Last year’sOnePlus Nord N20 5Gwas a complete and utter shock. OnePlus managed to craft a $300budget phone that wowed usin nearly every way that matters. Aside from the mediocre camera — no shock there — the Nord N20 featured an excellent design, a bright OLED panel, fast charging, and adequate performance. For this summer’s Nord N30 5G, the company is going in a bold new direction, but whether it’ll pay off in the long run depends on where your priorities lie.
OnePlus Nord N30 5G
The OnePlus Nord N30 5G is the company’s latest entry in one of its many affordable sub-brands. It keeps some of what works about last year’s phone — including the processor and the price tag — while making some changes some buyers might find controversial.
In a move that’s becoming a tradition for this particular Nord subseries, OnePlus has once again abandoned its predecessor’s design to create something fresh. This phone is effectively a remixed variant on theNord CE 3 Lite, released earlier this year in global markets. From the giant camera lenses on the back to the glossy finish, it’s familiar in almost every way — but not when compared to the Nord N20. It’s a little disappointing to see the brand moving away from one of the sharpest budget phones around, but that’s far from the only change.
The OnePlus Nord N30 next to the N20.
The display has been downgraded to an LCD screen. It’s faster than before, with a 120Hz refresh rate, but the move away from OLED means no always-on display and no true black levels. It’s an all-around bummer. Still, at 6.72", it is larger than the N20, which should make streaming movies a far more pleasurable experience.
OnePlus has made some big improvements to the phone in a couple of key ways, though. It now sports stereo sound — the mono speaker on last year’s model was pretty atrocious — and the upgrade to 8GB of RAM should keep apps active in your recents list for longer periods of time. That said, the processor remains unchanged, with the N30 using a Snapdragon 695. Likewise, the headphone jack and microSD card slot are here, too.
The company is swinging big on the camera too, another downside to last year’s phone. Like the Nord CE 3 Lite, this year’s device uses a 108MP main sensor paired with a depth-assist lens and a macro lens. You cancheck out our reviewto learn whether its performance measures up to the similarly-pricedPixel 6a, or if OnePlus is once again fighting a battle it can’t quite win.
The OnePlus Nord N30 5G is available today from T-Mobile and its Metro sub-brand for $300. you may also pick up an unlocked model from the company’s website, or from Amazon. There’s plenty of stiff competition in the budget space these days, and it remains unclear whether the N30 5G will win over new fans to the company.
The OnePlus Nord N30 5G is a new take on one of our favorite budget phones of last year. It loses out on the refined design and AMOLED display that won us over in 2022, but keeps the same level of performance in an affordable package.
