractive and practical design; Fast charging and decent battery performance; Fluid and responsive display;

Primary camera doesn't like close-up work; No alert slider; Vibration feedback isn't good;

The OnePlus Nord CE is the company’s new mid-range smartphone that brings decent specifications and a great software experience at an affordable price. The cameras are not the best and it even misses out on a few staples — but if you’ve been waiting for an affordable offering from the company, the OnePlus Nord CE is your calling.

Battery life; Great in the hand; Software experience;

No Alert slider; No IP rating; Basic camera performance

The Nord CE a capable all-rounder, benefitting from a solid mid-range chipset, slim build, and excellent battery life - not to mention top-tier software. A plastic body and so-so camera are the major drawbacks, stopping it from ever truly standing out from the pack, but there's still a lot to recommend about it.

Beautiful display; Thin and light; Great software; 5G;

Plastic body; Average camera; No Alert Slider;

Petite, light and fairly good-looking; Fast charging; Good general performance;

Not as hot a deal as the original Nord; Cheaper alternatives offer better battery life;

Elegant design; Smaller and lighter than many; Fast charging;

Plastic back; Some cheaper phones have better cameras; The original Nord was more powerful;

The OnePlus Nord CE 5G is a phone specified to last you for a few years, providing good value without a high initial price. It’s no surprise that, on paper, the Nord CE 5G has such a strong bang-to-buck ratio, as OnePlus has focused on providing good value hardware for years. But is a value-driven spec sheet enough? Now I’ve spent nearly two weeks with the Nord CE 5G, it’s clear why you don’t need to spend more, but it’s also obvious why you should. My Nord CE review model is in the Blue Void color and it’s lovely. It’s obviously closely related to the Ultramarine Blue on the OnePlus 8 Pro, but with fewer hints of green, preferring to subtly morph into purple at the very edges instead. It catches the light nicely, and the glass rear panel — not Gorilla Glass, but from another unnamed maker — is grippy and cool to the touch. The chassis is made of plastic. It’s 170 grams in weight and 7.9mm thick, and that’s thinner and lighter than the Samsung Galaxy A52 5G, the Realme 8 5G, and the fi...

Two-day battery life; Reliable, fast software; Lightweight;

Screen lacks vibrancy; Processor struggles with intensive tasks;

Everything important on board. The OnePlus Nord CE 5G competes in the smartphone mid-range and makes a bold promise: The 6.43-incher is supposed to offer exactly the features that users really need and make as few compromises as possible. At the same time, the OnePlus Nord CE 5G starts at 300 Euros (~$354). Our review clarifies how all that fits together.

The manufacturer OnePlus also calls the OnePlus Nord CE 5G a "Core Edition". This means that everyth...

Lots of memory; True color 90 Hz display; 5G and NFC; Precise GPS; Good battery runtimes; 30 watt fast charging; No throttling;

No microSD slot; Moderate WLAN speed; Screen could be brighter; Weak ultra-wide-angle camera;

Elegant design; Smaller and lighter than many; Fast charging;

Plastic back; Some cheaper phones have better cameras; The original Nord was more powerful;

Elegant design; Smaller and lighter than many; Fast charging;

Plastic back; Some cheaper phones have better cameras; The original Nord was more powerful;