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OnePlus Nord 3 5G primary camera samples (tap to see larger size)
Oddly, the Photo mode in the camera app tends to adds some pink hue over human skin tones. Portrait mode shots on the other hand offer good background blur while getting the skin tones right. In low light, there’s a good balance of exposure between the highlights and shadows. The good thing here is that the night sky does look grey and not dark blue. So far, the OnePlus Nord 3’s primary camera performance is one of the best that I have seen in its segment.
OnePlus Nord 3 5G camera samples (Top row: Portrait mode, Photo mode; Bottom row: Low-light camera samples)
The ultra-wide camera, though, is quite average. For starters, the colour temperature is different compared to the main camera with slightly cooler tones. As expected, details are weaker, especially around the distorted edges. The 16-megapixel front camera’s daylight performance is good for the price. It gets human skin tones right most of the time and the portrait mode blur looks natural too.
OnePlus Nord 3 5G camera samples (Top row: Ultra-wide; Bottom row: Front camera)
Recorded videos from the OnePlus Nord 3 5G is quite impressive for the price. The rear camera can capture up to 4K 60fps videos. The dynamic range performance is quite good and so are the colours, which are close to natural. The front camera gets the segment-standard video recording limit of 1080p 30fps, which is quite okay with natural colours and passable dynamic range performance.
Verdict
The OnePlus Nord 3 5G checks almost all the boxes to be a potential contender for the best smartphone under Rs. 40,000 in India, at the moment. It has a bigger and better display than its predecessor, a flagship-grade performance unit and a capable set of cameras. Software experience also is pretty clean and feature-rich.
The only downsides that I see are the underwhelming ultra-wide camera and the fact that it only gets a basic IP rating. The slightly affordable Motorola Edge 40 and the Samsung Galaxy A34 5G (Review) offer IP68 and IP67 ratings, respectively.
The price of the Nord 3 5G has also gone up by a few thousand rupees compared to the outgoing model. The 16GB RAM variant sits quite close to the OnePlus 11R (Review), which is priced at Rs. 39,999 and offers a curved-edge AMOLED display and a Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 SoC, with a similar set of cameras and slightly faster 100W charging. However, if you want an all-rounder smartphone without stretching your budget too much, I think the OnePlus Nord 3 5G is still a great buy.
