5 reasons OnePlus Nord beats the iPhone SE

(Paradigm credit: OnePlus/Apple tree)

The OnePlus Nord is generating a lot of buzz because of how much phone OnePlus crammed in for such a low price. The iPhone SE has a similar appeal, only OnePlus and Apple take dissimilar approaches to their cheapest phones. And when y'all take a hard look at what you're getting for the money, the Nord looks similar the better value.

Yes, the iPhone SE ($399) has the faster A13 Bionic processor, merely when y'all wait at other areas like screen size, design, the number of cameras and 5G capability, you can see why the OnePlus Nord (£379, nether $500) starts to pull away. Hither's why the OnePlus Nord is a better value than the iPhone SE.

OnePlus Nord review (easily on)
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A bigger and better screen

The OnePlus Nord has a 6.4-inch display. — The OnePlus Nord has a vi.4-inch display. (Paradigm credit: Tom'south Guide)

Although some people may prefer the tiny 4.7-inch LCD on the iPhone SE, the OnePlus Nord's half-dozen.4-inch OLED panel is bigger and more colorful. OLEDs are technically superior to LCDs in terms of color saturation, black levels and viewing angles. If you're into watching Netflix shows or playing games, the Nord is a no-brainer.

iPhone SE 2020 review — The iPhone SE sports a four.7-inch screen. (Paradigm credit: Tom's Guide)

Plus, the Nord offers a 90Hz refresh rate, compared to 60Hz for the iPhone SE. This means you should savor smoother scrolling, video playback and gaming on the OnePlus Nord. The Nord also wins on screen resolution, packing 2400 x 1080 pixels compared to just 1334 ten 750 for the iPhone SE.

A design that looks like it's from 2020

The iPhone SE's design has some things going for information technology, including water resistance and premium looking glass back. However, the OnePlus Nord actually looks similar a phone from this year, with minimal bezels around its display.

Past comparison the bezels on the iPhone SE await ginormous, including the chin that houses Apple's Touch ID sensor. The OnePlus Nord integrates its fingerprint sensor direct into the brandish.

The OnePlus Nord wins on colour options, too. While the iPhone SE comes in boring hues like white, black and cerise, the Nord has more interesting options in Blueish Marble and Gray Onyx.

More versatile cameras

The OnePlus Nord houses four rear cameras. (Image credit: Tom's Guide)

Apple proved with the iPhone SE (just like the Pixel 3a did earlier it) that you can deliver fantabulous photos with a single rear camera. And that's because of the computational photography magic provided by Apple's A13 Bionic chip. Information technology allows the iPhone SE to pull off Portrait Way and Smart HDR without needing a second lens.

However, it's hard to overlook the versatility of the OnePlus Nord. The handset packs four rear cameras, including a 48MP wide camera, an 8MP ultra-broad lens, a 5MP depth sensor and fifty-fifty a 2MP macro lens. That gives you a lot of shooting options the iPhone SE can't match. Plus, the Nord offers a Nightscape fashion for low-light shots while the iPhone SE lacks a Night mode.

The OnePlus Nord also looks to be a better option for selfies, thanks to a 32MP camera upwardly forepart paired with an ultra-wide camera with a 105-caste field of view. This should let you lot fit more people into your shots. The iPhone SE makes due with a 7MP selfie cam.

5G speed vs 4G

OnePlus Nord 5G — (Image credit: OnePlus)

Granted, 5G is far from ubiquitous around the world. merely even if you're buying a cheaper phone yous probably prefer that information technology's as future proof as possible. Later all, yous're probably going to agree onto the telephone for at least a couple of years. That'due south why information technology's good to know that the Snapdragon 765G chipset in the OnePlus Nord support 5G connectivity.

That fashion you lot can savour faster downloads wherever in that location's coverage — and if 5G is not in your cervix of the forest yet you lot'll be gear up for when information technology is. The iPhone SE volition forever be stuck in the 4G LTE lane.

Bigger bombardment and faster charging

OnePlus Nord warp charging — The OnePlus Nord offers 20W fast charging standard. (Image credit: OnePlus)

Apple'south iPhone SE reportedly packs a 1,821 mAh battery, which didn't deliver nifty results in our web surfing battery test. The handset lasted only nine hours and 18 minutes, while the handsets on our all-time phone bombardment life list all last over 11 hours on a accuse.

The OnePlus Nord should offer more than saying power with its much larger 4,115 mAh bombardment, only it also needs to power a much bigger display than the iPhone SE.

What nosotros do know for sure is that the OnePlus Nord charges faster than the iPhone SE out of the box. And that's because the OnePlus Nord includes a 30W fast charger, while Apple forces yous to pay extra for a 18W charger.

Bottom line

The iPhone SE is one of the all-time cheap phones of the year because it delivers flagship-level operation for hundreds less than flagship phones, along with very proficient photographic camera quality. But the OnePlus Nord looks like an even ameliorate value because you get a bigger and smoother screen, 5G connectivity a much more than modern design and more versatile cameras.

The biggest strike against the OnePlus Nord is that the visitor currently does not program to bring the handset to the U.S. But overall, the OnePlus Nord looks to be a superior mid-range telephone to Apple tree's handset.

Mark Spoonauer is the global editor in chief of Tom's Guide and has covered technology for nearly 20 years. In addition to overseeing the direction of Tom's Guide, Mark specializes in roofing all things mobile, having reviewed dozens of smartphones and other gadgets. He has spoken at key industry events and appears regularly on Television set to hash out the latest trends. Marker was previously editor in main of Laptop Mag, and his work has appeared in Wired, Popular Scientific discipline and Inc. Follow him on Twitter at @mspoonauer.