The much-anticipated Nord N20 ($282) aims to capture the true spirit of a OnePlus phone: smooth performance and impressive design at a very competitive price. Last year’s outstanding Nord N10 ($299.99) fits that bill every which way, with its 90Hz display, 5G support, and ultra-wide camera. The Nord N20 is a little less successful in its goals. The phone looks distinctive and feels fast (both in terms of UI navigation and download speeds on T-Mobile’s 5G network), but its cameras aren’t very competitive. The Samsung Galaxy A32 5G ($279.99) remains our Editors’ Choice award winner for budget-friendly Android phones due to its superior imaging capabilities and software upgrade policy. But if you’re not looking to focus on camera quality, the Nord N20 is a compelling option.
An exclusive design and impressive battery life
The Nord N20 is the most stylish affordable phone I’ve seen in 2022, and I don’t expect another model to bridge that gap this year. It has an attractive flat back with two bold, gold-edged camera lenses near the top corner. The back panel looks black at an angle, but straight up, it shines like special automotive paint. And although the edges aren’t perfectly square, they are sharp compared to Motorola and Samsung phones. The handset measures roughly 6.3 by 2.9 by 0.3 inches (HWD) and weighs about 6.1 ounces; It’s slightly smaller and lighter than the Galaxy A32 (6.5 by 3.0 by 0.4 inches, 7 ounces).
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The flat back is striking (Photo: Sasha Segan)
The phone’s 6.43-inch, 1080p, 60Hz OLED panel appears to enhance color richness (contrast levels, in particular, are admirable) compared to outright brightness, but I didn’t have trouble with screen visibility outside. For reference, the Samsung Galaxy A53’s panel is brighter by comparison, although the phone is priced at $449.99.
The 3.5mm headphone jack at the bottom of the phone is something I’ve always appreciated. Motorola still includes a physical headphone connector on its handsets, but Samsung has begun to phase them out on its lower-end models (the Galaxy A33 and Galaxy A53 both lack 3.5mm ports) as well. The headphone jack is especially useful here as the N20’s single, bottom-ported speaker sounds tinny and makes it easy to accidentally cover with your finger when you hold the phone in landscape mode. The speaker is unable to produce the signature bass frequency of our test track, The Knife’s “Silent Shout,” but, when I plugged in a pair of wired Bose headphones, the track regained its power.
Battery life and charging speed are exceptional features. We got 13 hours and 50 minutes in our video rundown test with the 4,500mAh battery, which is excellent. And when we left the phone on the shelf for a few days, it didn’t lose much charge. For comparison, the Galaxy A32 5G didn’t last as long in the same test (13 hours and 1 minute), but the $199.99 Motorola G Power lasted a considerable amount of time (16 hours and 7 minutes).
All hail the headphone jack (Photo: Sasha Segan)
Due to the N20’s support for 33W fast (wired) charging, we were able to recharge its depleted battery to 14% in seven minutes and to 50% in 27 minutes. That said, a full charge still takes 75 minutes (the last few percent go by more slowly), and the phone doesn’t support wireless charging. OnePlus includes a wall adapter in the box.
Display and software: when 11 is greater than 12
The OnePlus Nord N20 uses a Qualcomm Snapdragon 695 chipset with two 2.21GHz ARM Cortex A78 cores and six 1.8GHz ARM Cortex-A55 cores. It offers 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage (106GB is available out of the box). Notably, a microSD card slot lets you add additional storage (up to 512GB).
Benchmark-wise, the N20 doesn’t stand out. Its Geekbench multi-core score of 1,982 is better than the Samsung Galaxy A53 (1,826), but on the application-focused PCMark Work benchmark, the A53 (11,675) completely outperforms the N20 (7,650).
App icons look great in OxygenOS 11 (Photo: Sasha Segan)
Application performance is solid, unless you’re trying to play high-end games like Genshin Impact. That title is playable, but the load time took too long and I noticed instances of stuttering during gameplay.
Hardware performance aside, I maintain that OnePlus’ OxygenOS 11 Android skin is second only to Google’s skin for Pixel devices. It emphasizes speed and ease of use, features clean icons and a very readable font, and enables extremely fast scrolling and app transitions. Despite what the benchmark results indicate, the sharp skin changes, in particular, make the N20 feel sharper than competing Samsung phones.
You can complain that the N20 doesn’t run Android 12, but I’m going to take a smoking-hot one here: At least for OnePlus devices, Android 11 is better. Android 12 doesn’t bring noticeable new features to OnePlus phones, and OnePlus’ Android 12 skin is a disaster. As I tell in my OnePlus 10 Pro reviewOxygenOS 11 is sleek, sleek and simple; OxygenOS 12 is overloaded and ugly. OxygenOS 13 is supposed to be better, but this phone will not get that version.
Older versions of Android become a problem when the phone no longer receives security updates or when third-party apps become less compatible. OnePlus promises three years of security updates, so this handset should be fine for the next few years.
solid cellular connectivity
OnePlus plans to release an unlocked version of the Nord N20, but the model I’ve tested seems almost obsolete for T-Mobile. It supports both the 2/25/41/66/71 5G bands as well as the carrier’s “range band” (71) and “speed band” (41). Just note that, on any other carrier, this is a mediocre 4G phone. The N20 doesn’t have millimeter-wave 5G, but that’s not what we expect at this price.
T-Mobile’s momentum is solid (Photo: Sasha Segan)
Speeds on T-Mobile’s mid-band network are just as good as those on other midrange phones, and there’s nothing to me about reception or call quality. Calls are heard clearly, although the speakerphone is a bit quiet compared to other midrange phones. It tops out at 87dB at a distance of six inches, compared to the Moto G Stylus 5G’s 92dB and the Samsung Galaxy A32’s 94dB. Still, that performance is within the normal range.
Camera: Limited spec
The Nord N20 comes with three main camera lenses, two of which are surprising and useless. The primary 64MP sensor typically produces 12MP photos and uses sensor-cropping techniques to simulate 2x zoom. You also get 2MP monochrome and macro cameras. Oddly, there isn’t a monochrome photo mode, so the former could function more as a depth sensor. For a macro camera, I really don’t understand why manufacturers keep spending money on this frequently used part; This implementation is particularly questionable, given the low megapixel count. I would have preferred an ultra-wide or zoom lens.
Photos taken in good light are fine (Photo: Sasha Segan)
The camera performs well in good light. It nets the image with good dynamic range and doesn’t overpower bright skies. Portrait mode isn’t perfect—I noticed some blurring on the hairs that blow through—but it’s good enough for most use cases.
On the other hand, performance in low light is disappointing. You get a Night Mode, unlike Apple’s $429 iPhone SE, but this mode produced significantly darker and dirtier photos in testing than the Samsung Galaxy A53.
The Nord N20’s Night Mode (right) isn’t quite as good as the Samsung Galaxy A53 (left) (Photo: Sasha Segan)
The A53 is, of course, a more expensive handset, but our complaints are still valid as other phones priced similarly to the N20 offer better imaging capabilities. For example, the Nord N10 and Galaxy A32 both have ultra-wide lenses, and the latter performs better in low-light environments.
A Strong Budget-Friendly Contender
In 2021, OnePlus introduced two low-cost phones on T-Mobile: the $299 N10 and the $239 N200. The N20 serves as the successor to both those devices; It’s all about splitting the cost between them, and providing an experience that suits its $282 price tag. OnePlus could have designed the N20 better for the US market, though I suspect the company spent more time this year on integration with Oppo and preparing new models for international markets. Thus, Samsung’s Galaxy A32 5G suits the needs of most US phone owners. The Nord N20 falls slightly short of the Galaxy A32 in benchmarks and camera performance, but it’s worth considering if you prefer its better looks and better screen.
Bottom-line
OnePlus Nord N20 is a sleek, attractive and affordable phone; Just don’t expect a flagship camera experience.
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