OnePlus Nord N30 5G Review: A $300 Phone Overachiever

7.0/ 10
SCORE

OnePlus Nord N30 5G

$300 at OnePlus

Pros

• Truly fast charging
• Large 120Hz refresh rate screen
• NFC for contactless payments

Cons

• Mixed photography
• Short software update timeline

The OnePlus Nord N30 5G makes quite the first impression. OnePlus has stacked its $300 phone with features you simply don't see at this price. 

The phone's 108-megapixel main camera is the headline feature as far as the spec list is concerned, but the real star is the phone's included 50-watt SuperVooc charger. In multiple tests, I got the OnePlus Nord N30 5G to recharge its 5,000-mAh battery from near-zero to roughly 75% in 30 minutes. It's ludicrously fast, and similarly priced phones that max out at 15-watt charging speeds don't come close.

Despite the N30's high megapixel count, the camera is what gives away that this is a cheaper phone. It falls prey to many of the same issues as other phones that cost $300 or less: Its photos look nice in daytime settings but they struggle with scenes that include lots of movement or low light.

The other issue isn't with OnePlus so much as Google and its Pixel 6A, which has an excellent camera and consistently goes on sale for $300. But if photography isn't a high priority for you in a cheaper phone, the OnePlus N30 has many perks to consider that the Pixel doesn't. The N30 is only being sold in the US and Canada, but the $300 price roughly converts to £240, AU$440.

OnePlus Nord N30 5G design, specs

The OnePlus Nord N30 5G has an eye-catching design out of the box, accentuated by its two large camera bumps, its glossy back and a simple OnePlus logo. The result is flashy, and a bit of a fingerprint magnet. While the phone only comes in one color, phones at this price often sacrifice style, so it's good to see OnePlus ignore that trend.

The OnePlus Nord N30 5G has a bright 6.72-inch, 120Hz refresh rate display with a 1080p resolution. The screen makes videos, games, apps and websites look great and animate smoothly. It runs on a midrange Qualcomm Snapdragon 695 processor which pairs up nicely with the phone's 8GB of memory to run most apps and games while allowing for multitasking.

In our benchmark tests, the OnePlus' score compares favorably to the Moto G Power. In real-world use, this isn't a speedy phone, but it gets the job done.

The N30's OxygenOS is a light customization on top of Android 13, which adds in a game mode that automatically disables notifications and shifts some resources for games. Like last year's OnePlus N300, you aren't going to crank out power-intensive graphics with this phone.

The N30 will only receive one software update to Android 14, along with three years of security updates. While this timeline matches what Motorola offers its Moto G phones, it's still disappointing that budget phones often get shorter update timelines, especially when Samsung's A-series phones often get longer support. Plus Google's Pixel 6A, despite being a year old, has two more years of software updates and four more years of security updates remaining.

OnePlus Nord N30 5G charging speed, battery

As I mentioned in the introduction, the N30's 50-watt charging speed is easily the best feature of this phone. These are speeds that we typically see in Android phones that cost $650 or more. And there aren't any Apple iPhone models that even come close to 50 watts right now.

A full recharge from near zero typically takes just 45 minutes, and with that you could completely forego overnight phone charging. The phone's 5,000-mAh battery lasted me between a day and a half to two days of use on a single charge, depending on how heavy my usage was. On my weekdays with the phone, for instance, I was primarily using it while commuting, for video calls and light gaming, I easily made two days. But on a weekend trip to Washington, DC, with frequent camera use and texting, the phone's battery needed a recharge midway through the weekend. 

OnePlus Nord N30 5G cameras

Around back the phone are two camera bumps that house the phone's main 108-megapixel camera, a 2-megapixel macro camera and a 2-megapixel depth assist camera for portrait mode. There's also a 16-megapixel front-facing camera housed in a punchout on the display.

The OnePlus Nord N30 5G's 108-megapixel camera is simply not going to rival anything we see on more expensive phones. Despite that eye-popping resolution figure, software and processing power are a big reason why more-expensive phones capture great photos. 

I took the N30 to the DC Pride Parade, and while the camera did a nice job capturing the colorful floats and people, it struggled keeping things in focus. Many of my photos have motion blur, while other more stable scenes retain detail. 

Things took a turn for the worse when I tried to photograph an evening drag show at Metrobar. Even the phone's night mode only offered a few additional enhancements to the festivities. 

I had better success using night mode on an empty dance floor, capturing the chairs and the decor of the room.

The N30 shines the most with food photography and portrait mode photos. My meals from Purple Patch look as tasty as they actually were. Portraits taken with both the front and rear camera had a good bokeh effect.

Compared to photos shot on the $300 Moto G Power 5G, the OnePlus does a good job capturing detail. But the problem for the OnePlus is that the Pixel 6A -- again, often discounted to $300 -- runs circles around it. The Pixel 6A's Tensor chip allows for better color depth, Real Tone for more accurate skin tones and a slew of photo enhancement options.

In my photo test using a grass wall in CNET's office, both the Moto G Power 5G and the Pixel 6A captured the various shades of green on the wall, while the OnePlus seemed to struggle with sensing those differences.

When I tested the night mode on both the OnePlus and the Pixel using CNET's dark TV lab area, the Pixel brightened up a lot of the image. By comparison, the OnePlus appears substantially darker.

Photos of my colleague Joseph Kaminski both look nice, but the Pixel version captures substantially more detail when zooming into the photo.

Zoom in general is better on the Pixel. This photo of a plant taken using the 2x zoom option on the Pixel heartily outperforms the 3x zoom on the OnePlus.

Overall the OnePlus N30's camera system performs well compared to other new phones in the $200 to $300 price range. But with the Pixel 6A's price often dipping into that range, it's now a competitive option that the OnePlus has to contend with, and the 108-megapixel camera isn't yet enough.

OnePlus Nord N30 5G bottom line

OnePlus deserves some serious credit for bringing specs to the Nord N30 5G that are unheard of at its price range. The fast charging speed is something that can be universally appreciated, and the effort to offer a 108-megapixel camera at this low of a price is impressive.

However the phone's tradeoffs ultimately mean you should seriously compare it with the competition before buying. If you want more storage and care less about the camera, then the 256GB Moto G Power 5G (also $300) might be a better option. Or if you want a phone that takes better photos with more years of software and security support, then snag a Google Pixel 6A whenever it's discounted to $300 from its $349 price.

But if the Pixel 6A isn't on sale, and if a two-day battery life and a ludicrously fast recharge time are appealing, the OnePlus Nord N30 5G is a respectable option among its $300 peers.

How we test phones

Every phone tested by CNET's reviews team was actually used in the real world. We test a phone's features, play games and take photos. We examine the display to see if it's bright, sharp and vibrant. We analyze the design and build to see how it is to hold and whether it has an IP-rating for water resistance. We push the processor's performance to the extremes using both standardized benchmark tools like GeekBench and 3DMark, along with our own anecdotal observations navigating the interface, recording high-resolution videos and playing graphically intense games at high refresh rates.

All the cameras are tested in a variety of conditions from bright sunlight to dark indoor scenes. We try out special features like night mode and portrait mode and compare our findings against similarly priced competing phones. We also check out the battery life by using it daily as well as running a series of battery drain tests.

We take into account additional features like support for 5G, satellite connectivity, fingerprint and face sensors, stylus support, fast charging speeds, foldable displays among others that can be useful. And we balance all of this against the price to give you the verdict on whether that phone, whatever price it is, actually represents good value.

Watch this: OnePlus Nord N30 5G Review: $300 Phone Recharges Faster Any iPhone

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