(Pocket-lint) – If the OnePlus Nord 2T feels familiar, that’s because it is. With just over six months of breathing room between this model and the Nord 2, it appears to represent a shift in launch cycle habits from the company.
In itself, that may be no bad thing, with customers across different regions given more choice when picking a mid-range smartphone.
However, on paper, there doesn’t appear to be much difference between the Nord 2T and Nord 2.
So, is this a pointless refresh, or a phone worthy of its place in the OnePlus range?
Our thoughts on the Nord 2T are a little torn. On the one hand, this is a very solid, easy-to-recommend phone that fits comfortably underneath the $400 / £400 / €400 price bracket (if you get the 8GB model). There’s no doubt it’s one of the very best mid-range phones.
On the other hand, despite some improvements over the standard Nord 2, we’re struggling to see the need for it to exist at all. It does allow OnePlus to stay ahead of the curve and talk about how it has the latest Mediatek Dimensity 1000-series processor, but that doesn’t necessarily translate into a tangible benefit for the consumer.
It doesn’t provide a significant boost over the Nord 2 in any way except, perhaps, the charging speed, which even then is only shaving a few minutes off the full charge time.
On the whole, it feels like an iteration for the sake of it, rather than one that genuinely improves the experience in any meaningful way.
However, if you have a limited budget, there aren’t many better phones available in this price range, so it’s still a very sensible purchase.
Design
- 159.1 x 73.2 x 8.2mm
- 190g
- Grey Shadow and Jade Fog colours
- Glass front and back, plastic frame
It’s rare for a company to upgrade and refresh a product line, introduce a tweaked design and actually make it worse. And yet, OnePlus has managed it with the OnePlus Nord 2T. Of course, from the front, it’s basically identical to its predecessor, but it most definitely isn’t from the back.
