OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite review: Is it a fully loaded package?

OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite review: Is it a fully loaded package?
9 min read

Should you buy this smartphone?

The first week of April saw the launch of the OnePlus most affordable phone, OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite in India. The business also unveiled the OnePlus Nord Buds, which are presently undergoing testing; a review will be published soon. The smartphone has been in use for a few days now. We will discuss if it is a worthy device to purchase in our in-depth OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite review.
OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite review: Design and Display
Let’s talk about the design first. Previously, the camera setup had been slightly raised and rectangular in shape. The unit for this year has been improved, thus the camera module is no longer present. The phone appears smooth and seamless because of the triple camera sensor’s placement on the back panel, which is very well integrated into the rear panel. It has a great feel, and the OnePlus logo is shiny on the back panel. The shade of pastel lime that we received looks really cool in the summer.

Despite having a glossy appearance, as we have mentioned, the phone does not attract fingerprints. The lighter colour options actually make fingerprints and smudge less noticeable.

The phone is similarly lightweight and pleasant to hold. It has curved corners and a sleek appearance.

The front panel now includes a lovely display and a selfie camera with a punch-hole in the top centre. The side bezels, however, are thin.

The flat, body-coloured side frames give the phone a premium appearance. The volume rocker and hybrid SIM tray are located on the left side, and the power button with an integrated fingerprint sensor is located on the right of the frame. 

The earpiece also functions as a secondary speaker, and the main speaker is located on the bottom edge. The 3.5mm headphone jack and USB-C type port are also located at the bottom. The Alert Slider is once again absent from the phone because it is a Lite model.

Overall, the design and construction quality is excellent; nothing to be negative about.

The Nord CE 3 Lite’s display is a 6.72-inch full-HD+ LCD screen with a resolution of 1,080×2,400 pixels. The screen has a 240Hz touch sampling rate and a dynamic refresh rate of 120Hz. It boasts a maximum brightness of 680 nits, a screen-to-body ratio of 91.4 percent, a 20:9 aspect ratio, and a pixel density of 391 ppi. The screen is additionally shielded with Corning Gorilla Glass Victus.

Also Read: Nothing Ear (2) review: They have hit the ball (hard) out of the park!

Instead of a waterdrop-style notch for the selfie camera on the LCD display, there is a punch hole. On the smartphone’s display, everything appears clear and lively thanks to the screen’s brightness. Anyhow, AMOLED has a distinct edge over IPS LCD because that technology is also energy-efficient, at the same time, pictures appear more colourful and true to life.

As we already mentioned, the screen’s content is clearly visible even outside in bright daylight, thanks to the display’s adequate brightness level. Additionally, the display has WideVine L1 certification, allowing you to see full HD content on OTT services like Netflix.
The 120Hz refresh rate capability is what gives the panel its smoothness and fluidity. Due to the adaptive refresh rate, the phone might shift between 30Hz and 120Hz depending on the media being played. Also, during our testing, there were no jitters or stutters.

OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite review: Performance and Cameras
Moving on to the performance, the Qualcomm Snapdragon 695 SoC powers the OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite this time again. The CPU performs well when you run any application and is suitable for daily use. Additionally, there were no lags, which is fantastic news given the cost. The phone also supports all sub-6GHz 5G bands ( including SA and NSA).

The overall experience was quite nice, as we also played some games on it. It is capable of handling the majority of difficult games, including Call of Duty and Asphalt. Additionally, the graphics were fantastic, and there were seldom any frame dips. We also saw no heating problems while playing nonstop for about an hour.

We ran Geekbench 6 CPU benchmark and here are the results:

Single-Core Score: 899
Multi-Core Score: 2044
The device comes pre-installed with OxygenOS 13.1, which is an upgraded version of Android 13. On OnePlus devices, the software experience is undoubtedly good because it is incredibly user-friendly and offers a tonne of customization options. Along with several other choices, you can customise themes and styling. The notification toggle worked flawlessly, and there is hardly any bloatware on the device.


A 108-megapixel Samsung HM6 sensor with an f/1.75 aperture and EIS capability is one of three rear cameras on the OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite 5G. A 2-megapixel macro lens and a second 2-megapixel depth sensor are also included. A 16-megapixel front-facing camera is available for taking selfies. Similar to its predecessor, it lacks an ultra-wide angle camera.

Both the colours and the details of the daylight capture from the primary sensor are good. The hues are generally vibrant and the image processing is superb. Even if it’s not a major issue, there is some saturation. However, the contrast ratio could have been tackled more effectively. Pixel peeping reveals that the sharpness levels are fairly good for the price range. 


Also, it is quite good and suitable for the segment is the dynamic range. With little quality loss, the camera can zoom in three times, and the photographs are decent for the price.
Moving on to the close-up pictures, you can see that the 108-megapixel camera provides an adequate depth of field and that there are also good details to be found here. Both the clarity and the details are excellent. The colours are lovely, but once more, we noted some saturation problems, particularly with the reds and greens.


Now that it has a 2-megapixel macro sensor, the quality is only fair. Given the majority of 2-megapixel lenses, soft photos are to be expected. However, the colours are decent.
The camera produces respectable portraiture. Although the skin tones are not true, warmer tones have the tendency to pop out, and the background blur appears to be unnatural. Moreover, sharpness levels are acceptable. Although the edge recognition is rather good, it does miss some intricate edges.

The pictures taken in low light are pretty decent. In artificial indoor lighting, there is a respectable amount of detail available, and the sharpness level is likewise respectable. Turning on the night mode helps because noise is much more noticeable when the light is low.


For the segment, the detailing appears to be fairly good. Although there is noise when you pixel peep, we would still consider this performance to be adequate given the price range.
Even the 16-megapixel selfie camera performs admirably. The way it creates skin tones, sharpness levels, and details is excellent, and the dynamic range is also excellent. Again, the colours are somewhat saturated here. Additionally, the portrait mode for selfies has good edge recognition.

The OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite only supports 1080p video at 30 frames per second as a video format. The details are also appealing, and the colours are quite pleasing and natural-looking. While the stabilisation is generally adequate, panning is not very smooth.

A big 5,000mAh battery is included with the OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite. On this smartphone, a 67W charger is supported. However, despite the fact that it only supports 67W, the firm included an 80W SuperVOOC charger in the packaging. 70 percent of the battery may be charged in 30 minutes. The phone can be fully charged in about 50 minutes.

Verdict
The processor is one thing that the OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite and the OnePlus Nord CE 2 Lite have in common. The Snapdragon 695 processor is the same in both smartphones.
Users won’t have many complaints about the 108-megapixel camera’s overall performance in this price range. But sadly, in this price range, it lacks an ultrawide angle camera. However, the main camera performs admirably, despite occasionally having some saturation difficulties. This is one of the gadgets in its price bracket that offers a 5,000mAh battery and 67W charging, which is a slightly rare find. The OxygenOS experience is always positive, and the display is bright and decent.

Overall, OnePlus fans looking for a stylish smartphone within a budget could consider the OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite.

Price: Starting at Rs 19,999
OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite Pros

Budget-friendly
The lime colour variant looks stylish
Long-lasting battery life
good selfies
OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite Cons

Same Snapdragon 695 processor
Ultra-wide camera missing
No AMOLED display  

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