With OnePlus’ release of their Nord 2T 5G, it doesn’t stray away from its Nord series roots and, instead, retains its strong qualities and refines these even further. Similar to the previous Nord 2, the 2T 5G offers respectable performance, quick charging, a nifty camera and decent display, to name a few. What the latter boasts, however, is better performance and an even faster charge, thanks to its improved Dimensity 1300 chipset and 80W SUPERVOOC Fast Charging, respectively.
Design:
Coming in two distinct, yet equally enthralling designs, the Nord 2T 5G has an unmistakable appearance; its Jade Fog iteration is coated in a dark and misty jade green finish with a glossy shine, while its Gray Shadow version has a shadowy, fingerprint-resistant matte finish with a slight sparkly shine.
At the front, I’m a fan of the clean and simple setup with the punch hole selfie camera located on the top left and the built-in fingerprint sensor centered on the lower middle portion. Situated on the right side is the power button and the silent/vibrate mode slider, while on the left is the volume rocker. Lastly, its rear sports 3 cameras housed in 2 rings at the top left (main camera on the top, while the ultra-wide and macro cameras on the bottom), with the OnePlus logo centered right smack in the middle to finish.
One thing about the top-left camera island that protrudes from the rear is that when the device is laid on its back, it tends to be wobbly and unstable due to the unevenness. Other than that, however, the Nord 2T 5G has a sleek and premier feel when on hand, as both its design and materials can definitely hold their own. Especially as someone who constantly has moist palms and didn’t make use of a case, I was pleasantly surprised by how it was resistant to fingerprint smudges, which ultimately allowed it to retain its clean and sleek persona.
Display:
Equipped with a 16.33 (6.43”) FHD+ AMOLED Display with refresh rates of up to 90Hz, the Nord 2T 5G has quite the display. Its HDR10+ allows you to enjoy entertainment on a new level as it facilitates a more vibrant and colorful display for popular apps like YouTube, Amazon Prime Video and Hulu. An aspect I feel could be overlooked but does have an impact, nonetheless, is the Nord 2T 5G’s relatively slim bezels which maximize the screen and its capabilities.
I found its display to be quite adequate for the various different activities I’d do, which include streaming Wednesday on Netflix, watching World Cup highlights on YouTube, playing Brawl Stars, or simply multitasking between apps. I wouldn’t necessarily say it has the most eye-popping graphics, but the fact that it can keep the same consistency between these different activities is a testament to its capabilities, nonetheless.
As a plus (pun intended) to the display, the Nord 2T 5G is also equipped with Dual Stereo Speakers and AI Haptics, which further have customized Dirac drivers to give that extra oomph. Sound quality is generally good and the maximum volume is relatively loud, too, though it could have a slight dip in quality at the highest levels.
On a side note, I did find its auto-brightness had the habit of making the display a bit too low, especially in low-lit environments where I’d have to turn the brightness up a bit. The Nord 2T 5G, though, does have dual front and rear ambient sensors that optimize brightness to keep your eyes strain-free.
Processor:
One facet of the Nord 2T 5G that was put emphasis on is the improved processor; its MediaTek Dimensity 1300 Chipset allows for overall smoothness, consistent speeds and better graphics. Thanks to MediaTek’s new HyperEngine 5.0, the Nord 2T 5G has boosted gameplay, upped graphics performance and better app launch speeds. Moreover, the device even has the ability to convert internal storage into up to 5GB of temporary virtual RAM, which, consequently, makes for faster and more fluid app loading.
The Nord 2T 5G runs on the latest OxygenOS 12.1. Its interface still does feel as if you’re on an Android, with features that bring better multitasking, improved power consumption, quicker app launching, as well as smoother gallery viewing, to name a few. This OS also has upgrades on features such as the OnePlus Shelf, Work Life Balance, as well as Dark Mode, to name a few.
Battery:
Similar to the aforementioned revamped processor, another aspect that OnePlus put a big upgrade on is its battery. Aside from the powerful, 4500mAh capacity, what the Nord 2T 5G really boasts when it comes to this department is its 80W SUPERVOOC Fast Charging.
This device happens to be the fastest-charging among any Nord phone at 120% faster than the original, and the results are instantaneous. In a mere 5 minutes of charging (from a dead battery), it replenished 15% of the battery. In 15 minutes of charging, it astonishingly recharged already half of the capacity. In 30 minutes it was able to reach 85%, while it took a total of only 40 minutes for it to fully charge. Quite rapid, if you ask me.
Camera:
Although the Nord 2T 5G’s camera didn’t necessarily get the same type of makeover that both the processor and battery did, it still is a versatile and capable one, nevertheless.
Its 50MP Sony IMX766 Flagship Camera whose OIS (optical image stabilization) vacuums up an impressive 56% more light for colorful and pristine shots despite the lack of lighting. Doubling up on this is its Nightscape mode which really brings out more vibrance and color, especially in dimly-lit environments, while its AI Highlight Video produces brighter, life-like shots in unevenly or poorly lit backgrounds using Sony DOL-HDR Technology.
Grouped with the primary camera is a 58MP Ultra-wide camera with EIS that has a range of 120° and a 2MP macro camera, while rounding it out is the Ultra-clear 32MP Front Camera, which happens to be the same as OnePlus’ 10 Pro and equipped with AI deblurring in order to minimize shakiness and blurriness.
Verdict:
Coming in at the midrange segment, the Nord 2T 5G’s versatility and capability with its mighty processor, powerful battery and functional camera make it quite the attractive product. Though the improvements over the previous iteration might not immediately standout, its performance definitely speaks for itself.
