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00:00Hey guys, I'm Tom the Tech Chap and this is the brand spanking new OnePlus Nord CE 2 5G.
00:07And OnePlus challenged me to go to Iceland for the most epic unboxing ever and to put
00:12the Nord CE 2 5G through its paces with three incredible challenges to find out if this
00:17really is the new mid-range killer.
00:20So the Nord is all about OnePlus going back to their roots, their goal of sharing the
00:25best technology with the world and the CE or Core Edition goes a step further, packing
00:30some impressive tech into a cheap package but we'll come back to that.
00:34All I can say right off the bat though is that this is more affordable, more accessible
00:38and gives you a little more than you expect for the price.
00:42So a big thank you to OnePlus for partnering with me on this epic video and also make sure
00:46you stay to the end as I'll be telling you how you can win one of these, there will be
00:50a giveaway.
00:51But first, let's see if this phone can live up to its name.
00:55I'm going to need this.
00:58Come with me.
01:06Welcome to the Nord Pole!
01:10It's actually Iceland but it's a lot more fun to say Nord Pole and I'm here in this
01:14epic beautiful country with this epic phone.
01:16I've got the OnePlus Nord CE 2 5G.
01:19It is very cold right now and I want to get this unboxed but really we've come to our
01:23true north just to see what this can do.
01:27This is definitely the most extreme unboxing, extremely cold unboxing of things I do for
01:31you guys I think I've ever done but I think the phone's going to be worth it.
01:35I've never done an unboxing in front of a boiling geyser before but here we are.
01:38In the box just quickly, famous OnePlus cable, you can even join the red cable club now and
01:44actually really importantly, this guy, the new Super VOOC charger.
01:48This is actually a really big deal, we'll talk about charging later on but this thing
01:52charges ridiculously fast.
01:54But now for the best bit, actually unwrapping this guy.
02:00That is beautiful, look at that, the way the light hits it.
02:03So this is the Bahama Blue, there is also a Mirror Grey if you want a little bit more
02:07understated and you can definitely see the sort of design inspiration coming from the
02:10flagship OnePlus phones.
02:12Definitely feels more premium than the price and actually that is by far the most exciting
02:16part of this phone.
02:17It starts from €349 or in the UK, £299, less than £300 for that and bear that in
02:24mind as we talk about the specs and we put it through its paces for today.
02:29You also notice on the bottom here, 3.5mm headphone jack, you don't see that nearly
02:33enough anymore and actually on these more affordable phones, I know a lot of people
02:36want it, especially the OnePlus community, we've also got stereo speakers, Dolby Atmos
02:41tuned, it is a 6.43 inch display so really nice comfortable size and on the back, main
02:47lens, ultra-wide and then a selfie, a 16 megapixel selfie on the front.
02:52As I wipe away the raindrops, you can see this is super thin, it's just 7.8mm thick.
02:57Actually that's the slimmest phone since the OnePlus 6T, also nice and lightweight and
03:01actually while I don't want to pop out the tray right here, we do have dual SIM, 5G of
03:05course and it supports microSD card so you can expand the storage.
03:09So for under £300, this thing's packed with features, you really are getting a little
03:13more than you'd expect.
03:14I'll tell you what I really do appreciate about OnePlus though is they do actually listen.
03:18If you go into the settings on the phone, you'll see credits to people, you know, everyday
03:23users who suggest things and then they implement changes, the headphone jack, the expandable
03:27storage, stereo speakers, all those nice things but then also obviously with OxygenOS, for
03:32me that's one of the big reasons to buy a OnePlus.
03:35Bloatware free, no horrible pre-installed apps, really, really fast.
03:40Since we are in Iceland, we should probably put it to the test as well, not just unbox
03:42it.
03:43So let's go and take some photos and test this camera out.
03:51So I'm sure you're the same as me, one of the most important features on any phone is
03:54the camera.
03:56So with this, we have a 64 megapixel main lens, 8 megapixel ultra-wide, no telephoto
04:01on this one but you can see we get this beautiful landscape with the ultra-wide, 0.6x zoom.
04:08So some pretty good specs considering the price and actually it goes a little bit further
04:12because we have this AI enhanced camera.
04:15So this uses a Mediatek Dimensity 900 chip, part of that is something called the Dora
04:20AI architecture, Dora the Explorer, maybe even.
04:24And what that can do is use things like the accelerometer and just basically enhance the
04:29camera a bit beyond what you might expect for this hardware.
04:33So we've got dedicated night modes for low light obviously.
04:35Now if we switch over to video, this can shoot in up to 4K30 with the rear camera but we
04:39do also get some AI smarts as well.
04:42So if you tap this little button, we get AI highlight video.
04:45Now particularly in low light or at night time, this actually comes in really handy
04:49to improve the lighting, to stabilize the white balance so it doesn't flicker as much.
04:54Really really nice, although it does limit it to 1080p.
04:56We've also got this ultra-steady mode, again 1080p, much better if you're walking around
05:01or walking off a geyser in Iceland or something or a mountain.
05:05Really quite a nice setup and lots of options.
05:08And then finally of course on the front, say hi everyone, 16 megapixel selfie.
05:13And I do quite like this little notification LED there so everyone knows where to look.
05:18I hate when you get phones and you just can't see where the selfie camera is.
05:21So overall, a nice little setup.
05:24What do you reckon?
05:25The geyser was intense, but we've now driven up to a glacier.
05:37What are we doing here?
05:41Snowmobiles?
05:42Should we go on one of those?
05:46This is insane.
05:51This is insane.
05:52What I want to talk about was powering this thing because inside we have the MediaTek
05:57Dern C900 chip, which is not only faster than last year, the original C, but also more power
06:04efficient.
06:05That's paired with 8GB of RAM, 128GB of storage, plus microSD of course.
06:10But that's only part of the story because we've got that 90Hz refresh rate screen as
06:15well.
06:16And that's a Full HD+, AMOLED, 90Hz.
06:20And then of course, on top of that, you've got OxygenOS.
06:22So no bloatware, really lightweight, and even on a back-covered snowmobile, I can just about
06:29see what I'm doing here.
06:31But it's just like, it's so fast.
06:33How has it come to this?
06:50Oh my goodness.
06:51I'm exhausted.
06:52What a day.
06:53I've never done snowmobiling before, I've never seen a geyser before.
06:56That was incredible.
06:57I've actually never been to Iceland either, and if you haven't, I definitely recommend
07:01it.
07:02Absolutely beautiful country.
07:03And also, some local delicacies are here in front of me with some, well, I've been told
07:09this is a kind of sheep's head pate.
07:12I think it's called feta salta.
07:15That's actually quite nice.
07:19So, back to the phone.
07:20That's why we're here.
07:21We are looking at 60% battery life left, and I've been abusing this pretty hard today.
07:25And actually, really interestingly, it's got a dual-cell design, 4500 mAh.
07:30And so with this SuperVOOC charger, 65W, it actually means we can top this up for a day's
07:36use in 15 minutes, or to 100% in half an hour, which is not something you see very often
07:41in a phone in this price range.
07:43It's a really unique phone, and you just don't get these kind of features at this price point
07:47very often.
07:48So, I've got a few more thoughts.
07:49It's been a long day, so come back with me to the studio.
07:58Okay, we're back.
07:59Now, when my friends and family ask me what phone should they buy, very rarely are they
08:04looking for a recommendation of a phone that costs over a grand, you know, like one of
08:08these proper flagships that are just so ridiculously expensive.
08:11So I'm always looking for the best mid-range phone.
08:14So when OnePlus asked if I wanted to go on this epic unboxing adventure with them in
08:18Iceland for the Nord CE 2, well, I jumped at the chance.
08:22Normally, I unbox and test phones here in the studio with, you know, heating.
08:28I've never done it by an exploding geyser before, which was actually an incredible sight
08:33and also very, very cold.
08:34And then the second challenge of actually using this and seeing how fast it was while
08:38in the back of a snowmobile in a complete whiteout blizzard by a glacier.
08:42I was told the glacier was there, but I couldn't see anything.
08:45I think we drove three hours to what seemed like the middle of nowhere and I couldn't
08:50see anything.
08:50It was a very surreal experience.
08:52But you know what?
08:53This was the hero.
08:53It survived everything we threw at it and it performed really well, actually.
08:57And then for the third challenge, back at the hotel where we had some Icelandic delicacies,
09:02I think maybe I was the hero for that one.
09:03But we saw the super fast charging and the fact that it still had a good amount of battery
09:07left after the end of a really long day in freezing conditions.
09:11It really did stand up to the challenge.
09:14Of course, when you are making a phone at this price point, there are certain choices
09:18you have to make.
09:19For example, we don't get an official IP rating, although it can withstand places and cope
09:25with light drizzles.
09:26And clearly it survived the onslaught of my Icelandic adventure.
09:29In fact, OnePlus told me that all their devices go through durability and water resistance
09:34tests.
09:34So the OnePlus Nord CE 2 5G can withstand splashes and easily cope with sweat, moisture
09:40and light drizzles.
09:41With no damage.
09:44Also, in my experience, video stabilization when recording at 4K is all right, it's fine,
09:50but really, I would suggest filming at 1080p most of the time.
09:54It's a lot smoother with that EIS.
09:56We also don't get wireless charging and some competitors do offer 120 hertz versus the
10:0290 we get on here.
10:03And it's a small point, but the slightly thicker chin at the bottom means the bezel is a
10:07little bit asymmetrical.
10:08But that's about all the negatives I can find with this.
10:12But what I would say is while this does have strong competition, what keeps me coming back
10:16to OnePlus is that lightweight, bloat-free software, Oxygen OS.
10:21It just makes such a difference to how nice this feels to use.
10:24And in your daily life, the experience of using the phone is what you'll notice.
10:29And so together with the new chip, the solid camera and impressive charging, the OnePlus
10:33Nord CE 2 5G really does give you a little more than you'd expect.
10:39So is this the new mid-range killer?
10:42Well, quite possibly.
10:43I need to do more tests and proper camera comparisons and benchmarks and things, but
10:47first impressions are very good.
10:49And like those Top Gear or Grand Tour specials where they become really attached to the cars
10:53they've been driving through the challenges, I've become pretty attached to this as well.
10:58Now, at the start, I did mention a giveaway, and all you have to do is head on over to
11:02OnePlus UK's Instagram account, make sure you follow them and you'll see a post on how
11:07to win. I'll also link to it in the description below this video.
11:10And I'll also leave a link to where you can buy this, where you'll also get a little bit
11:14something special with it.
11:15But I can't tell you what it is just yet.
11:18It was so much fun to make this video, and I hope you enjoyed it as well.
11:21But more importantly, if you do have any questions about the Nord CE 2 5G, do leave a
11:25comment below and I'll do my very best to get back to you.
11:28Thank you so much for watching, guys.
11:29Don't forget to hit that subscribe button so you don't miss my next upload.
11:32And I'll see you next time right here on The Tech Chap.