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OnePlus has built a strong core in the budget segment with the Nord series in the past few years, which now also has Nord CE and Nord CE Lite models in the market. The company claims its sales numbers have been helped by the Nord lineup that do not cost as much as the regular OnePlus phones.

But with a Nord phone, you also see that the OnePlus signature is missing, with no alert slider but you have the option to expand the storage. The Nord CE 3 Lite is the latest addition from OnePlus Nord that looks to compete in a crowded space but does it have in its feature set to stand out from the rest of the options in the segment? We tell you in this review.

OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite Review: What’s Cool?

OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite has an eye-catching design thanks to the new pastel lime colour. The overall quality of the phone reeks of its price range, and most of you would be fine with the way the phone grips in the hand thanks to its lightweight dimensions. While the back panel is made of plastic, including the frame, you don’t feel it being cheap which is always a good sign with the OnePlus logo at the back adding to its value.

The new Nord CE Lite model gets 8GB RAM by default which is a definite upgrade on the 6GB RAM you had with the Nord CE 2 Lite last year. You get the 5G Snapdragon 695 chipset which also powered the predecessor but the slight tweak in the OS seems to have helped with its fluidity to some extent.

With this hardware you can easily get the regular tasks such as browsing the web, checking social media and casual gaming done with ease. Like we said, there is a microSD card slot (hybrid with the SIM slot) which helps you with physical expansion of the storage, while virtually you can expand the RAM using the internal storage.

Nord CE 3 Lite gets the OxygenOS version based on Android 13 which doesn’t have a lot of bloatware unlike most phones in this range. The customisation options that OnePlus offers is also available here with this phone and people can play around with the tools available out of the box.

The new Nord CE Lite comes with a 108MP primary rear camera that manages to capture detailed images that have a balanced colour output in most cases. The phone still has a 5000mAh battery but this year you get it with 67W fast charging out of the box, while in the box you have a 80W charging adapter.

The battery life should keep you happy for the whole day, and once you’re out of juice, use the charger and you’ll be up and running in less than 40 minutes.

OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite Review: What’s Not So Cool?

Nord CE 3 Lite sports an LCD display which is claimed to give you a 120Hz refresh rate screen. But we noticed that the highest rate was barely activated thanks to the lack of compatible apps or games. You are mostly stuck to 90Hz refresh rate (RR) which coupled with the LCD panel doesn’t deliver the best experience in this range. You also notice the colours look a bit washed out which suggests the display has been poorly calibrated.

The hardware used by OnePlus for the Nord CE 3 Lite is bang average and not at all suited for heavy gamers. We would have liked the company to go for a new chipset but that could have bumped up the price tag. With respect to the design, the Nord CE 3 Lite does not have the alert slider that OnePlus has been known for with its mobiles. It might not be a deal breaker but seems to be part of the cost cutting that OnePlus has done for these models.

We talked about the 108MP camera being respectable, but the other two didn’t get any special mention because they just about make up the numbers. You don’t get an ultrawide sensor, instead you have two 2MP depth and macro sensors.

OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite Review: Should You Buy?

The Nord CE 3 Lite has a few upgrades. The design feels freshened up, the hardware gets an 8GB RAM boost, there is a new 108MP camera at the back which manages to click decent images in normal conditions. The chipset is the same as before so you don’t see any major performance gains. The default software has less bloatware compared to the rivals with more customisation options. The in-built battery gets 67W charging support which definitely aids the long battery life. Now, coming to drawbacks, you have an average LCD display which barely reaches its 120 RR. The hardware is not suited for heavy games or heavy multitasking. The secondary cameras are nothing to write home about.

So where does the Nord CE 3 Lite stand with its rivals? You get a competitive product but it is not the only option for buyers. You have the Xiaomi Redmi Note 12 with an AMOLED display and better camera as well as the design. Realme 10 Pro is also worth looking at for its elegant design and other features. OnePlus has clearly played it safe with the Nord CE 3 Lite which in some ways makes it one of the many options for buyers, not the only one worth buying.