OnePlus has been at the forefront of talks for all kinds of reasons these last few years. From becoming an actual flagship brand from flagship killer to a merger with Oppo, OnePlus has steadily secured its position as one of the leading Android manufacturers.
And much of this establishment came as part of diversifying their offerings. With the Nord CE, OnePlus took a proper shot at the mid-range market and it was a huge hit. Following the legacy, this year OnePlus will launch the Nord CE 2 Lite 5G, a toned-down version of their Nord CE 2 5G. Here is everything that is known about the rumoured device OnePlus Nord CE 2 Lite 5G.
Key Specifications of OnePlus Nord CE 2 Lite 5G
Design and Build Quality
The OnePlus Nord CE 2 Lite 5G hasn’t been officially announced yet. So, all the information that is available right now is based on rumours and leaks. Some of the renders give a view of what the device might look like but take these with a grain of salt as the final product might be much different than what’s anticipated.
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OnePlus is expected to retain the basic structure of the Nord CE 2 for the lite version. So there won’t be any massive design overhaul with the device. The exact dimensions of the phone aren’t known yet but some key details have already surfaced.
The device is expected to have an all-plastic build with a glass front. The ports and button selection are all as usual. This time around, the fingerprint sensor has been moved to the power button instead of the usual under-display position.
However, notable leaker Yogesh Brar had some ominous news for the fans of the alert slider. The Nord CE 2 Lite 5G will not feature the iconic alert slider OnePlus is famous for. There also won’t be any micro SDXC support on the Nord CE 2 Lite 5G.
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Thankfully, the device is slated to retain the 3.5 mm headphone jack. Except for the removal of the alert slider, everything seems to be as usual on the design end for the Nord CE 2 Lite 5G.
Display
OnePlus has always gone with AMOLED panels for their devices. The higher-end Pro variants had 2K resolution panels whereas the Nord had consistently featured FHD+ panels. However, OnePlus is moving away from AMOLED for the Nord CE 2 Lite 5G.
The device is rumoured to sport an IPS LCD panel with a 120 Hz refresh rate. While the fast refresh rate will add a smooth UI experience, IPS LCD still falls short compared to AMOLED panels. The display itself is expected to be 6.58-inches which hints at a sizably large device. Overall, the display might feel like a step down from what’s seen from OnePlus but on the plus side, there is the 120 Hz refresh rate.
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Camera
There has been a lot of buzz around the collaboration of Hasselblad with the OnePlus flagships. The next-gen cameras are supposed to bring better colour accuracy and details to challenge the likes of Samsung and iPhones. However, none of the collaboration or the tech is coming to the Nord CE 2 Lite 5G.
Users will be getting a triple camera setup with a 64 MP f/1.8 26 mm wide-angle shooter and 2 MP depth and macro shooter. The depth and macro shooter are mostly gimmicky with the main load of action falling on the 64 MP sensor.
The main sensor is the same one carried on from the Nord CE 2 5G. So users can expect similar performance from the lite version as well. The sensor performed perfectly under direct sunlight. The dynamic range was also preserved in most shots with a decent job at edge detection. Even though the performance slightly falls in artificially lit conditions, the included night mode does a great job at preserving details and reducing grains.
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The OnePlus Nord CE 2 had the support of up to 4K at 30 fps so the same videography can be expected from the Nord CE 2 Lite as well. The camera is definitely one of the highlights of the device as they included a higher model sensor for this lower mid-range device.
Processor and Performance
The Nord CE 2 Lite 5G will be powered by Snapdragon 695 5G based on the 6 Nm architecture. The octa-core processor will have a core configuration of 2 2.2 GHz Kryo 660 Gold and 6 1.7 GHz Kryo 660 Silver processor. The processor will be coupled with Adreno 619 GPU for a power-packed graphics performance.
Snapdragon 695 has already featured in devices like Poco X4 Pro and Realme V25 devices. Considering the performance of those devices, the processor should be good enough for all types of casual use. And since OnePlus has included a dedicated Adreno GPU, the phone should be able to handle graphic-intensive games as well.
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All of these are speculations at this point. The real-world performance and benchmark scores can be known once the device becomes available in the market.
After the merger with Oppo, the Oxygen OS has gone through a significant revamp to become more like Oppo’s ColorOS. Now, this is not really a good thing per se considering Oxygen OS was one of the highest-rated Android skins out there. Nevertheless, ColorOS is what the users will be getting.
Battery and Charge Time
The OnePlus Nord CE 2 Lite 5G is expected to ship with a 5000 mAh battery. There will be a 33W fast charger included in the box. Given the processor structure, users should get decent all-day usage out of the device.
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Price in Bangladesh
The OnePlus Nord CE 2 Lite 5G has not yet been officially announced. The speculative price for the Indian market is 17,999 Rs for the entry-level model which roughly translates to 20,411 BDT (1 INR = 1.13 BDT). However, the price may differ once the device is officially launched in Bangladesh.
Final Thoughts
OnePlus venturing into the entry-level market has been an absolute game-changer for the company as well as the users. The company is now creating the same hype and buzz as it did back in 2014 with its OnePlus One and affordable flagship idea. The upcoming OnePlus Nord CE 2 Lite 5G will embody much of those core ideas with a trendy design, good battery, and camera module.
However, according to leaks and rumours, the phone may slightly fall short on the display and there might be removal of the OnePlus synonymous alert slider. The exact features will be known after the release of the device. Overall, OnePlus Nord CE 2 Lite is expected to be a good device considering the aggressive pricing policy of the company.