Overall impression of OnePlus Nord 3 in 2024

The budget category is the most competitive space for most Smartphone companies as highest number of phones are sold in this price range, and with new phones launching each month its very tough to decide whether you should buy the latest model or a discounted mid-range phone.

The OnePlus Nord 3 is currently going for ₹ 18,999 which is much cheaper than the launch price of ₹ 33,999. The OnePlus Nord 4 which may be launched next month, will definitely be priced above 30,000, so it’s not something you should wait for if you have a budget of around ₹ 20,000.

OnePlus Nord 2 was a very successful Smartphone, so OnePlus Nord 3 had strong expectations to meet, and it did. But in the phone world, new processors and camera systems keep launching every month so is OnePlus Nord 3 worth buying in 2024?

Hope you can choose wisely after reading this article.

OnePlus Nord 3’s build quality still punches above its weight

The phone can withstand rain and water splashes with its IP54 rating which is better than most Smartphones are offering.

I personally like the design of this phone; the two big camera modules look distinctive and shout OnePlus with the top of their lungs. A Smartphone’s design should be unique and recognizable in the crowd, that gives extra points to the design of a Smartphone.

Along with that OnePlus has done a splendid job with the bezels, apple should take notes on this one.  The design still looks better than most Smartphones in this range and I love it.

OnePlus Nord 3’s Camera puts everyone to shame

The OnePlus Nord 3 is using Sony’s flagship grade sensor Sony IMX890 on the main camera, it’s a 50MP with OIS which takes beautiful pictures.

The OnePlus Nord 3 also features an 8MP ultrawide and a 2MP macro camera which are more gimmick than being useful.

The photos come off slightly contrasty but with accurate colors and detail. But when you take pictures of humans, the skin tone isn’t the most consistent, sometimes the pictures are good and sometimes the pictures look very unnatural.

The other two cameras are not worth getting into as you will rarely use them. The OnePlus Nord 3’s closest competitor is the new Nord 4 CE which costs ₹ 5,000 Rupees more but doesn’t take as good pictures and videos. The Nord 3 does a better job in both pictures and videos, the Nord 3’s videos has much less noise and stabilization than the Nord 4 CE.

The OnePlus Nord 3 can record videos at 4K 60 fps, but the EIS will not be activated until you switch to 1080p, which is a bummer. The camera takes crisp videos at 4K if you can stabilize the camera yourself. Overall, the camera system is fantastic, you are getting much more than you pay for.

Here are some camera samples taken by GSMARENA.com

How does OnePlus Nord 3 handle Oxygen OS?

The phone now comes with Android 14 out of the box and OnePlus promises another 2 years of Android updates from now. The software feels snappy like the other flagship OnePlus phones with the animations being fluid and consistent.

The phone can be best used if the display refresh rate is set to 120Hz instead of Auto or 60 Hz. The processor is more than enough powerful to handle 120 Hz with ease with many more years to come.

With a lot of backlashes after changing their design and values, OnePlus is finally trying to get back lost glory which is a good thing for the consumers, and we all loved the old OnePlus. You should expect good software from OnePlus from here and now.

OnePlus Nord 3’s Processor and Battery

The OnePlus Nord 3 comes with the mighty Dimensity 9000 4nm chipset paired with 8GB or 16GB of LPDDR5 Ram which makes it a work horse. It is the best processor in this price range. This can handle any game you throw at it, it might not be a proper gaming phone, but you can play games like Genshin Impact with ease on this phone.

There is a saying, with great power comes great heatability, yes, I made up that word. That is exactly true for this phone, and this is the biggest con for this smartphone. The phone heats up a lot during gaming and while using the camera.

While its hot, it stutters a little and eats up a lot of battery. Now, if you think you can ignore these heating issues then there is nothing better than this.

Conclusion: Is the OnePlus Nord 3 worth buying in 2024?

The phone was launched at ₹ 34,000 which was a good price for the phone, with excellent processor, flagship grade camera, beautiful display and build. Now that the phone is going at ₹ 18,999 and lower with card discounts, you should consider it. And if you have a bigger budget and want to get a OnePlus then check out this phone.

Thank you for reading.