OnePlus NORD N100 review
In the last period, the OnePlus company wanted to try its hand in a decidedly new guise, compared to the standard of its smartphones, or by proposing an entry level device on the market, although the launch price was not particularly in focus. We refer to OnePlus NORD N100, which now makes more sense if we consider a decline that brings the list price at 149 euros, sold through Amazon with Prime shipping. Could we therefore miss the opportunity to try it? Of course not and so here we are talking about OnePlus Nord N100 in this complete review.
On offer on Amazon
Unfortunately, already from the unboxing experience we realize that the company has not put much effort on this device, thus configuring us a decidedly basic package content and which is composed as follows:
- OnePlus NORTH N100;
- USB Type-C charging and data transfer cable (iconic red color);
- Wall charger with European socket and 9V - 2A / 18W output;
We therefore have no accessories, such as earphones, phone protective covers and not even a protective display film.
The phone itself is indeed an entry level and the design and materials used certainly do not want to hide this nature. Therefore OnePlus NORD N100 uses a back cover made of polycarbonate, not really well made considering that net of an opaque color, fingerprints and dirt in general are significantly retained. The only disturbing elements of the rear design is the photographic module with 3 optics which is accompanied by an LED flash and the fingerprint sensor, almost flush with the body.
While I appreciated that the photographic module was poco protruding from the body and therefore does not create excessive movements when placing the phone on a surface, the fingerprint sensor has not proved so reliable, indeed there are many times in which the registered fingerprint has not been recognized.
The profiles are also made of plastic, this time glossy, where on the right side we find the power button while on the opposite side we find the volume rocker and the SIM tray, able to accommodate 2 SIM in nano format or 1 SIM and Micro SD to expand the integrated memory with support up to 512 GB, but giving up the Dual SIM Dual Standby functionality.
We therefore lose the iconic slider that allows immediate recognition of a brand device, while in the upper profile we find only the second microphone for the reduction of environmental noise. Below are the 3,5 mm jack input for earphones, main microphone, Type-C input with OTG support and system speaker, which in combination with the headset capsule offers us stereo sound.
In this respect it is definitely a plus, which almost no entry level smartphone offers, even if the volume offered is not generous and above all the low frequencies seem almost absent. Returning instead to the connection issue, OnePlus Nord N100 supports the 20 band and always manages to aggregate the signal in 4G +, although the browsing speed does not go beyond 50/60 Mbps. Overall, however, I had no reception problems as well as the 'audio on call was always quite crystal clear.
The entry level of OnePlus is configured with dimensions equal to 164.9 x 75.1 x 8.49 mm and a weight of 188 grams, partly justified by the 5000 mAh battery that supports fast charging from 18W. From the point of view of autonomy nothing to criticize, indeed we always manage to take home at least 6 hours of active screen, extending the use even to 2 days. As for ergonomics, the phone is certainly not one of the most compact in circulation, but the materials used give it a good grip with the smartphone, thus turning a blind eye to the absence of a supplied cover.
On the front we find ourselves in the presence of a 6,52-inch IPS type screen in HD + resolution (720 x 1600 pixels) in 20: 9 format and a definition of 269 ppi. The display is also covered by a layer of Corning Gorilla Glass 3 with 2.5 D processing but what has left us perplexed (both positively and negatively) is the possibility of using a refresh rate at 90 Hz.
We will not always have this update frequency available, as the software will manage it based on the content shown, but it is possible to appreciate the increase in fluidity in certain areas of use. In any case, we could always decide whether to use 90 or 60 Hz. A feature that is certainly nice to have on your phone, but perhaps it would have made more sense to insert a more resolute panel, considering that all the multimedia contents that can be viewed at screen will stop at only 720p 60fps.
Ok the absence of HDR, which I would not have expected on such a low price range, but now a display lower than Full HD is starting to be decidedly too obsolete. Therefore, net of DRM Widevine L3, to be honest, the colors returned by the OnePlus NORD N100 screen are definitely appreciable and above all even at close range you do not notice the pixel grid, a sign that the panel used is well made.
Remaining on the front we notice the presence of the punch hole, translated towards the left side of the display, in which the selfie camera has been inserted which also allows the unlocking of the phone through face recognition, which in this case proved to be more performing than the fingerprint sensor, even in unfavorable lighting conditions.
The frames that surround the screen are not really optimized, on the contrary the lower one is rather pronounced, while there is nothing to complain about the ear capsule and the proximity and brightness sensors that overall have always done their job very well. I also remember that the ear capsule in combination with the system speaker offers stereo sound, even in hands-free.
As for the connectivity sector, in addition to the 3,5 mm jack we have the presence of a dual band WiFi module, Bluetooth 5.0 and GPS that also hooks the Galileo satellites. We have no FM radio or NFC, while the operation of the above has proved to be good but nothing so striking as to stand out from the competition.
On offer on Amazon
The soul of this OnePlus NORD N100 is characterized by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 460 CPU, octacore solution with maximum clock at 1,8 GHz, Kryo 240 structure and 11nm production process, which is joined by the Adreno 610 GPU. The processor is relatively new. in the smartphone world, so much so that some programs recognize it as Snapdragon 662, but apart from that I must say that more disappointments prevail than anything else, even without pushing us into more extreme areas of use, such as for gaming.
In fact, if with titles such as Asphalt 9, the gameplay is characterized by some lag and frame loss, even in the daily environment we do not have noteworthy performance. The loading times of the app are not fast but overall I don't feel like failing this device. In fact, after getting used to it, the overall user experience is less dramatic than other smartphones, but in this case we are talking about a OnePlus terminal and from the company I would have expected it to have been able to optimize the 4 GB of LPDDR4X RAM. and the 64 GB of internal storage of the UFS 2.1 type enjoyed by the N100.
In short, OnePlus NORD N100 is a somewhat tied terminal, with fluid animations but responsiveness below expectations, so much so that on some occasions you can run into some phone freezes. Strange thing, considering that this smartphone enjoys one of the most popular software in circulation in the Android landscape, or the OxygenOS based on Android 10, offering a decidedly similar experience to Android Stock without giving up many customizations as well as enjoying interesting functions, such as Game Space mode. Personally, I fly over the Zen Mode function, praised by the various fanboys, but in my opinion useless as a spoon with holes in it, but the good thing is that OxygenOS is one of the most updated firmware and that OnePlus is one of the companies that most cares about this area. so much so that there are already two updates received during my use.
But what really left a bad taste in the mouth of this smartphone is the photographic and video yield, which relies on the rear 3 optics, whose primary sensor is a 13 MP with f / 2.2 aperture that enjoys autofocus and stabilization. digital EIS, while the other two lenses both have a resolution of 2 MP with f / 2.4, which perform the function of macro photography and data collection of depth of field for bokeh effect.
The selfie camera instead uses an 8 MP sensor with f / 2.0 aperture. At a software level we have automatic HDR while the maximum resolution for videos is 1080p 30 fps. I didn't mention night mode or anything else because OnePlus thought it well (I'm sarcastic) to offer basic software, all too simple.
Unfortunately in my test period I have never been able to benefit from sunny days and therefore the maximum brightness available, indeed only rain and snow, but in any case the judgment on photos and videos is barely enough. You feel the absence of a stabilization that does its job well, as well as the bokeh effect is definitely too strong, detaching the subject too much from the background. The photos at night do not even reach the sufficiency and overall, the results obtained by OnePlus NORD N100 do not go beyond the use on social networks.
On offer on Amazon
PROJECTED IMPACT
OnePlus NORD N100 is currently being sold at 149 euros via Amazon, in the only memory cut 4/64 GB. It is not a smartphone that stands out and excels in any area, indeed compared to many other models with a similar price perhaps it does its job even worse.
Personally I hoped that OnePlus was a winner from this experiment, if so, but perhaps it is better that it stays and does what it has become appreciated by the many fanboys around the world. I would probably recommend this smartphone only to those looking for great reliability in the software and above all a certainty of constant and future updates, which maybe could improve many smudges that we have told in this review.
