The OnePlus Nord N100 is the first entry into the budget market from a flagship killer company. Although to be precise, trying to make a budget device, they made a mid-budget smartphone. And frankly, some moments raise questions. Especially the choice of processor. But in general, the smart turned out to be quite good. I wouldn’t say it’s great, but it’s good. I would lower his price.
I personally was interested in this model, and when sales began, I took the phone not so much for everyday use as for tests.
So. OnePlus Nord N100 smartphone review.
I’ll start my review, as it should be with the characteristics of the device:
- Brand: One Plus
- Model: Nord N100 (BE2011)
- Type: budget smartphone
- Processor: Snapdragon 460
- Video subsystem: Adreno 610
- Screen: 6.52” IPS HD+ 1600×720 pixels (269 PPI), 90Hz refresh rate
- Memory: 4/64GB
- Camera: triple rear camera 13 MP F/1.80, 2 MP F/2.40, 2 MP F/2.40, autofocus
- Front camera: 8 MP (notch at the top of the screen, left)
- Charging: USB-C 18W
- Battery: 5000 mA
- Slot: two nano sim slots, combo microSD card slot (up to 512GB)
- Wireless interfaces: 4G/LTE, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.0, GLONASS/GPS. NFC-no
- Fingerprint Scanner: Yes
- Headphone Jack: Yes, 3.5mm
- Operating time: in standby mode up to 720 hours, in talk mode up to 21 hours, in active (games, video) mode up to 11-12 hours
- OS: OxygenOS 10 (Android 10), Global Version, Support OTA Update
- Dimensions: 75.1 x 164.9 x 8.49 mm
- Weight: 188 g.
The phone comes in the following box:
The kit consists of a phone, charger, USB cable, waste paper and a paper clip for the Sim tray:
Unfortunately, a case is not included in the kit. Which is not very good, since a case is needed, even the cheapest silicone one.
Cord included Type-C. Standard, meter length.
The phone itself in the box is in polyethylene. It’s good for transportation.
Consider smart from all sides. On the front side there is a screen 6.52 ” IPS HD + 1600 × 720 pixels (269 PPI), 90 Hz refresh rate, with an inscribed front camera:
At the back there is a camera block, a fingerprint sensor, a logo:
The back of the phone is plastic. But the plastic is very high quality, dense.
On the right is the power button, and on the left is the volume rocker and the SIM card tray:
The phone tray is hybrid. Either two SIM cards, or a SIM card + microSD memory card. Given that the phone has 64Gb of memory, the issue of lack of memory can arise quite quickly. (although some people 64Gb is enough)
On the top side of the phone is a microphone, and on the bottom there is a 3.5mm headphone port, a Type-C port and a speaker (By the way, the speakers are stereo. The second speaker is the auditory)
In general, the phone is assembled well. All details are well matched. The quality is excellent. It lies comfortably in the hands. The only thing that raises questions is the fingerprint sensor. It does not stand out in any way on the body, and when unlocking it, you have to look for it with your finger. But it is worth noting that the sensor itself works very well, and often I see that I just run my finger along the back of the phone in search of the sensor, lightly touch it or swipe it and this is enough to unlock the phone. This would be the speed of the under-screen sensor in the Samsung Galaxy S10 + which is my main phone.
By the way, the face unlock algorithm also works quite well in the phone. You can activate the backlight screen, in low light.
Now let’s move on to the firmware.
The phone works on Android 10 with Oxygen OS version 10.5.7 (at the time of writing the review)
When you turn it on for the first time, the user is prompted to go through all the steps for adding an account and authorization:
The main desktop looks like this:
In fact, Android here does not look very different from other phones. Here, for example, next to Redmi Note 10 Pro:
Application menu:
Settings items:
By the way, while the phone is in my hands, one update arrived:
What exactly gave the update, I do not know. Nothing visually changed. Everything works the same as before the update.
In general, the system works quickly and without slowdowns, despite the budget processor. But of course this is not a flagship, and if the system is working properly, then you can’t play demanding games. Although I tried to play some games.
For example, PUBG Mobile with non-HD textures performs surprisingly well:
The War Robots game runs without problems:
Arena of Walor with medium graphics settings is also stable:
Well, such simple arcade games like Oddmar play well:
Maybe someone needs it, here’s what AIDA64 shows:
I also ran some tests:
Trotting Test:
The average figure is 118.440Gips, which indicates the budget of the processor.
But with this processor, the phone has excellent autonomy. The battery test from PCMark lasted 22 hours 44 minutes (landing the phone from 100% to 20%), which in my opinion is just an excellent indicator.
Now let’s talk about the camera block.
Separately, I will show the camera interface:
Let me remind you that the phone has a triple rear camera 13 MP F/1.80, 2 MP F/2.40, 2 MP F/2.40, autofocus
In daylight, the photos are more or less good:
But indoors, with insufficient lighting, the budget of the phone is already evident:
Soap is visible in the photo.
As for the macro camera, it, having 2MP, takes, frankly, weak pictures:
If we talk about shooting at dusk and at night, then it’s even worse. There is a lot of noise:
Turning on the flash can fix the situation a bit:
Well, either you can turn on the HDR mode, which also helps in some places:
True, in any case, the noise is quite noticeable in the photo and there is a noticeable blurring.
The video camera in the phone gives the same quality as the photos. For example, I made a video shooting test at dusk:
True, in any case, the noise is quite noticeable in the photo and there is a noticeable blurring.
The video camera in the phone gives the same quality as the photos. For example, I made a video shooting test at dusk:
Buy OnePlus Nord N100
What can I say about the camera. It’s low quality here. In low light, soapy and noisy. I would like to hope that this can be fixed with future firmware, but the Nord N100 is not a camera phone.
Conclusion:
OnePlus Nord N100 is a good budget employee. BUT! Provided that we buy it for about $130-140. That’s exactly what it’s worth in my opinion. There is a budget processor, an average quality camera. Of the pluses, one can note a screen with support for 90Hz, a really long battery life, a good size. But if you look at the phone, in the price range of $ 150-160, then I would think about buying. It’s better to add $30-40 already and take more powerful and better options from Xiaomi, Poco or Realme (whatever you like).
If you wait for a sale, then under coupons this phone can be snatched for a price up to $ 120 (as I took it). And for the price, it’s a great option for a second spare phone, or a phone for those who don’t need games or a camera but need long battery life, up-to-date Android, and plenty of storage.
Summing up, I can say that OnePlus is the first attempt to enter the budget segment. Someone will say that the first pancake came out lumpy. Others will say that the phone is not bad. I personally am in the middle with my conclusions: ideal phones do not exist, therefore this model has the right to exist. Well, let’s hope that this first pancake will not be the last, and in the future we will see other phones in the budget and mid-budget segment from OnePlus, where they will already take into account the achievements and user reviews, and will be able to make interesting and relevant models. Wait and see.