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OnePlus built its reputation on Android phones with impressive features for low prices.
TheNord N30 5Gwould make those OG devices proud, but it exists in a very different landscape.
Making a great budget equipment isn’t a party trick anymore.
Hannah Stryker / How-To Geek
Back when the OnePlus 1 was released in 2014, budget devices were pretty darn bad.
The OnePlus 1 was a breath of fresh air—the specs you care about for a reasonable price.
As time has gone on, more companies have seen the value in this category.
Hannah Stryker / How-To Geek
Budget devices aren’t as much of an afterthought anymore.
Meanwhile, OnePlus hasshifted more toward flagship devices.
I’ve been using the OnePlus Nord N30 5G as my primary phone for two weeks.
Hannah Stryker / How-To Geek
There’s a lot to like about it, but there are some pretty big misses as well.
Let’s dive in.
However, the OnePlus Nord N30 doesn’t look like a phone that only costs $300.
Hannah Stryker / How-To Geek
All is not what it appears when looking at the Nord N30 5G, though.
The sides do feel like plastic, but I was fooled into believing the back is glass.
The biggest design feature is the huge double camera protrusions near the top of the rear side.
Joe Fedewa / How-To Geek
This is a prettycommon design choice nowadays, and I really don’t like it.
The Nord N30 is very wobbly when lying on a flat surface.
I shouldn’t need a case to correct such an obvious problem.
Hannah Stryker / How-To Geek
It’s a good fingerprint scanner, and I don’t mind the placement, but Android complicates things.
Enabling “Enter Home Screen After Unlocking” in the options doesn’t fix it, either.
A small gripe, admittedly.
Hannah Stryker / How-To Geek
The big display paired with flat, sharp edges makes for an uncomfortable phone to hold.
Display: I Can’t See It
Opposite the bulky camera protrusions is a 6.7-inch screen.
It’s an LCD panel with a 1080p display and a max refresh rate of 120Hz.
Hannah Stryker / How-To Geek
It doesn’t look as good as the LCD panel on theOnePlus Pad tablet.
1080p resolution, on the other hand, is perfectly fine.
QHD would be nice, but it’s an expected downgrade for a $300 unit.
Hannah Stryker / How-To Geek
Typically, polarized sunglasses let light pass through in vertical directions, and the phone screen emits vertical light.
The screen looks black.
Related:OnePlus Pad Review: First Try’s the Charm?
Hannah Stryker / How-To Geek
Well, the OnePlus Nord N30 5G—or at least the unit I received—is the opposite.
The display looks black in portrait mode when I’m wearing sunglasses.
It’s summer here in Michigan, which has made using the Nord N30 5G incredibly annoying.
The OnePlus home screen launcher has a feature called the “Shelf.”
It’s essentially a separate screen exclusively for widgets—but only a select few OnePlus apps and Spotify.
The Shelf widgets are extremely iOS-like, and they weirdly can’t be used on the actual home screen.
This is only my second experience with OxygenOS, but I remain mostly impressed withOnePlus' skin.
It’s a nice balance of adding helpful features without going overboard.
OnePlus claims the 108MP resolution allows the camera to have 3X lossless digital zoom.
The marketing actually says, “Telephoto lens, shmelephoto lens!
Who needs telephoto lenses when your main camera has 3 lossless zoom?”
Well, I’d prefer to have one.
My zoomed-in photos often came out pretty blurry, as is expected from digital zoom.
Non-zoomed in photos, however, are pretty good for a equipment in this price range.
If you shoot in 108MP, you’ll get better details and more realistic colors.
Also unsurprising is the low-light performance—it’s not great.
And don’t even try taking photos in low light with the 3X zoom.
The secondary cameras aren’t super exciting.
You get a pair of 2MP cameras in the lower camera protrusion for depth and macro.
I don’t find these particularly useful.
I’d much prefer to have a zoom lens or a wide-angle lens.
However, it’s still a great combo for a unit in this price range.
I used the Nord N30 as my primary equipment for a couple of weeks.
This is a bump from the N20’s 33W fast charging.
Should You Buy the OnePlus Nord N30 5G?
OnePlus originally made waves with devices that had impressive specs and features for their low price points.
However, OnePlus is far from the only manufacturer making compelling budget devices these days.
Both devices also offer slightly more powerful processors, and the Pixel 7a even has wireless charging.
This price range is where OnePlus' “Never Settle” mantra makes the most sense.
