OnePlus Nord 2T 5G review: More of the (super) same

Introduction

OnePlus used to be famed for flagship-level phones at a reasonable price, but as the hardware got hotter, so did prices. The company needed something new to straddle the line between the truly affordable and mid-range smartphone sectors. The result was the original OnePlus Nord, and the Nord 2 follow-up. The Nord 2T is an upgraded version of the latter.

There’s a slew of upgrades, including a beefy MediaTek Dimensity 1300 chipset powering the whole shebang. A design that looks more expensive than it actually is, and some streamlined software make it rather appealing for anyone on a budget.

Review originally published July 5 2022

Design and display

The OnePlus Nord 2T 5G looks fairly run-of-the-mill for a mid-range Android. That said, your mates would be hard-pressed to guess you’d not paid £500 more for it at first glance. The two big black circles that hide the three rear cameras is a little inelegant, but not as bad as the unsubtle regulatory text plastered all over the bottom of the rear.

Once again you get the OnePlus alert slider, a physical control for setting the phone to silent, vibrate or loud. It beats software controls every time when you’re in a meeting, as you don’t need to take your phone out of your pocket to tell it to be quiet.

There’s no headphone jack – though there is on the cheaper Nord CE 2 if you want that. You do get an optical fingerprint reader under the screen, at least.

The Nord 2T is available in two colours: grey shadow (so grey) and the turquoise-y jade fog of my review unit.  There are two variants, with 8GB RAM and 128GB storage and 12 GB RAM and 256GB respectively.

One of the 2T’s best features is undoubtedly its 6.43in OLED display. It really is excellent quality and colours really pop, plus it also has HDR10+ support. You might be able to tell the difference between it and a flagship display, but only with a side-by-side comparison. The difference is negligible.

Although it lacks the 120hz refresh rates of flagships (it’s 90hz only here) you only really notice any problem when fast-scrolling. Unlike many in this price range, the display is covered with Corning Gorilla Glass 5.

Performance

OnePlus likes to pride itself on speedy operating systems and, thanks to the MediaTek Dimensity 1300 and OxygenOS 12.1 based on Android 12 things really do fly along. There’s no slowdown and, while you can occasionally get a little bit of shutter lag the camera app, it’s no big deal considering the asking price.

Supervooc 80W fast charging is so very welcome and there’s a fast charger in the box – it’s straight out of the flagship OnePlus 10 Pro and is undoubtedly a selling point over rivals. The downside of a phone at this price is that there’s no wireless charging, but that’s largely true everywhere else as well.

OnePlus updated the Nord 2T 5G to Android 14 (it launched with Android 13) in late 2023. The firm has committed to one further generational upgrade, which is merely OK for an affordable phone these days.

Cameras

Among the triple cameras, there’s only really one that’s worth having: the 50MP-capable Sony IMX766 which remains thoroughly decent but thoroughly standard. As with most phones I test, the ultrawide (8MP) is of limited use while the 2MP mono sensor, just adds in extra info. The front camera has been drastically improved though; it’s now a 32MP HDR unit.

The photography results are generally pretty great thanks to the main Sony sensor and things only really fall apart a little in low light, despite the new Dimensity chip being supposedly more capable on that front. The new selfie cam also takes some great shots.

OnePlus Nord 2T 5G verdict

The Nord series has provided some welcome mid-range refreshment over the last few years, going toe-to-toe with the ever-growing stack of rivals in the sub-£400 zone. It’s tempting to say that this latest refresh should have done more – there’s no camera system upgrade, and the 2T is easily confused with the even cheaper OnePlus Nord CE 2 unless you pay close attention to the spec sheets.

But while the step down from OnePlus’ flagship models is marked, there’s no getting away from the fact this is a formidable choice for those after a sub-flagship phone.

OnePlus Nord 2T 5G technical specifications

Screen	6.43in 2400×1080 90Hz AMOLED
Processor	MediaTek Dimensity 1300
RAM	8/12GB
Storage	128/256GB
Software	Android 12 with OxygenOS 12
Cameras	50+8+2MP rear, 32MP front
Battery	4500mAh
Dimensions	159x73x8.2mm, 190g