The OnePlus Nord CE 5G is official and it seems like a good budget phone – at least from the specs and features we’ve seen so far.
The CE tag in this Nord’s name refers to Core Edition, and that idea is clear here. This is an affordable phone that focuses on the ‘core’ essentials, or at least that’s the plan. Here’s everything you need to know about it.
OnePlus Nord CE price and release date
The OnePlus Nord CE 5G is on sale now to the OnePlus Community until June 12. Those who order it during this period will receive the phone on June 14.
You can also pre-order the OnePlus Nord CE 5G from Amazon UK from June 10, and from Three from June 11. OnePlus Nord CE 5G will then go on sale on June 21. See below for pricing details.
| RAM | Storage | Colors | Price | Availability | Release |
| 8GB | 128GB | Blue Void, Charcoal Ink | £299 | Amazon,John Lewis, Three, OnePlus | June 21 |
| 12GB | 256GB | Blue Void, Charcoal Ink, Silver Ray | £369 | Amazon,OnePlus | June 21 |
There currently aren’t any plans for a US release. We’ll update this page when we know more about further pricing.
OnePlus Nord CE specs and features
In terms of power, the Nord CE runs on the Snapdragon 750 chipset. This is a strong upper-mid-range chip from Qualcomm that should handle the majority of tasks with ease.When we get the phone into Trusted Labs we’ll run it through our usual array of benchmarking and real-world tests.
The chip is paired with either 8 or 12GB RAM (same as the pricier OnePlus 9 and 9 Pro) and 128 or 256GB storage.
Inside the Nord CE’s plastic and glass body, there’s a 4500mAh battery which is larger than the cell on the previous Nord along with Warp Charge 30T tech. We’ve been impressed with quick charging speeds on OnePlus devices before and here it’s claimed 30 minutes of charging will get the phone from 0% to 70%.
The software looks as though it’ll be very similar to the Oxygen OS you’ll find on other OnePlus phones and includes a dark mode, always-on display and Zen mode.
OnePlus cameras have never been the best and even though things improved, to an extent, with the Hasselblad partnership on the 9 Pro there’s still a way to go. There’s no Hasselblad branding here, with the main 64MP f/1.79 camera backed by an ultrawide and a 16MP camera for selfies. You’ve also got various night modes.
While you can’t always rely on OnePlus phones for a great picture, you can rely on them for a top screen. Even though this is a £299 device, you’re getting an OLED panel with a 1080p resolution and a 90Hz refresh rate for smoother scrolling.
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It’s a slightly smaller screen than you might expect too, measuring in at 6.43-inches. It’s no Asus Zenfone 8, but we’re glad OnePlus isn’t going huge for the Nord CE. OnePlus also states the display supports HDR10+ and we’d assure they’ll be HDR support in apps like Netflix and YouTube.
OnePlus Nord CE design
This very much looks like a OnePlus phone, especially in the matte Blue Void hue that was highlighted during the launch event. The front and back are made of glass (Not Gorilla Glass, but another form) while the rim is plastic.
There isn’t an alert slider – a common feature on OnePlus – either, which is a bit of a shame. On the bottom, there’s a USB-C port and headphone port.
Don’t expect to find things like Qi charging, an IP rating or expandable storage.
Trusted Take
The previous Nord was an excellent phone and even some of the cheaper OnePlus N-series have impressed, so I am holding out hope this will be another and possibly one of the best cheap phones around.
Good screen specs, OnePlus’ great software and a capable processor tick many of the boxes I would look for – but how good will the camera be?
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Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
