The OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite was recently launched in India as the successor to last year’s Nord CE 2 Lite. The handset is on sale via Amazon and the OnePlus website in the country and has some very exciting launch offers including a pair of free Nord CE Buds for a limited time. The phone is considered a perfect mid-ranger, especially for those looking to buy a phone under Rs 20,000. The Nord CE 3 Lite comes with an IPS LCD display, Qualcomm Snapdragon 695 SoC with 5G network support, and OxygenOS custom skin out-of-the-box. The design of the phone is quite impressive with dual circular rings and boxy design at the back.
OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite is priced at Rs 19,999 for the base model and Rs 21,999 for the 8GB/256GB variant. The handset comes in Pastel Lime and Chromatic Gray color options. Before you jump out and buy a phone, Based on our review, here are the top four reasons to buy the device and reasons not to buy the phone.
4 reasons to buy oneplus nord ce 3 lite
good design: That said, the OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite has a unique design, especially thanks to the Pastel Lime color option. The biggest visible change compared to the predecessor are the two large circular cutouts on the back to house triple camera sensors. The phone sports a boxy design with rounded edges for a comfortable hand feel. The back panel is still plastic and is easily scratched.
The 3.5mm headphone jack is retained on the Nord CE 3 Lite but there is no alert slider. The thickness of the phone is 8.3mm and it weighs 195 grams.
clean ui: OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite runs on Android 13 based on OxygenOS 13.1 custom skin out of the box. The UI is clean without bloatware and pesky ads. OxygenOS is moving closer to OPPO’s ColorOS and that can’t be a bad thing. In comparison, similarly priced Redmi or Realme phones throw ads or come with pre-loaded bloatware applications that hamper the user experience.
decent battery life: OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite houses a 5000mAh battery with 67W fast charging support. Charging speed can drain battery 0 – 100 percent in about 45 minutes, which is impressive. Battery life is also pretty decent with around 6 hours of screen-on-time with 5G network enabled.
Enabled Stereo Speakers: OnePlus Nord CE 3 has stereo speakers and this is a big advantage. The sound gets quite loud and clear at the same time. This is a particularly positive aspect for people who consume a lot of media via phone.
2 reasons not to buy the Nord CE 3 Lite
cameras could be better: OnePlus Nord CE 3 has a 108MP primary camera and dual 2MP sensors. On paper, the 108MP camera sounds like a great deal but the output results are not very promising. Photos are decent in daylight but there is room for improvement in HDR. High-risk areas are obviously white on many occasions. Color output is a bit muted.
The lack of an ultra-wide-angle lens is disappointing. Instead, we get regular macro and depth sensors. Close-up macro shots aren’t very impressive and edge detection on the depth sensor isn’t very efficient.
LCD display: In the era of bright AMOLED screens, we only get an LCD screen on the OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite. However, the refresh rate is still at 120Hz. The screen doesn’t get very bright at just 680nits, although viewing angles are good. There is also Widevine L1 support for HD streaming but there is backlight bleeding.
