Camera: 50MP Main Camera with Sony IMX890 (OIS supported), 8MP Ultrawide Camera with Sony IMX355 (FOV: 112 degree) and 2MP Macro lens; 16MP Front (Selfie) Camera
Camera Features: Ultra Steady Mode, Dual-view Video, HDR, Nightscape, Portrait Mode, Video Portrait, Pano, Macro, Slo-mo, Time-lapse, Text-scanner, Retouching, Filters, Google Lens, Extra HD, Pro Mode
Display: 6.7 Inches; 120 Hz AMOLED FHD+, Resolution: 2412 x 1080 pixels; HDR 10+, sRGB, 10-bit Color Depth, 93.4% Screen to body ratio
Operating System: OxygenOS 13 based on Android 13.1
Processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon 782G Mobile Platform
Specification: OnePlus Nord CE 3 5G (Aqua Surge, 8GB RAM, 128GB Storage)
‎Power Adapter, SIM Tray Ejector, Phone Case, USB Cable
Manufacturer
‎Oppo Mobiles India Private Limited
Country of Origin
‎India
Item Weight
‎184 g
5 reviews for OnePlus Nord CE 3 5G (Aqua Surge, 8GB RAM, 128GB Storage)
4.6out of 5
★★★★★
★★★★★
3
★★★★★
2
★★★★★
0
★★★★★
0
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★★★★★
Kaushik Angara –
Have been using the phone for over a week now.
Positives:
1. Snapdragon 782 processor is quite good. There is no lag whatsoever even on opening multiple apps and using for a long time. 2. Battery life is decent. It is definitely not a gaming mobile. 3. 5G services are accessible in most locations(in Hyderabad) wherever there is network. 4. Both front and rear cameras are decent. You can click good shots in Night mode as well. Photos taken in various modes viz., Macro, Extra HD, Night, Pro, Potrait are attached. 5. 80W fast charging is electric! I was able to charge my mobile from 23% to 100% in 17-18 mins and from 4% to 100% in 22-23 mins. 6. Audio and video quality is great. Get some good earphones and you will experience the theatre effect with Dolby sound. 7. No heating issue of any kind even after continuous usage/a long phone call. 8. 12 GB RAM is great. You can now multitask and open apps simultaneously.
Negatives:
1. Battery drains fast. Should have been built to last longer. Like I said, definitely not a gamer’s mobile. However, phone will last for a day even with heavy usage. 2. Flagship 50MP Sony camera is a disappointment. Definitely not what an amateur photographer would expect. The moment you zoom in, image gets blurred and pixelated. Expected a much better camera from a mid premium mobile at priced at 30k 3. Most of the features were toned down from other premium versions of OnePlus. However, one would expect some premium features when spending almost 30k. 4. Back cover and screen guard are useless. Expected OnePlus to provide decent good quality default screen guard and phone cases. Please do buy both separately. 5. Audio/Video seems to just stop and then play on using YouTube. Might have to update the app and check if it is an issue with the device. 6. Absence of a 3.5mm audio jack is a big drawback for wired earphone users.
Update 1 : Have received the first update to Oxygen 13.1 within 2-3 days of purchase wherein video quality of camera and few other features were improved. Also, the video lag issue is now resolved.
Update 2: Received second software update on 23 Aug 2023 which is aimed at improving front/rear camera picture quality and optimizing the battery of the mobile when it is at rest.
Update 3: Received another software upgrade in early October aimed at enhancing Network connectivity and stabilization.
Update 4: Received Android 14 software upgrade on Jan 12 2024. Device is now stable.
Overall a decent buy under 30k segment. Expected better features from a premium smartphone but certainly not a big disappointment. Overall 4 stars. I would recommend this mobile to others.
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★★★★★
SM –
The OnePlus Nord CE 3 (ONCE3) took its time convincing me of earning the successor’s role from my Xiaomi Note 7 Pro.
Honestly, this doesn’t feel like much of an upgrade from the Note 7 Pro that’s over 4 years old now. Sure the storage size and RAM are higher, the SoC is more current generation and has an in-display finger print sensor. I’d waited for a good successor to the Note 7 Pro for years and I had to finally compromise with this phone sacrificing a headphone jack that I miss on a daily basis.
Pictures from this phone and my erstwhile RN7pro deliver comparable quality shots. The difference is mostly in post processing and response but in quality, there’s barely a 4 years’ refinement. Even in good daylight shots from the primary camera, the images look poorly captured, sharpened with no resemblance to the textures as perceived in reality and the 50 MP image does very little to enhance visual quality.
I don’t want to repetitively make this comparison because it’s a niche audience it’ll apply to, but the 12MP to 48MP pixel binned images that the RN7Pro offered 4 years ago is a lot more impressive TODAY than the ONCE3’s 50MP and its economical 12.3MP standard framing.
The ONCE3’s reasonably good Camera reviews, Snapdragon chipset for GCAM, presence of an IR blaster and in-display fingerprint sensor, the charging support with an included 80W fast charger and expandable storage are the reasons why I chose this phone. The current gen Redmi Note 13 series failed to make sense, was overpriced and I didn’t want to encourage that trend.
Since buying and using the ONCE3, the things I liked about the phone are the design, the in-hand feel, the haptic feedback quality, the display quality and the stereo speakers’ quality.
Things I found disappointing in this phone apart from the mediocre performing Camera are mostly of the Oxygen OS. Though there aren’t any bloatware, these things really made for a poor impression: The fonts aren’t really enough for someone like me who wants a no-nonsense feeling presentation. The Photos/Gallery app doesn’t have something as basic as a slideshow feature No File Management system other than that of Google Files. The fingerprint reader takes a few tries to recognize and is almost uncomfortably positioned low on the screen that reaching it takes a long thumb or switching grip. Xiaomi has a sunlight mode where even if the phone is set to manual brightness control, it switches to high-visibility mode when blasted with bright sunlight. The ONCE3 has no such choice. No proprietary media player. Themes collection is rather poor and the wallpapers are inadequate too. Even though the app offers many fonts, none of them are suited for a clean looking interface. It’s as though their intended target audience is anime watching teenagers. Finally, despite using 60Hz refresh rate, always-on display off and 2G network most of the time with WIFI on all the time, the battery backup is nothing phenomenal for a 5000mAh device. My 4 year old Note 7 Pro with a 4000mAh delivers almost the same kind of SoT with similar configuration.
Overall, it’s not a bitter disappointment, but I find it quite lack-luster for a 2024 phone in this price-range. If I were to be reasonable, the phone is barely worth 16,000 INR. Take the brand, the display and the charger away, the phone is barely worth 12.
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★★★★★
Kaushik Angara –
After being on the segment of 10k smartphone over a decade, this is first upgrade. 1. To me everything is good at first sight. 2. Smooth and fast. 3. Fast charging 4. Lightweight 5. Customisable
Cons:1. Battery do reduce faster if little overused 2. No headphones included
Overall I will give 4.5 star.
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★★★★★
Saurav Das –
Good phone as most of today’s average user demands met. Good battery backup & less charging time needed as of now. Camera can be more clearer. Still to get Android 14 update (13.1)
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★★★★★
Anubhav S. –
High Performance Mobile with great Features. Big screen make the phone ease of use. Nice Design and Good Camera Quality. Only the problem is to take pictures under light. It shows some blurred. Overall a good Phone with great battery backup.
Kaushik Angara –
Have been using the phone for over a week now.
Positives:
1. Snapdragon 782 processor is quite good. There is no lag whatsoever even on opening multiple apps and using for a long time.
2. Battery life is decent. It is definitely not a gaming mobile.
3. 5G services are accessible in most locations(in Hyderabad) wherever there is network.
4. Both front and rear cameras are decent. You can click good shots in Night mode as well. Photos taken in various modes viz., Macro, Extra HD, Night, Pro, Potrait are attached.
5. 80W fast charging is electric! I was able to charge my mobile from 23% to 100% in 17-18 mins and from 4% to 100% in 22-23 mins.
6. Audio and video quality is great. Get some good earphones and you will experience the theatre effect with Dolby sound.
7. No heating issue of any kind even after continuous usage/a long phone call.
8. 12 GB RAM is great. You can now multitask and open apps simultaneously.
Negatives:
1. Battery drains fast. Should have been built to last longer. Like I said, definitely not a gamer’s mobile. However, phone will last for a day even with heavy usage.
2. Flagship 50MP Sony camera is a disappointment. Definitely not what an amateur photographer would expect. The moment you zoom in, image gets blurred and pixelated. Expected a much better camera from a mid premium mobile at priced at 30k
3. Most of the features were toned down from other premium versions of OnePlus. However, one would expect some premium features when spending almost 30k.
4. Back cover and screen guard are useless. Expected OnePlus to provide decent good quality default screen guard and phone cases. Please do buy both separately.
5. Audio/Video seems to just stop and then play on using YouTube. Might have to update the app and check if it is an issue with the device.
6. Absence of a 3.5mm audio jack is a big drawback for wired earphone users.
Update 1 : Have received the first update to Oxygen 13.1 within 2-3 days of purchase wherein video quality of camera and few other features were improved. Also, the video lag issue is now resolved.
Update 2: Received second software update on 23 Aug 2023 which is aimed at improving front/rear camera picture quality and optimizing the battery of the mobile when it is at rest.
Update 3: Received another software upgrade in early October aimed at enhancing Network connectivity and stabilization.
Update 4: Received Android 14 software upgrade on Jan 12 2024. Device is now stable.
Overall a decent buy under 30k segment. Expected better features from a premium smartphone but certainly not a big disappointment. Overall 4 stars. I would recommend this mobile to others.
SM –
The OnePlus Nord CE 3 (ONCE3) took its time convincing me of earning the successor’s role from my Xiaomi Note 7 Pro.
Honestly, this doesn’t feel like much of an upgrade from the Note 7 Pro that’s over 4 years old now. Sure the storage size and RAM are higher, the SoC is more current generation and has an in-display finger print sensor. I’d waited for a good successor to the Note 7 Pro for years and I had to finally compromise with this phone sacrificing a headphone jack that I miss on a daily basis.
Pictures from this phone and my erstwhile RN7pro deliver comparable quality shots. The difference is mostly in post processing and response but in quality, there’s barely a 4 years’ refinement. Even in good daylight shots from the primary camera, the images look poorly captured, sharpened with no resemblance to the textures as perceived in reality and the 50 MP image does very little to enhance visual quality.
I don’t want to repetitively make this comparison because it’s a niche audience it’ll apply to, but the 12MP to 48MP pixel binned images that the RN7Pro offered 4 years ago is a lot more impressive TODAY than the ONCE3’s 50MP and its economical 12.3MP standard framing.
The ONCE3’s reasonably good Camera reviews, Snapdragon chipset for GCAM, presence of an IR blaster and in-display fingerprint sensor, the charging support with an included 80W fast charger and expandable storage are the reasons why I chose this phone. The current gen Redmi Note 13 series failed to make sense, was overpriced and I didn’t want to encourage that trend.
Since buying and using the ONCE3, the things I liked about the phone are the design, the in-hand feel, the haptic feedback quality, the display quality and the stereo speakers’ quality.
Things I found disappointing in this phone apart from the mediocre performing Camera are mostly of the Oxygen OS. Though there aren’t any bloatware, these things really made for a poor impression:
The fonts aren’t really enough for someone like me who wants a no-nonsense feeling presentation.
The Photos/Gallery app doesn’t have something as basic as a slideshow feature
No File Management system other than that of Google Files.
The fingerprint reader takes a few tries to recognize and is almost uncomfortably positioned low on the screen that reaching it takes a long thumb or switching grip.
Xiaomi has a sunlight mode where even if the phone is set to manual brightness control, it switches to high-visibility mode when blasted with bright sunlight. The ONCE3 has no such choice.
No proprietary media player.
Themes collection is rather poor and the wallpapers are inadequate too. Even though the app offers many fonts, none of them are suited for a clean looking interface. It’s as though their intended target audience is anime watching teenagers.
Finally, despite using 60Hz refresh rate, always-on display off and 2G network most of the time with WIFI on all the time, the battery backup is nothing phenomenal for a 5000mAh device. My 4 year old Note 7 Pro with a 4000mAh delivers almost the same kind of SoT with similar configuration.
Overall, it’s not a bitter disappointment, but I find it quite lack-luster for a 2024 phone in this price-range. If I were to be reasonable, the phone is barely worth 16,000 INR. Take the brand, the display and the charger away, the phone is barely worth 12.
Kaushik Angara –
After being on the segment of 10k smartphone over a decade, this is first upgrade.
1. To me everything is good at first sight.
2. Smooth and fast.
3. Fast charging
4. Lightweight
5. Customisable
Cons:1. Battery do reduce faster if little overused
2. No headphones included
Overall I will give 4.5 star.
Saurav Das –
Good phone as most of today’s average user demands met. Good battery backup & less charging time needed as of now. Camera can be more clearer. Still to get Android 14 update (13.1)
Anubhav S. –
High Performance Mobile with great Features. Big screen make the phone ease of use. Nice Design and Good Camera Quality. Only the problem is to take pictures under light. It shows some blurred.
Overall a good Phone with great battery backup.