OnePlus Nord N300 5G Assessment: Strong Specs for Beneath $230

Worth When Reviewed

$229.99

Greatest Costs At this time: OnePlus Nord N300

OnePlus’ Nord lineup has been rising sturdy since its introduction in 2020 with good mid-range telephones just like the Nord N20 5G however now it continues to develop into budget-friendly territory within the US with the Nord N300 5G.

With a MediaTek chipset, easy design and inexpensive worth, does the N300 do sufficient to tempt you into shopping for it?

As you’ll see, I believe it’s a blended bag.

Design & Construct

Like its Nord N20 sibling, the Nord N300 has a reasonably slim profile that’s comparatively simple to carry in a single hand. The slight matt texture of the again of the telephone additionally helps to securely maintain it in a single hand.

Regardless of weighing a bit heavy on the telephone scales at 190g, the Nord N300 doesn’t really feel too heavy and is pretty well-balanced. This may also be attributed to the plastic body and plastic again of the telephone, which feels good and doesn’t scream funds telephone. 

The telephone is simply accessible in a Midnight Jade colourway, which is a flowery means of claiming it’s black. It might have been good to see a second color possibility accessible corresponding to blue as we’ve seen on OnePlus telephones earlier than.

The again of the telephone has a small digital camera bump that’s barely noticeable however there’s a very slight wobble when placing the telephone down on a flat floor due to it.

Sachin Bahal / Foundry

Display screen & Audio system

• 6.56in display screen
• 90Hz LCD
• HD+ decision

The Nord N300 5G has a 6.56-inch LCD HD+ show. Fortunately, OnePlus determined to go together with a 90Hz refresh charge that makes navigating the telephone a lot smoother. 

The show itself seems to be good however nothing to be blown away by. Some colors and blacks on the display screen don’t pop as a lot as on a telephone with an AMOLED show.

Much like different Nord fashions, the vibrations and haptics aren’t the perfect within the Nord N300 5G. They may very well be a lot stronger however they get the job performed for probably the most half. 

The telephone additionally options twin audio system which sound high-quality, however aren’t as full bodied or nicely rounded as these on dearer flagship Android telephones. 

Sachin Bahal / Foundry

Specs & Efficiency

• MediaTek Dimensity 810 chip
• 4GB RAM
• As much as 64GB of inner storage 
• MicroSD card slot for expandable storage

Powering the Nord N300 5G is the MediaTek Dimensity 810 chip, which has an 8-core CPU and a Mali-G57 MU2 GPU. The telephone has 4GB of RAM which looks like the naked minimal in Android telephones nowadays. With the slight laggy nature of the N300, it type of exhibits.

Total, the Dimensity 810 chip will get the job normally however there have been just a few events the place an app took a while to open such because the Google Play Retailer. 

The Nord N300 5G additionally marks OnePlus’ first telephone to launch within the US with a MediaTek chip inside. The corporate has beforehand launched telephones in India that have been powered by MediaTek chips, and the Nord 2T in Europe and the UK.

The Dimensity 810 chip not solely brings 5G assist however there’s additionally Bluetooth 5.3 and Wi-Fi 5.

Digital camera & Video

• 48Mp principal sensor
• 2Mp depth sensor
• 16Mp selfie digital camera

The Nord N300 5G has a two-camera setup on the again with a 48Mp principal lens and a 2Mp depth lens. 

The principle lens was capable of seize some good images. Typically these images can be completely acceptable to anybody pondering of shopping for this telephone.

Sachin Bahal / Foundry

This does include a caveat, in that the Nord N300 5G’s principal cameras solely carry out nicely in well-lit situations the place there’s a lot of gentle. 

Should you’re capturing in low gentle, you may take some respectable images however nothing that’ll blow your thoughts. Photographs could be grainy with lots of noise the place element is missing.

The digital camera app does characteristic a devoted Night time mode however it may be a bit gradual and take just a few seconds to seize a photograph.

For video, the Nord N300 5G can shoot as much as 1080p video at 30fps. The standard of the movies shot is sweet if barely undersaturated.

On the entrance, there’s a 16Mp selfie digital camera nevertheless it’s outright dangerous. Even in good lighting situations or throughout the day with a lot of ambient gentle, selfies look very blown out.

Battery Life & Charging

• 5,000mAh
• 33W wired charging 
• Adapter included

Battery life shouldn’t be a difficulty because the Nord N300 5G includes a large 5,000mAh battery that simply lasts all day.

Should you do end up needing to prime up, the Nord N300 5G comes with a 33W SUPERVOOC quick charger within the field. That is respectable, however not as quick as many different dearer Android telephones.

Utilizing the included charger, Nord N300 5G obtained round 26% in quarter-hour and round 50% after half-hour of charging. A full 0% to 100% cost took round 90 minutes.

Sachin Bahal / Foundry

Software program & Apps

• Android 12
• OxygenOS 12
• Just one OS replace promised

On the software program facet, the Nord N300 5G is operating Android 12 with Oxygen 12 on prime. In years previous, OxygenOS has modified visually to a glance that mimics Samsung’s OneUI in some ways.

With OxygenOS 12, the consumer interface (UI) has a little bit of Samsung flavour but additionally some touches of Oppo’s ColorOS. That is no accident, as Oppo and OnePlus are owned by the identical firm, BBK Group, and share a codebase for his or her software program.

OxygenOS 12 brings a barely refreshed design language with extra daring textual content and new icons. There’s additionally a customisable darkish mode that allows you to alter the shade of black or gray all through the UI.

Different options of OxygenOS 12 embody an improved Zen mode that helps you reduce distracting app use, an analogous Work Life Steadiness mode and new always-on show choices for the lockscreen.

For software program updates, the Nord N300 5G will solely be getting one software program replace (more than likely to OxygenOS 13/Android 13). This software program coverage is way beneath the likes of different funds Android telephones like Samsung’s Galaxy A collection which get at the very least three years of Android updates.

OnePlus hasn’t introduced when a OxygenOS 13/Android 13 replace will arrive to the Nord N300 5G nevertheless it seems to be prefer it’ll be someday in 2023.

Sachin Bahal / Foundry

Worth & Availability

The OnePlus Nord N300 is simply accessible within the US by way of the American courier T-Cell and its pre-paid subsidiary, Metro by T-Cell. 

The telephone prices $229 USD when shopping for it outright or in some circumstances as little as $0 relying on T-Cell’s offers.

With it’s price ticket, the Nord N300 5G is lower than $100 wanting its sibling, the Nord N20 5G. There’s additionally the Moto G Energy (2022) and the Samsung A13 5G.

The telephone will not be accessible within the UK.

Verdict

Total, the OnePlus Nord N300 5G is a good funds telephone for just a few causes. 

First, it doesn’t really feel like an inexpensive telephone, the construct high quality of the telephone makes it really feel like a dearer telephone.

Second, is that it has nice battery life that simply lasts a single day or extra and could be charged pretty rapidly.

There are just a few negatives to the Nord N300 5G just like the weak vibration motor and haptics and just one future Android replace however general there aren’t many higher choices at this worth within the US telephone market.

Specs

• Android 12 w/ OxygenOS 12
• 6.56in HD+ LCD 90Hz, 20:9, 
• Facet-mounted fingerprint sensor
• Face unlock
• 6nm MediaTek MT6833P Dimensity 810
• 4 RAM 
• 64GB UFS 2.2 with microSD card slot
• 48Mp, f/1.8, principal digital camera with OIS
• 2Mp, f/2.4 depth
• 16Mp, f/2.0 front-facing digital camera
• Twin audio system
• 5G
• WiFi 5
• Bluetooth 5.3
• USB-C port
• Headphone jack
• 5000mAh battery
• 33W quick charging
• 163.8 x 75.1 x 8mm
• 190g
• Launch colors: Midnight Jade