OnePlus Nord N300 5G review

OnePlus’ Nord lineup has been rising sturdy since its introduction in 2020 with good mid-range telephones just like the Nord N20 5G however now it continues to develop into budget-friendly territory within the US with the Nord N300 5G.

With a MediaTek chipset, easy design and inexpensive worth, does the N300 do sufficient to tempt you into shopping for it?

As you’ll see, I believe it’s a blended bag.

Design & Construct

Like its Nord N20 sibling, the Nord N300 has a reasonably slim profile that’s comparatively simple to carry in a single hand. The slight matt texture of the again of the cellphone additionally helps to securely maintain it in a single hand.

Regardless of weighing just a little heavy on the cellphone scales at 190g, the Nord N300 doesn’t really feel too heavy and is pretty well-balanced. This may also be attributed to the plastic body and plastic again of the cellphone, which feels good and doesn’t scream price range cellphone. 

The cellphone is just accessible in a Midnight Jade colourway, which is a flowery approach of claiming it’s black. It will have been good to see a second color possibility accessible reminiscent of blue as we’ve seen on OnePlus telephones earlier than.

The again of the cellphone has a small digicam bump that’s barely noticeable however there’s a very slight wobble when placing the cellphone down on a flat floor due to it.

Sachin Bahal / Foundry

Display screen & Audio system

• 6.56in display screen
• 90Hz LCD
• HD+ decision

The Nord N300 5G has a 6.56-inch LCD HD+ show. Fortunately, OnePlus determined to go along with a 90Hz refresh fee that makes navigating the cellphone a lot smoother. 

The show itself seems to be good however nothing to be blown away by. Some colors and blacks on the display screen don’t pop as a lot as on a cellphone with an AMOLED show.

Much like different Nord fashions, the vibrations and haptics aren’t the very best within the Nord N300 5G. They may very well be a lot stronger however they get the job accomplished for essentially the most half. 

The cellphone additionally options twin audio system which sound nice, however aren’t as full bodied or nicely rounded as these on costlier flagship Android telephones. 

Sachin Bahal / Foundry

Specs & Efficiency

• MediaTek Dimensity 810 chip
• 4GB RAM
• As much as 64GB of inside storage 
• MicroSD card slot for expandable storage

Powering the Nord N300 5G is the MediaTek Dimensity 810 chip, which has an 8-core CPU and a Mali-G57 MU2 GPU. The cellphone has 4GB of RAM which looks like the naked minimal in Android telephones lately. With the slight laggy nature of the N300, it kind of reveals.

General, the Dimensity 810 chip will get the job generally however there have been just a few events the place an app took a while to open such because the Google Play Retailer. 

The Nord N300 5G additionally marks OnePlus’ first cellphone to launch within the US with a MediaTek chip inside. The corporate has beforehand launched telephones in India that had been powered by MediaTek chips, and the Nord 2T in Europe and the UK.

The Dimensity 810 chip not solely brings 5G assist however there’s additionally Bluetooth 5.3 and Wi-Fi 5.

Digital camera & Video

• 48Mp primary sensor
• 2Mp depth sensor
• 16Mp selfie digicam

The Nord N300 5G has a two-camera setup on the again with a 48Mp primary lens and a 2Mp depth lens. 

The principle lens was capable of seize some good images. Typically these images can be completely acceptable to anybody considering of shopping for this cellphone.

Sachin Bahal / Foundry

This does include a caveat, in that the Nord N300 5G’s primary cameras solely carry out nicely in well-lit circumstances the place there’s a lot of mild. 

When you’re taking pictures in low mild, you’ll be able to take some respectable images however nothing that’ll blow your thoughts. Photographs may be grainy with loads of noise the place element is missing.

The digicam app does characteristic a devoted Evening mode however it may be a bit sluggish and take just a few seconds to seize a photograph.

For video, the Nord N300 5G can shoot as much as 1080p video at 30fps. The standard of the movies shot is nice if barely undersaturated.

On the entrance, there’s a 16Mp selfie digicam however it’s outright dangerous. Even in good lighting circumstances or in the course of the day with a lot of ambient mild, selfies look very blown out.

Battery Life & Charging

• 5,000mAh
• 33W wired charging 
• Adapter included

Battery life shouldn’t be a problem because the Nord N300 5G incorporates a huge 5,000mAh battery that simply lasts all day.

When you do end up needing to prime up, the Nord N300 5G comes with a 33W SUPERVOOC quick charger within the field. That is respectable, however not as quick as many different costlier Android telephones.

Utilizing the included charger, Nord N300 5G bought round 26% in quarter-hour and round 50% after half-hour of charging. A full 0% to 100% cost took round 90 minutes.

Sachin Bahal / Foundry

Software program & Apps

• Android 12
• OxygenOS 12
• Just one OS replace promised

On the software program facet, the Nord N300 5G is working Android 12 with Oxygen 12 on prime. In years previous, OxygenOS has modified visually to a glance that mimics Samsung’s OneUI in some ways.

With OxygenOS 12, the consumer interface (UI) has a little bit of Samsung flavour but additionally some touches of Oppo’s ColorOS. That is no accident, as Oppo and OnePlus are owned by the identical firm, BBK Group, and share a codebase for his or her software program.

OxygenOS 12 brings a barely refreshed design language with extra daring textual content and new icons. There’s additionally a customisable darkish mode that allows you to modify the shade of black or gray all through the UI.

Different options of OxygenOS 12 embody an improved Zen mode that helps you cut back distracting app use, an identical Work Life Steadiness mode and new always-on show choices for the lockscreen.

For software program updates, the Nord N300 5G will solely be getting one software program replace (most definitely to OxygenOS 13/Android 13). This software program coverage is way beneath the likes of different price range Android telephones like Samsung’s Galaxy A sequence which get no less than three years of Android updates.

OnePlus hasn’t introduced when a OxygenOS 13/Android 13 replace will arrive to the Nord N300 5G however it seems to be prefer it’ll be someday in 2023.

Sachin Bahal / Foundry

Value & Availability

The OnePlus Nord N300 is just accessible within the US by way of the American courier T-Cellular and its pre-paid subsidiary, Metro by T-Cellular. 

The cellphone prices $229 USD when shopping for it outright or in some circumstances as little as $0 relying on T-Cellular’s offers.

With it’s price ticket, the Nord N300 5G is lower than $100 in need of its sibling, the Nord N20 5G. There’s additionally the Moto G Energy (2022) and the Samsung A13 5G.

The cellphone isn’t accessible within the UK.

Verdict

General, the OnePlus Nord N300 5G is an honest price range cellphone for just a few causes. 

First, it doesn’t really feel like an inexpensive cellphone, the construct high quality of the cellphone makes it really feel like a costlier cellphone.

Second, is that it has nice battery life that simply lasts a single day or extra and may be charged pretty shortly.

There are just a few negatives to the Nord N300 5G just like the weak vibration motor and haptics and just one future Android replace however total there aren’t many higher choices at this worth within the US cellphone market.

Specs

• Android 12 w/ OxygenOS 12
• 6.56in HD+ LCD 90Hz, 20:9, 
• Facet-mounted fingerprint sensor
• Face unlock
• 6nm MediaTek MT6833P Dimensity 810
• 4 RAM 
• 64GB UFS 2.2 with microSD card slot
• 48Mp, f/1.8, primary digicam with OIS
• 2Mp, f/2.4 depth
• 16Mp, f/2.0 front-facing digicam
• Twin audio system
• 5G
• WiFi 5
• Bluetooth 5.3
• USB-C port
• Headphone jack
• 5000mAh battery
• 33W quick charging
• 163.8 x 75.1 x 8mm
• 190g
• Launch colors: Midnight Jade