OnePlus Nord 3 Malaysia: “Flagship” Nord phone priced at RM2,199

OnePlus’ midrange Nord has received its second full redesign in three years with the launch of the OnePlus Nord 3. After the middling spec bump of last year’s Nord 2T, the Chinese phone maker has gone all out, giving the device near-flagship specs—including a main camera from its actual flagship, the OnePlus 11—in return for nearly the same price as before.

OnePlus Nord 3 Malaysia price and availability

In Malaysia, the OnePlus Nord 3 is available in a single high-spec configuration with an impressive 16GB of RAM and 256GB of storage, priced at RM2,199. That’s just RM100 more than what the Nord 2T retailed for last year, all while offering much higher specs. Just one colour—Misty Green—is being offered here.

Pre-orders kick off tonight at 10pm on the OnePlus eStore and the brand’s official Shopee and Lazada stores. Buyers get a free pair of Nord Buds wireless earbuds until July 9.

OnePlus Nord 3 specs and features

One of the main differentiators between flagship and midrange phones is the processor, and OnePlus has given the Nord 3 a major upgrade. The phone has been bumped up from the MediaTek Dimensity 1300 in the Nord 2T to the Dimensity 9000—a flagship-class chip built on a four-nanometre process, introduced in 2021. It’s the slightly lesser version of the Dimensity 9000+ found in the Oppo Find N2 Flip, and in fact there are many other similarities with its flip-phone stablemate.

Also, for the first time on a Nord phone, the Nord 3 gets 16GB of the latest LPDDR5X RAM, paired with 256GB of UFS 3.1 storage. All in all, OnePlus is claiming a 58.6% increase in GPU performance and 42.9% better CPU performance compared to the Nord 2T; the Nord 3 is also able to transfer data more than 75% faster while consuming over 20% less power.

Moving to the front of the device, you get a much larger 6.74-inch AMOLED display with a higher resolution of 2,772 x 1,240 pixels. The adaptive refresh rate has also been increased from 90Hz on the Nord 2T to 120Hz, while the touch sampling rate is now an insane 1,000Hz. Additionally, the panel has a peak brightness of 1,450 nits, covers 100% of the DCI-P3 and sRGB colour gamut and supports HDR10+. The Nord 3 is covered by AGC Dragontrail Star 2 glass at the front and Corning Gorilla Glass 5 at the back.

Another area where the Nord 3 has moved the game on is the main camera. While the sensor is still a 50MP 1/1.56-inch unit, it’s been upgraded from Sony’s IMX766 sensor to the newer IMX890—the same one found in the OnePlus 11 and the aforementioned Find N2 Flip, minus the Hasselblad branding. You’ll also find an f/1.8 aperture, optical image stabilisation and the ability to shoot 4K video at up to 60fps, instead of just 30fps before.

However, you still get an 8MP ultra-wide camera with an f/2.2 aperture, and OnePlus has replaced the Nord 2T’s depth sensor with a midrange phone staple—a 2MP macro camera. Meanwhile, the selfie camera’s resolution has been halved to 16MP. The company says the Nord 3 has less shutter lag and takes less noisy photos thanks to the Dimensity 9000’s image processor, and it has an upgraded portrait mode algorithm, too.

All this is powered by a significantly larger 5,000mAh (previously 4,500mAh) battery, still with support for up to 80W SuperVOOC fast charging; a full charge takes 31 minutes. The Nord 3 also comes with 5G, WiFi 6 and Bluetooth 5.3 connectivity, along with NFC, an under-display fingerprint sensor, face unlock, a Xiaomi-style IR blaster, stereo speakers with Dolby Atmos support and OnePlus’ trademark alert slider. It’s also rated IP54 for dust and water resistance, which isn’t much but better than nothing.

The Nord 3 ships with Android 13, skinned with OxygenOS 13.1. It’s the first phone to get the latest software (beating even the OnePlus 11) and comes with minor fixes and updates, an upgraded Zen Space app and an O Relax app that allows you to play soothing sounds and mini games. OnePlus is promising three years of major Android updates and four years of security patches—one year longer than past Nord phones.

OnePlus Nord Buds 2r

Aside from the Nord 3, OnePlus has also introduced a new pair of wireless earbuds to accompany it, called the Nord Buds 2r. Essentially a cut-down version of the Nord Buds 2, they feature the same 12.4mm drivers, Dolby Atmos support, dual mics, AI noise cancellation for calls, Bluetooth 5.3 connectivity and Android Fast Pair support, but lack active noise cancellation.

The buds also boast up to eight hours of battery life (38 hours with the charging case included) and IP55 dust and water resistance. They are available in either Deep Grey or Triple Blue, priced at RM299.