Let’s talk about OnePlus again this time but with the Nord series, the cheapest one. We tried the new OnePlus N 10 5G, the smartphone from 349 ?? that wants to attack the medium-low end of the market. Unfortunately we stay a while? disappointed because it is not the usual OnePlus that we would have expected. Here because.
by Bruno Mucciarelli published 11 November 2020 , at 15: 21 in the Telephony channel
OnePlus Android
OnePlus had very well outlined the line I wanted to follow to support the current OnePlus 8 Pro and OnePlus 8T Pro. He had done so some time ago by introducing the new Nord series which he had seen born from his OnePlus Nord, a smartphone that we liked for quality, materials, construction, speed and much more . A relatively cheap smartphone compared to the other devices of the company and which had certainly pointed out the desire to return a little? at the beginning by looking for smartphones that could expand the offer on the market.
After OnePlus Nord here is that Pete Lau’s company has decided to lower the bar even further and to market the new OnePlus N 10 5G which at a price of 349 ?? should have hit users. The price would be good if we consider the technical specifications they see a display with refresh rate at 90 Hz , one Snapdragon for 5G network and one photographic compartment with 4 sensors . Yet it’s not a real OnePlus. We don’t have the same build quality that has always distinguished it, we lack the perfect optimization between hardware and software that has never been lacking in smartphone of the company and there is no prominent panel that OnePlus has always advertised as its winning weapon.
Ed it’s a shame all this because the Nord series had been introduced on the market in a decisive way with a smartphone that we had strongly liked precisely for those features that reminded him of OnePlus DNA. Here with OnePlus N 10 5G missing those details and therefore there is no desire on the part of the company to make it different from the rest of the group in this price range as it has always done with the other OnePlus.
The history of OnePlus we all know it : the first OnePlus One came from an idea of its CEO Pete Lau in 2014. A smartphone that had to hit the mobile market both for its technical characteristics and its particular design, and for the fact that it would have cost relatively little compared to the competition of the period. It’s been 6 years now and in these 6 years the Chinese company has seen successes after successes thanks also to the creation of smartphones that are increasingly performing but above all more and more of quality. Quality and performance that users have enjoyed throughout OnePlus’s lifetime by rewarding the company with building a community that few others have.
Of course this new OnePlus N 10 5G is not completely part of this philosophy. It lacks some things although others work fine. A mid-range device on paper that remains such and does nothing to distinguish itself, indeed perhaps it even row a little? versus. And it is a shame because we know how good the Chinese company is and how much it does not deserve to have such a subdued device like the OnePlus N 10 5G.
Index – OnePlus N 10 5G
- Prices and Launch Promo
- UNBOXING: the silicone case is missing
- DESIGN: does not stand out like other OnePlus
- DISPLAY: no AMOLED also if a 90 Hz
- HARDWARE: Qualcomm Snapdragon 690. So and so
- GRAPHICAL INTERFACE: there is Android 10 but still needs to be optimized
- CAMERA: in the dark not at all well
- AUTONOMY: normal with fast recharge at 30 W
- Conclusions
OnePlus N 00 5G: Prices and Promo launch
OnePlus N 10 5G is offered for sale in a single version which sees 6GB of RAM for system memory and 128 GB of storage for? storage.
UNBOXING: the silicone case is missing
The new OnePlus N 00 5G is sold with a completely new packaging for aesthetics compared to the previous ones but in perfect line with what has already been seen with OnePlus Nord. In this case, it is presented to the users in a sales box completely dressed in black and blue (ready to recall the Nord series). In the OnePlus box, however, there is an important change from the past that is the absence of a transparent silicone cover that is not inserted. For the rest, the endowment we received sees the presence primarily of the smartphone but also of:
- a Warp Charge fast charging charger 28 T from 30 W , a Type-C cable (in the typical red color OnePlus), the dual SIM tray ejection tool and nothing else.
The smartphone is positioned in such a way that the user can see it immediately as soon as he removes the lid of the sales package while below it is placed the usual manuals and in the recesses of the box the cable and the power supply.
DESIGN: does not stand out like other OnePlus
We loved OnePlus Nord aesthetically above all for those two strongly original colors that made it immediately recognizable from others. Here everything changes and OnePlus markets, at least in Italy, only one color which is the classic Midnight Ice. Its shapes are strongly linear and above all the body is made of polycarbonate , actually tough and it would also seem tough. The finish in this case is glossy on the back cover which therefore sees the capture not only of dust but also of multiple fingerprints.
In the center, also on the back, we find the fingerprint sensor that is placed in this position since front the display is LCD and not AMOLED as for the other brothers them of the company. There is then, at the top left, the photographic sector which is not too often even if important in terms of size also given the large amount of sensors that it must still merge.
The frame around OnePlus N 10 5G is really not very thick and this makes the ergonomics somehow good even if the shiny plastic makes a little ?? slippery smartphone mainly because the dimensions are not so small. The buttons are placed as usual with the on and off on the right side and the volume on the left. And here is the first real lack that OnePlus users will certainly not be able to forgive the company. There is no ringtone selector. A milestone that has always characterized the smartphones of the Chinese company and that for the first time is not placed on a smartphone OnePlus branded. And it is a real shame this is because the convenience of the selector still remains one of the most useful things nowadays in Android smartphones and then because precisely this could make OnePlus N recognizable 10 5G from others. Really a shame.
For the rest in the lower part we find the dear old 3.5mm jack that OnePlus places to the left of the central port which in this case, I would say fortunately, is a USB Type-C. On the right, on the other hand, there is the slit for the speaker which is not overly powerful even if stereo and sometimes a bit? croaking at high levels.
DISPLAY: no AMOLED even if a 90 Hz
The display of the new OnePlus N 10 5G is a 6 panel. 49 inches with a form factor 20: 9. The resolution is a classic Full HD + but the matrix is not AMOLED but LCD. In this case, perhaps we lack the OnePlus OLEDs that have praised so much over the years and that have actually reached a remarkable quality especially now that in the top of the range the refresh rate has been reached at 100 Hz. Here we have a refresh rate at 90 Hz but unfortunately the LCD panel makes everything a little?? less quality although overall the contents are displayed as well as possible with this technology.
We certainly do not reach high peak brightness and we it seemed that the responsiveness of the screen in the touches is perhaps not at the top. We trust in this case in the youth of the smartphone and maybe even in the not perfect optimization of the screen with the software. Moreover, from this point of view OnePlus has already released an update that has solved a backlight problem that we had encountered in the early stages of using the smartphone.
Lo OnePlus N screen 10 5G in this case does not allow the customization of the parameters that we could have with other devices with AMOLED screen. Here OnePlus allows you to move only on the white balance between Cold and Warm in a completely manual way. Also the refresh rate between 90 and i 60 Hz is manual and therefore you can choose whether to keep it more and more fluid or less fluid in both cases.
Present however the Night Mode which adjusts the color temperature and intensity for the later hours of the day as well as the Reading Mode which guarantees an even more immersive monochrome effect during reading. C ?? è l ?? Ambient Display which can be activated when the smartphone is lifted via a motion sensor. Here you can show notifications or even personalized messages.
HARDWARE: Qualcomm Snapdragon 690. So and so
IS?? the first time we use the new Snapdragon 690 by Qualcomm . A CPU that is positioned exactly below the most used and performing Snapdragon 765 G but which will still allow you to connect to the 5G network with less potential. On a technical level the Snapdragon 690 is the new Octa chipset 8nm core with eight Kryo cores 444 at 2GHz with an Adreno GPU 600L. In this case, the peculiarity of the new processor is that of containing the Qualcomm X modem 51, capable of supporting all types of connections including 5G and LTE.
On a practical level what we can say is of a processor that on paper it could do well but in practice it works with some binding. The system is not fluid as one would expect from a OnePlus and it happens sometimes to have delays in opening applications or even some sudden blocking of the screens which then resume after a few seconds. It has never happened with the Chinese company and we hope it’s just a question of software optimization that can be solved with future updates.
| |
ONEPLUS N 10 5G |
| Browser |
Sunspider |
433, 4 ms |
| JetStream 2.0 |
53. 391 points |
| CPU |
GeekBench 5 |
COMPUTE 969 |
Single-co CPU re: 608
Multi-core CPU: 1843 |
| GPU |
GFXBench 5 |
Aztec Ruins: On 8.6 Fps / Off 5.7 Fps
Car Chase: On 13 Fps / Off 14 Fps
Manhattan 3.1: On 23 Fps / Off 26 Fps
|
| Storage |
Androbench |
Read seq .: 808, 97 MB / s
Write seq .: 182, 23 MB / s
Random reading seq .: 132, 65 MB / s
Random write seq .: 119, 96 MB / s
|
Generic |
3D Mark |
2.168 points |
| Generic |
AnTuTu |
281. 359 points |
Furthermore, the technical data sheet reports the presence of co however of 6GB of RAM which however, they should allow the smartphone to work optimally especially with a software, that of OnePlus, which is less heavy than many others of the competition. For the storage few problems since the internal storage memory is 128 GB UFS 2.1 and therefore users will have no problems cataloging their multimedia content especially because it can be expanded with MicroSD up to 512 GB.
INTERFACE GRAPHICS: there is Android 10 but is still to be optimized
OxygenOS is the custom ROM from OnePlus. The developers have changed it over the years and now it has come to version 10. 5 based on Android 10. Also OnePlus N 10 5G arrives on the market with this customization. There have been many changes that have taken place to bring true maturity to an interface that today is optimal for reactivity, fluidity but also safety. The desire to maintain a stable and above all performing operating system is a prerogative of the company since its first release.
As mentioned OxygenOS presents an interface similar to Android Stock , with some additions such as color customization, screen off gestures, Shelf and its apps proprietary. Important in everyday use is the implementation of Gestures, that is the possibility of making any type of button on the screen disappear in the lower part of the device to fully use the fingers. No classic Android Navigation Bar and delegation to the fingers for the creation of gestures capable of performing specific operations:
-
Home: the typical operation of the Home button can be performed with a swipe from bottom to top at the bottom / center of the screen.
-
Back: to go back in the screens of an app it is sufficient to perform the same gesture, then a swipe from the bottom up, but this time in the two right and left ends of the lower part of the terminal.
-
Recent apps: to access the recent apps screen you can run a swipe from bottom to top at the bottom / center of the screen while holding down the finger for a few moments more.
Here everything looks just like in other OnePlus smartphones even if in everyday use the smartphone, as already mentioned, sees some slowdown too much that we never had seen so far on a smartphone of the Chinese company.
CAMERA: in the dark not at all well
OnePlus N 10 5G
-
Main
-
Ultra – Wide Angle
-
Macro Camera
-
2MP sensor
-
Aperture f / 2.4
-
Depht Camera
-
5MP sensor
-
Aperture f / 2.4
-
Front
In terms of cameras, here is OnePlus N 10 5G decides to propose four with sensors ranging from the main to the ultra wide angle to get to the macro sensor and the depth sensor. Specifically, OnePlus proposes a main sensor from 64 MP with an aperture of f / 1.8 but unfortunately without any optical image stabilization and we will see that this can be felt in part during the shots. Therefore, it is possible to shoot also with a viewing angle at 119 ° with the second sensor which is of type Ultra Wide Angle from 8MP with focal aperture of f / 2.3. Finally, two additional sensors: one for close-up photos with the Macro , 2MP sensor, and one for the depth with 5MP sensor.
How OnePlus N shoots 10 5G?
-
Day photo: in the photos during the day the smartphone works in the average for the price range at which it is sold. It reaches the norm with a not very high level of detail but we are still talking about a medium range device. The dynamic range is also average, which still returns good colors. There is the possibility to take a 64 MP during the day with an increase in the level of detail that becomes important and with a less precise software work and therefore as always it is convenient to use this system only in cases of exception remaining on the automatic one at 16 MP.
-
Portraits: about OnePlus N portraits 10 5G relies on a fourth specific sensor for blur. The result is good and the sensor is able to work well with a well done detachment from the background even if sometimes a little ?? too contrived.
-
Video: on videos the maximum resolution that you obtain with N 10 5G is 4K a 30 fps which is the standard for this type of device in this price range. Videos lose a lot in stabilization due to the absence of the OIS. On the colors nothing incredible but average and a pity for little contrast.
-
Selfie: front real colors not exciting but also here average for a classic selfie sensor.
AUTONOMY: normal with fast recharge at 30 W
In terms of autonomy and battery , OnePlus N 10 5G , sees the presence of a 4 unit. 200 mAh. A quantity not exaggerated compared to other smartp hone of this mid-range that often exceed even 5. 00 0mAh. It matters little because the autonomy of OnePlus N 00 5G is still good.
We managed to arrive in the evening without too many problems and above all without having to use energy savings or even without having to limit our use. 5G clearly works a lot in consumption and the battery suffers at least from the 20 % more than a classic 4G. But we know this could still be due to a non-optimized 5G network in Italy. Luckily there is fast charging from 30 W which guarantees fast charging times with a 0 – 100% slightly more than 60 minutes.
CONCLUSIONS
The sale price of OnePlus N 10 5G is 349 ?? for the single version from 6GB of RAM and 128 GB of storage expandable up to 512 GB. A price that drives it away alone 50 ?? from the older brother OnePlus Nord which however is really a device from another world. We liked the North for the materials, for the colors, for the hardware but also for its being truly a OnePlus but at an actually very low price for today’s fees or even compared to the OnePlus 8 Pro and 8T.
OnePlus N 00 5G cannot leave your mark. It looks really too similar to others especially in the dark color. The materials are really so cheap even if assembled in a workmanlike manner by the company but they do not convey the philosophy behind the great success of the Chinese company. Some peculiarities are missing such as the ringtone selector always present in a OnePlus device but not inserted here. And the colors that have always struck users are also missing and here instead simplified with a ” collegiate ” blue.
C ?? is then some more ?? to do regarding the optimization of the smartphone because unlike other OnePlus here N 10 5G snaps in some situations and even freezes for a few seconds sign that something is not yet fixed. And it’s a shame here too because we know how much care OnePlus takes in optimizing software and hardware.
In short, OnePlus N 00 5G he is not a real OnePlus. And that distant being of his alone 50 ?? from the elder brother OnePlus Nord can certainly not capture the attention towards it. And we’re sorry in this OnePlus little misstep which will probably take its cue from the defects of the smartphone to offer its loyal users a much better future device.
