OnePlus Nord N20 5G review

Regardless of humble beginnings with just one telephone per 12 months, OnePlus has advanced into a distinct beast altogether, and is now trying to not solely seize the high-end Android flagship market, but additionally the funds and mid-range markets with gadgets just like the Nord N20 5G.

Design & Construct

• 7.5mm thick
• 173g
• No IP score on the worldwide mannequin

Regardless of its massive show, the Nord N20 5G is a reasonably compact machine that may simply be used one-handed. It’s particularly useful for these not wanting a bigger telephone.

The Nord N20 5G’s 173g weight strikes an excellent steadiness to make the telephone really feel extra premium than its price ticket. Whereas it’s not comprised of metallic and glass like flagship telephones, the Nord N20 5G’s plastic does really feel nice within the hand, although is a bit slippery so a case could also be obligatory.

Whereas it solely is available in one color choice, the Blue Smoke color that OnePlus went with seems to be nice, and it’s a welcome change from the black and white color choices you may even see these days. 

On the again of the telephone, there are two digicam bumps that protrude out far sufficient to make the telephone wobble on a flat floor.

One other main omission of the Nord N20 5G is any kind of IP score – although oddly sufficient, that’s solely the case with the unlocked worldwide model of the telephone. When you purchase the telephone within the US from a service, that model of the Nord N20 5G options IP52 water and mud resistance. 

Display & Audio system

• 6.43in 
• AMOLED show tech
• Full HD+ decision

On the show aspect of issues, the Nord N20 5G has a 6.43-inch AMOLED Full HD+ show. Whereas OnePlus went with a 90Hz LCD show for the Nord N10 5G, the corporate determined to sacrifice refresh fee for show high quality, choosing a 60Hz AMOLED show for the Nord N20 5G. 

Sachin Bahal / Foundry

Whereas having a decrease refresh fee isn’t supreme, it does appear to be a good trade-off as a result of AMOLED brings significantly better blacks and hues that pop. Versus an LCD show, it could appear uninteresting. 

Hopefully, for the subsequent telephone on this lineup, OnePlus can provide the most effective of each worlds, an AMOLED show with a excessive refresh show at both 90Hz or 120Hz, however that’s simply wishful pondering from us. 

One of many weak factors of the Nord N20 5G is the telephone’s haptic suggestions. It isn’t wherever close to as sturdy as on different Android telephones, nevertheless it nonetheless will get the job carried out more often than not.

For audio system, the Nord N20 5G simply has a single grille on the underside subsequent to the USB-C port. The mono speaker sounds effective, nevertheless it received’t blow customers away.

Specs & Efficiency

• Snapdragon 695 5G
• 6GB RAM
• As much as 128GB of inner storage 
• MicroSD card slot for expandable storage

Powering the Nord N20 5G is the Snapdragon 695 5G chip, which is a strong mid-range chip present in equally priced smartphones just like the Nokia G60, Moto G82 and OnePlus’ personal Nord CE 2 Lite that will get the job carried out. The 695 5G is paired with 6GB of RAM within the Nord N20 5G, which is about customary for a smartphone at this worth.

Sachin Bahal / Foundry

Getting across the interface was pretty fast however, unsurprisingly, wasn’t tremendous snappy. The excellent news is that there have been no main slowdowns utilizing the telephone with typical duties like net searching, video watching or taking images, although it’ll doubtless sluggish to a crawl if operating high-end Android video games. 

That’s consistent with our benchmark outcomes, which you’ll be able to see under:

With the Snapdragon 695 5G chip, you get 5G connectivity (Sub-6 GHz and mmWave) in addition to Bluetooth 5.1 and Wi-Fi 5. There’s additionally an NFC chip current, helpful for paying for objects wherever contactless funds are accepted through the likes of Google Pockets.

Cameras

• 64Mp primary digicam
• 2Mp macro digicam
• 2Mp depth
• 16Mp selfie digicam

On the digicam entrance, the Nord N20 5G options three cameras on the again; a 64Mp primary lens, a 2Mp macro and 2Mp depth digicam. 

For many use circumstances, the macro and depth cameras aren’t that helpful, and it’s clear that OnePlus was slicing some corners.

Sachin Bahal / Foundry

The primary lens on the Nord N20 5G is able to capturing good images more often than not. These images aren’t the very best however for the worth, they’ll be good for the common client not too centered on the newest smartphone images.

When you’re capturing in vivid lighting situations, images on the Nord N20 5G prove nicely. The photographs are detailed and vibrant with out being tremendous punchy.

When capturing in low gentle or at night time, the Nord N20 5G does a fairly good job, as long as there’s an excellent gentle supply like a avenue lamp close by. There’s a devoted Night time Mode within the digicam app that does assist, however it may be a bit sluggish to seize a nighttime picture, and it’s not fairly as much as the usual set by flagships.

For video, the Nord N20 5G can shoot as much as 1080p video at 30fps. It will have been good to see at the least 1080p@60fps video recording, however you are taking what you will get. The video high quality is ok, although it could possibly a bit undersaturated at occasions. 

For the entrance digicam, the Nord N20 5G has a 16Mp selfie digicam which shoots good images with a good quantity of element, supreme for fast snaps for social media and the occasional video name.

Battery Life & Charging

• 4,500mAh
• 33W wired charging 
• Adapter included within the field

The Nord N20 5G comes with a reasonably sizable 4,500 mAh battery which means the telephone is comfortably capable of final a full day, and generally even a second day relying on how usually you utilize it.

Within the PCMark for Android take a look at, the Nord N20 5G lasted 13 hrs and 16 minutes, which ought to be a lot for the common consumer, although different SD695 5G-equipped telephones together with the Sony Xperia 10 IV lasted manner longer at 24 hours and 52 minutes, so it’s not the most effective round.

Whereas there’s no wi-fi charging – unsurprising at this worth vary – the Nord N20 5G comes with a 33W SUPERVOOC Quick Charger within the field. Utilizing the included charger, Nord N20 5G bought 25% in 15 minutes and 50% after 30 minutes of charging. 

A full 0% to 100% cost of the Nord N20 5G took round 90 minutes utilizing the 33W charger. 

Sachin Bahal / Foundry

Software program & Apps

• Android 11 with OxygenOS 11
• Just one main OS replace

For software program, the Nord N20 5G is operating the pretty dated Android 11 (which launched in 2020) with OnePlus’ OxygenOS 11 on prime. The UI of OxygenOS shares some similarities with Samsung’s OneUI and Google’s Pixel UI, providing a largely clear but stylised expertise.

A number of the UI in OxygenOS has been optimized for bigger telephone shows like that featured on the Nord N20 5G. Meaning contact controls are simpler to entry and nearer to the underside of the display screen. 

Different options of OxygenOS 11 embrace an All the time On Show that may present you incoming notifications along with a clock.

Sachin Bahal / Foundry

See also  Sky Glass review

When it comes to software program updates, that is the place issues take a downturn. The Nord N20 5G will solely be getting one software program replace (to OxygenOS 12). 

That is disappointing once you see different funds/mid-range telephones just like the Galaxy A sequence get three years of Android updates. The Nord N20 5G isn’t even getting the newest model of Android – it’s for Android 12, which launched in 2021.

OnePlus hasn’t introduced when the OxygenOS 12/Android 12 replace for the Nord N20 5G shall be rolled out both, so you would be ready for fairly a while. 

Apart from that, the Nord N20 5G comes with a couple of pre-installed apps akin to Clone Telephone, a file supervisor, Gallery app, notes and some extra, however nothing too intrusive.

Value & Availability

Whereas the Nord N20 5G isn’t accessible within the UK, the telephone is offered in North America together with Canada and the US. 

The telephone prices $299 USD/$379 CAD when shopping for it unlocked from OnePlus together with retailers like Amazon and Finest Purchase.

The value tag of the Nord N20 5G places it inside earshot of telephones together with the Samsung Galaxy A53 and Sony Xperia 10 IV, although the Nord continues to be comfortably cheaper.

Verdict

The Nord N20 5G is an effective machine that gives respectable bang to your buck for a couple of causes.

The primary is that whereas the telephone is $300, it doesn’t really feel low-cost within the hand. The appear and feel of the telephone are consistent with pricier telephones just like the Motorola Moto G Stylus 5G or Galaxy A53 – an actual win for OnePlus.

Second is the Snapdragon 695, delivering strong efficiency despite the fact that it’s not the top-of-the-line chip from Qualcomm.

There are a couple of downsides of the Nord N20 5G, together with the dearth of a excessive refresh fee on the show, no official waterproofing on the worldwide variant, the weak vibration motor and the one Android replace, however these received’t be dealbreakers for everyone.

OnePlus Nord N20 5G Specs

• Android 11 w/ OxygenOS 11
• 6.43in FHD+ AMOLED 60Hz, 20:9, 
• In-display fingerprint sensor
• Face unlock
• Schott Xensation Up
• 6nm Qualcomm Snapdragon 695 5G
• 6 RAM LPDDR4x
• 128GB UFS 2.2 with microSD card slot
• 64Mp, f/1.8, primary digicam with OIS
• 2Mp, f/2.4 macro digicam
• 2Mp, f/2.4 depth
• 16Mp, f/2.4 front-facing digicam
• Single audio system
• 5G
• WiFi 5
• Bluetooth 5.1
• USB-C port
• Headphone jack
• 4500mAh battery
• 33W quick charging
• 159.9 x 73.2 x 7.5mm
• 173g
• Launch colors: Blue Smoke