Reviews

OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite review

Its a good budget phone that offers some flagship features at a lower price.

The OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite is the latest addition to the OnePlus Nord series, which aims to offer a fast and smooth experience at an affordable price.

The CE 3 Lite has some impressive features, such as a 108MP main camera, 67W fast charging, and a 120Hz 6.72-inch display. But how does it perform in real life? Let’s find out.

OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite specs

Display6.72-inch FHD IPS display, 2400×1080, 120Hz refresh rate, Corning Gorilla Glass
ProcessorQualcomm Snapdragon 695 5G
RAM/Storage8GB+256GB
Rear Camera108MP main
2MP depth
2MP macro
Front Camera16MP
Network5G, 4G LTE, Dual SIM
ConnectivityWi-Fi ac, Bluetooth 5.1, GPS, NFC
OthersSide fingerprint sensor, face unlock, USB-C, headphone jack, stereo speakers
OSOxygenOS, Android 13
ColorsPastel Lime, Chromatic Gray
Battery5000mAh Battery, 67W Wired SUPERVOOC fast charging

Design & Display

The OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite has a simple and sleek design, with a glass front, a plastic frame, and a plastic back. While our review unit is in the classic Chromatic Gray, it is also available in a hip Pastel Lime color.

OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite  Design

The phone has a hybrid dual SIM slot that supports microSD cards up to 1TB. It also has a 3.5mm headphone jack, which is fast becoming a rarity for mid-range devices these days.

The display of the CE 3 Lite is an IPS LCD panel with a resolution of 2400×1080 and a 91.4 percent screen-to-body ratio. It has a refresh rate of 120Hz, which makes the scrolling and animations smooth and fluid.

The display has a peak brightness of up to 680 nits, which makes it easy to view even in bright sunlight. It also has a Global DC Dimming feature, which reduces flickering and eye strain in low-light situations, and supports HD streaming on Netflix and Amazon Prime, thanks to its Widevine L1 certification. The phone features loud stereo speakers with 200% Ultra Volume Mode, which enhances the audio quality of the videos and games.

OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite  Display

As for the display, it is bright and colorful, with good viewing angles and contrast. It also has Corning Gorilla Glass protection. While the back of the phone has a minimalist camera bump that houses the triple camera setup and the LED flash.

Cameras

The OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite has a triple camera setup on the back, consisting of a 108MP main camera, a 2MP macro camera, and a 2MP depth camera. The main camera uses 9-in-1 pixel binning technology to capture more light and detail in low-light situations. It also supports 3x lossless zoom, which allows you to get closer to your subjects without losing quality.

OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite  Review

The main camera is not the best but it’s decent. It can take sharp and detailed photos in good lighting conditions with natural-looking colors. The zoom feature works well, but it can introduce some noise and artifacts at higher levels.

In low light, photos are reasonably fair in quality with some noise and artifacts. The colors lose some punchiness but otherwise are useable.

Photo Samples

3x Zoom Photo Samples

Low Light Photo Samples

The front camera of the CE 3 Lite is a 16MP selfie shooter with an f/2.4 aperture. It can take decent selfies in daylight, with good skin tones and exposure. It also has a portrait mode that adds a blur effect to the background, but it can sometimes look unnatural.

Selfie Photo Samples

The CE 3 Lite can record videos up to 1080p at 30fps with both the rear and front cameras. The video quality is average, with good stabilization and colors, but little detail or clarity. The phone also supports some creative features, such as Dual View Video, which lets you record with both cameras simultaneously, and slow-motion video at 720p/120 fps.

Performance

The OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 695 chipset, which is a mid-range processor with an octa-core CPU, an Adreno 619 GPU, and 5G connectivity. It also has 8GB of RAM and 256GB of internal storage. The phone also supports up to 8GB virtual RAM expansion, which uses some of the storage space as additional memory.

OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite  Review

The performance of the CE 3 Lite is smooth and responsive for most tasks, such as browsing, social media, messaging, and multitasking. The phone can handle casual games well but will struggle with more demanding ones in high settings. It also has some gaming features, such as Performance Mode, Quick Start, and Gaming Tools, which let you optimize your gaming experience.

Here are the benchmark scores:

  • AnTuTu V9.5.9: 404,554
    CPU: 122,659
    GPU: 101,439
    MEM: 72,173
    UX: 108,284
  • Geekbench 6: 893 (Single Core); 2,086 (Multi-core)
  • 3DMark Wildlife: 1,215

The CE 3 Lite runs on OxygenOS 13.1 based on Android 13. In my opinion, OxygenOS is a decent Android skin, thanks to its clean and minimalist interface that offers many customization options and useful features. The phone also promises two major Android updates and three years of security updates.

The battery of the CE 3 Lite is a 5,000mAh unit that can easily last for a full day or even two days with light to moderate usage. If you’re a heavy user, you might need to charge the phone before you end the day.

Also read: realme C55 review: Budget-friendly phone with an eye-catching design and the Mini Capsule

The phone also supports 67W fast charging that can fill up the battery from zero to 80 percent in 30 minutes. Meanwhile, charging to a full 100 percent takes about 45 minutes.

Final Thoughts

The OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite is a good budget phone that offers some flagship features at a lower price. It has a large and smooth display, a fast-charging battery, a high-resolution main camera, and reliable performance. However, it also has some drawbacks, such as a plastic build, average video quality, and average low-light camera quality.

If you are looking for a phone that can deliver a fast and smooth experience without breaking the bank, the OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite is worth considering. However, if you want a more premium design, better camera quality, or better performance, you may want to look elsewhere.

Price & Availability

In the Philippines, the OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite 8GB+256GB is priced at P14,990. You can buy it from all OPPO and OnePlus authorized stores nationwide, or online on Shopee and Lazada.

Bryan is a geek at heart and a tech enthusiast by choice. He has a strong background in corporate communications, marketing services, and customer relations having worked in the telecommunications and banking sectors for over two decades. In his spare time, he enjoys watching clips on YouTube and binge watching shows on Netflix.

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