Skilled’s Score
Execs
- Nice battery life
- First rate cameras
- Quick wired charging
- Strong wanting show
Cons
- Weak vibration motor
- Just one main software program replace
- The digicam doesn’t work properly in all circumstances
Our Verdict
The OnePlus Nord N300 5G is a good finances cellphone that’s good worth for cash however has a few quirks.
Value When Reviewed
$229.99
Greatest Costs At present: OnePlus Nord N300
OnePlus’ Nord lineup has been rising robust 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 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 cellphone additionally helps to securely maintain it in a single hand.
Sachin Bahal / Foundry
Regardless of weighing a little bit heavy on the cellphone scales at 190g, the Nord N300 doesn’t really feel too heavy and is pretty well-balanced. This can be attributed to the plastic body and plastic again of the cellphone, which feels good and doesn’t scream finances cellphone.
The cellphone is barely obtainable 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 choice obtainable comparable to blue as we’ve seen on OnePlus telephones earlier than.
The again of the cellphone has a small digicam 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 & Audio system
- 6.56in display
- 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 charge 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 don’t pop as a lot as on a cellphone with an AMOLED show.
Just 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 achieved for probably the most half.
The cellphone additionally options twin audio system which sound advantageous, however aren’t as full bodied or properly 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 as if the naked minimal in Android telephones today. With the slight laggy nature of the N300, it kind of exhibits.
Total, the Dimensity 810 chip will get the job typically however there have been a couple 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 have 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 important sensor
- 2Mp depth sensor
- 16Mp selfie digicam
The Nord N300 5G has a two-camera setup on the again with a 48Mp important lens and a 2Mp depth lens.
The principle lens was in a position to seize some good photographs. Most often these photographs 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 important cameras solely carry out properly in well-lit circumstances the place there’s plenty of gentle.
In the event you’re taking pictures in low gentle, you may take some respectable photographs however nothing that’ll blow your thoughts. Pictures might be grainy with lots of noise the place element is missing.
The digicam app does characteristic a devoted Night time mode however it may be a bit gradual and take a couple 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 digicam nevertheless it’s outright dangerous. 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 encompasses a huge 5,000mAh battery that simply lasts all day.
In the event 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 received 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 person 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 regulate the shade of black or gray all through the UI.
Different options of OxygenOS 12 embody an improved Zen mode that helps you cut back 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 (most definitely to OxygenOS 13/Android 13). This software program coverage is way beneath the likes of different finances Android telephones like Samsung’s Galaxy A collection which get a minimum of 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 appears to be like prefer it’ll be someday in 2023.
Sachin Bahal / Foundry
Value & Availability
The OnePlus Nord N300 is barely obtainable within the US through the American courier T-Cellular and its pre-paid subsidiary, Metro by T-Cellular.
The cellphone prices $229 USD when shopping for it outright or in some circumstances as little as $0 relying on T-Cellular’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 will not be obtainable within the UK.
Verdict
Total, the OnePlus Nord N300 5G is a good finances cellphone for a couple 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 might be charged pretty shortly.
There are a couple of negatives to the Nord N300 5G just like the weak vibration motor and haptics and just one future Android replace however total there aren’t many higher choices at this worth within the US cellphone market.
Specs
- Android 12 w/ OxygenOS 12
- 6.56in HD+ LCD 90Hz, 20:9,
- Aspect-mounted fingerprint sensor
- Face unlock
- 6nm MediaTek MT6833P Dimensity 810
- 4 RAM
- 64GB UFS 2.2 with microSD card slot
- 48Mp, f/1.8, important digicam with OIS
- 2Mp, f/2.4 depth
- 16Mp, f/2.0 front-facing digicam
- 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
