OnePlus Nord CE 2 5G, OnePlus’s latest “budget” Nord phone has officially been launched in India. It is a follow-up to last year’s Nord CE and serves as a “lite” version of the slightly more powerful Nord 2. Nord CE 2 5G price in India starts at Rs 23,999 (6GB/128GB). While it seems to be a good upgrade over the Nord CE, with faster charging and support for more 5G radios (the Nord CE infamously supported just one 5G band), it is also a very familiar phone.
The Nord CE 2 5G shares virtually every hardware spec with the Oppo Reno 7 5G. Its all-round design and dimensions also are a throwback to the Reno 7, that was launched just last week in India, making OnePlus’s new product tad confusing. It is cheaper, though, so that’s that. The Reno 7 price in India is set at Rs 28,999 (8GB/256GB). The original Nord CE is listed for Rs 22,999 (6GB/128GB) on OnePlus store at the time of writing. It isn’t immediately clear if OnePlus will phase it out eventually (until stocks last).
Here’s a quick look at how the OnePlus Nord CE 2 5G stacks up against the Nord CE (and also the Oppo Reno 7):
— All the three phones have more or less the same dimensions and form factor. They’re sleek and light, with the Nord CE 2 5G having the exact same heft and thickness as the Reno 7—173g and 7.8mm. They’re all made of plastic. The Reno 7 has the nicest textured matte finish. The Nord CE 2 has a glossy back. Breaking with convention, both the Nord CE versions come without any alert slider, which was once a staple for all OnePlus phones. All the three phones have a headphone jack.
— OnePlus for some curious reason did not put a micro-SD card slot in the original Nord CE. The Nord CE 2 has one. So does the Reno 7, in the same exact location. In fact, button layout, speaker cut-out, everything is same in both these phones.
— All the three phones have the same 6.43-inch 1080p AMOLED display with a 90Hz refresh rate and hole punch cut-out. The Nord CE 2 and Reno 7 have slightly superior display stats though, with Corning Gorilla Glass 5 protection and HDR10+ playback support.
— Under the hood, both Reno 7 and Nord CE 2 get a MediaTek Dimensity 900 chip which is paired with up to 8GRAM and up to 128GB UFS2.2 storage. The Nord CE came with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 750G chip paired with up to 12GB RAM and up to 256GB UFS2.1 storage. It’s a little disappointing to see OnePlus shipping the new Nord CE 2 with Android 11 (OxygenOS 11.3), much like its predecessor almost a year later. The Reno 7 runs ColorOS 12 based on Android 11.
— All the three phones have the same rear cameras— 64MP main, 8MP ultrawide-angle, and 2MP macro camera. The Nord CE 2 has a 16MP front camera just like the Nord CE. The Reno 7 has a 32MP selfie shooter.
— The Nord CE supported just one 5G band. The Nord CE 2 supports 8. The Reno 7 rules the roost here with 13 5G band support.
— All the three phones pack a 4,500mAh battery. The Nord CE came with 30W “Warp Charge”. The Nord CE 2 has 65W “SuperVOOC” fast charging, just like the Oppo Reno 7.
Also Read | Oppo Reno 7 5G, Reno 7 Pro 5G launched: Specs, features, India price and everything to know
