Five or six years ago, it was a given that any phone under a certain price point was considered budget, and that most budget phones left a lot to be desired. The gap between budget and premium has since narrowed, with affordable phones often offering an experience that often feels premium, as is the case with the latest phone from the OnePlus stable — the Nord CE 3 Lite 5G.
The OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite 5G is a new budget contender that offers an impressive array of features, including extended battery capacity, fast processors, and a snazzy display. As smartphone makers strive to eliminate any room for complaint across segments, the OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite 5G has many of the hallmarks of a great budget phone.
However, there are some minor drawbacks that keep it from being an outright winner — but they don't detract from the experience and value proposition.
The device comes in two colour options — a bright shade of lime sorbet and a more serious-looking chromatic grey, which was the model OnePlus sent me for review. The 6.72-inch FHD display is massive, but it is LCD instead of the increasingly popular AMOLED. Although the design is impressive, the lighting around the edges of the screen is slightly dimmer than desired, and the promised 120 Hz adaptive refresh rate has a noticeable blur when scrolling through articles and websites.
Also read: OnePlus 11 5G Review: A return to form
The camera is one of the key selling points of the OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite, with its 108-megapixel main camera. However, the overall image quality is mixed, and anything not captured in bright sunlight or perfectly lit indoors is below average. Pictures taken at night are often blurry, and macro shots are difficult to focus. The front-facing camera does a decent job of capturing skin tone but blurs skin texture.
The device is equipped with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 695 5G chipset, 8 GB RAM, and 256 GB storage, making it a great choice for multi-tasking and casual gaming. The OxygenOS 13.1 interface — based on Android 13 — is easy to use, with no learning curve for first-time users.
The Nord CE 3 Lite has a 5,000mAh battery that delivers over a day-and-a-half of functional usage before needing a charge. The device comes with a 67-watt SUPERVOOC Endurance Edition charger, and a quick 15-minute charge gives the device almost 30 percent battery life.
In conclusion
Overall, the OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite offers a great value proposition, with a sizeable display, intuitive interface, and long-lasting battery life. The inclusion of a 3.5 mm headphone jack is a rare find, and the device's budget price point is attractive.
However, the exclusion of an AMOLED display and the lack of consistently good photography capabilities keep the OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite from being an outright winner.
