OnePlus Nord N20 5G review

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Introduction

OnePlus' strategy began shifting back in 2020 and the Chinese brand continues to shuffle around as it figures out how to solidify its offerings across Europe and North America. Specifically in the US, OnePlus offers its flagship 10 Pro, and two Nord models - the N200 5G, and now the N20 5G.

The N20 5G is priced at $282 and sits within a very competitive segment in the US' prepaid market. The Nord N20 5G is a T-Mobile/Metro-exclusive device in North America, though it is a rebadged Oppo Reno7Z 5G that's readily sold in other markets.

Compared to its predecessor, the Nord N20 brings a brighter AMOLED screen with in-display scanner, higher capacity battery, and sleeker design. The N20 5G drops the 8MP ultrawide camera but keeps the 64MP main camera and 2MP monochrome and macro shooters. It also updates the battery capacity and adds an in-display scanner - now possible thanks to the switch to AMOLED.

OnePlus Nord N20 5G specs at a glance:

• Body: 159.9x73.2x7.5mm, 173g; Schott Xensation Up cover glass, plastic frame and back cover
• Display: 6.43" AMOLED, sRGB, DCI P3, 1080x2400px resolution, 20:9 aspect ratio, 409ppi.
• Chipset: Qualcomm SM6375 Snapdragon 695 5G (6 nm): Octa-core (2x2.2 GHz Kryo 660 Gold & 6x1.7 GHz Kryo 660 Silver); Adreno 619.
• Memory: 6GB, 128GB; LPDDR4x, UFS 2.2.
• OS/Software: Android 11, Oxygen OS 11.
• Rear camera: Wide (main): 64 MP, f/1.8, PDAF; Monochrome: 2 MP, f/2.4; Macro: 2 MP, f/2.4.
• Front camera: 16 MP, f/2.4.
• Video capture: Main: 1080p@30fps, 720p@120/30fps, EIS; Front camera: 1080p@30fps.
• Battery: 4,500mAh; 33W SuperVOOC.
• Misc: Fingerprint reader (under display, optical); NFC; Bluetooth 5.1; GPS (L1+L5 Dual Band), GLONASS, Galileo, A-GPS.

The Nord N20 comes with Android 11/OxygenOS 11 out of the box, so it misses out on the awkward mishmash of OxygenOS and ColorOS that came with version 12, pre-loaded out of the box on the OnePlus 10 Pro. Meanwhile, the Snapdragon 695 5G is now on the 6nm process versus the 690's 8nm. With the bump in battery size and the switch to AMOLED, and a more efficient chipset, we anticipate significantly improved battery endurance and notably improved CPU performance.

The OnePlus Nord N20 5G does omit one of OnePlus' most unique features: the physical alert slider. Granted, this isn't a deal breaker for a device of this price range, and up until now, we're beginning to get used to the idea of OnePlus rebranding Oppo devices and selling them in the US under the more established OnePlus brand since Oppo has no presence in the US market.

With the Nord N20 5G, OnePlus is solidifying its budget 5G smartphone offerings under the Nord branding. The US only sees OnePlus' cheaper Nord devices and select OnePlus flagship models so it will be interesting to see how the company continues to roll out its branding throughout North America. To start, we're going to unwrap the Nord N20 5G and see what we're working with.

Unboxing

The Nord N20 5G comes with the essentials: a 33W SuperVOOC charger, USB-C to A charging cable, documentation, and SIM-eject tool. We kind of wish OnePlus stickers and a factory case were included here, but that's something apparently reserved for the red-box OnePlus flagships.

Now that we've unboxed the new Nord, let's dive into the device's hardware, handsome looks, materials, and connectivity onboard.