OnePlus Nord N300 5G Evaluation: Stable Specs for Beneath $230

Value When Reviewed

$229.99

Greatest Costs At present: 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 increase into budget-friendly territory within the US with the Nord N300 5G.

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

As you’ll see, I believe it’s a combined 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 cellphone additionally helps to securely maintain it in a single hand.

Regardless of weighing somewhat heavy on the cellphone 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 cellphone, which feels good and doesn’t scream price range cellphone. 

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

The again of the cellphone has a small digital camera bump that’s barely noticeable however there’s a very slight wobble when placing the cellphone 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 along with a 90Hz refresh price that makes navigating the cellphone a lot smoother. 

The show itself appears to be like 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 cellphone with an AMOLED show.

Much like different Nord fashions, the vibrations and haptics aren’t the perfect within the Nord N300 5G. They could possibly be a lot stronger however they get the job completed for essentially the most half. 

The cellphone additionally options twin audio system which sound high quality, however aren’t as full bodied or effectively 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 cellphone has 4GB of RAM which looks like the naked minimal in Android telephones as of late. With the slight laggy nature of the N300, it form of reveals.

General, the Dimensity 810 chip will get the job generally however there have been a number of events the place an app took a while to open such because the Google Play Retailer. 

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

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

Digicam & Video

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

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

The principle lens was capable of seize some good pictures. Usually these pictures can be completely acceptable to anybody considering of shopping for this cellphone.

Sachin Bahal / Foundry

This does include a caveat, in that the Nord N300 5G’s primary cameras solely carry out effectively in well-lit circumstances the place there’s plenty of gentle. 

Should you’re taking pictures in low gentle, you’ll be able to take some respectable pictures however nothing that’ll blow your thoughts. Photographs may be grainy with loads of noise the place element is missing.

The digital camera app does function a devoted Evening mode however it may be a bit gradual and take a number of 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 nice if barely undersaturated.

On the entrance, there’s a 16Mp selfie digital camera but it surely’s outright unhealthy. Even in good lighting circumstances or in the course of the day with plenty 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 incorporates 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 acquired 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 in addition 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 embrace an improved Zen mode that helps you cut back distracting app use, the same Work Life Stability 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 (probably to OxygenOS 13/Android 13). This software program coverage is way beneath the likes of different price range Android telephones like Samsung’s Galaxy A collection which get at the least three years of Android updates.

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

Sachin Bahal / Foundry

Value & 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 cellphone prices $229 USD when shopping for it outright or in some instances 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 cellphone shouldn’t be accessible within the UK.

Verdict

General, the OnePlus Nord N300 5G is an honest price range cellphone for a number of causes. 

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

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

There are a number of 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 value within the US cellphone 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, primary 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