OnePlus Nord 2 and Poco F3 GT were launched in july. These smartphones are meant for different audiences, but they are priced in the same segment. You get a high-refresh-rate AMOLED display, stereo speakers, a large battery, and a fast charger bundled with both. They also have the same MediaTek Dimensity 1200 SoC, although OnePlus suggests a custom AI-optimized version of it calling the Dimensity 1200-AI. So how different are these two smartphones really, and if you had to choose between the two, which one should you buy? I compare the OnePlus Nord 2 and Poco F3 GT to see which one is better for you.
OnePlus Nord 2 5G vs Poco F3 GT Price in India
The price of OnePlus Nord 2 5G is Rs. 27,999 in India for the base variant with 6GB RAM and 128GB storage. It has not gone on sale in India yet. There is also an 8GB RAM and 128GB storage option priced at Rs. 29,999, while the top-end 12GB RAM and 256GB storage option is priced at Rs. 34,999.
Poco F3 GT is more aggressive in terms of price. It starts from Rs. 26,999 for the base variant with 6GB RAM and 128GB storage. The 8GB RAM and 128GB storage variant is priced at Rs. 28,999 while the top-of-the-line option with 8GB RAM and 256GB storage is priced at Rs. 30,999. The company has announced the starting prices, which means that all the three variants will be priced slightly lower for the first two weeks after the sale.
OnePlus Nord 2 5G vs Poco F3 GT Design
OnePlus Nord 2 ₹ 29,999 5G and Poco F3 GT cater to different audiences, and are designed differently. Let's take a look at the OnePlus Nord 2 first. The phone looks like part of the OnePlus 9 series, and also shares a family resemblance with the OnePlus Nord CE 5G. The Nord 2 sports a 6.43-inch AMOLED display with a 90Hz refresh rate and a camera hole in the top left corner. OnePlus offers an in-display fingerprint scanner on the Nord 2. The frame of the device is made of plastic but it doesn't feel cheap. OnePlus has also used Corning Gorilla Glass 5 for front and back protection which helps in giving a premium look and feel to the device.
Like most OnePlus phones, there's an alert slider on the right that lets you quickly change the position of the ringer. The device doesn't have a 3.5mm headphone jack, but it does have stereo speakers. A speaker with a USB Type-C port, primary microphone and SIM tray are on the bottom, while the earpiece doubles as a second speaker. There only a secondary microphone at the top of the frame.
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OnePlus Nord 2 (right) has a 90Hz display while Poco F3 GT (left) has a 120Hz display |
You get a triple-camera setup in the OnePlus Nord 2 and the camera module reminds me of the OnePlus 9R. The phone weighs 189g and packs a 4,500mAh battery. OnePlus also ships the Warp Charge 65W charger in the box with a transparent case.
On the other hand, the Poco F3 GT sports a metal frame which feels a lot more premium. In Poco F3 GT, you get a large 6.67-inch display. It has full-HD + resolution, 120Hz refresh rate and HDR 10+ support. The display has Corning Gorilla Glass 5 and the back of the smartphone also gives it a premium look and feel. The metal frame houses the power button in the center on the right and "maglev" triggers on either side. There are latches that elevate the trigger button when slid inward so that they stay flush with the body when not needed for gaming.
Poco has curved frame at the edges but it is flat around the four corners which makes this smartphone comfortable to hold in landscape mode. The Poco F3 GT also comes with dual speakers and is Hi-Res certified. On top is an IR emitter along with a microphone and a speaker. At the bottom, you'll find the primary microphone, bottom-firing speaker, and USB Type-C port.
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| OnePlus Nord 2 (left) vs Poco F3 GT (right) both have stereo speakers |
You also get a triple camera setup on the Poco F3 GT and the camera module has RGB lighting accents. The Poco F3 GT is heavier than the OnePlus Nord 2 and weighs 205g. It also packs a massive 5,065mAh battery and comes with a 67W fast charger in the box. The included Type-C cable has an L-shaped connector that makes it easy to play games when the phone is plugged in.
The OnePlus Nord 2 is available in three color options: Sierra Grey, Green Wood and Blue Haze. The Poco F3 GT Predator comes in Black and Gunmetal Silver color options.
In terms of build quality, it is the Poco F3 GT that is made of sturdy material and feels more solid. You also get IP53 water resistance, and triggers add some versatility to the device. If you are planning to play a lot of games on your smartphone, then Poco F3 GT would be a better companion.
OnePlus Nord 2 vs Poco F3 GT Specifications and Software
Both the devices have a lot in common, especially in terms of processor. Both these smartphones are powered by MediaTek Dimensity 1200 SoC. OnePlus says that it has worked with MediaTek to enhance the AI processing capabilities of the Dimension 1200 and that is why it is calling it the Dimension 1200-AI. OnePlus claims that as a result, the Nord 2 5G has better AI performance for its cameras and display.
With the OnePlus Nord 2, you get 6GB, 8GB and 12GB RAM options along with 128GB and 256GB options for storage. The Poco F3 GT, on either side, only comes with 6GB and 8GB RAM variants paired with either 128GB or 256GB of storage. Both these devices use LPDDR4X RAM and UFS 3.1 storage. Neither smartphone offers expandable storage, but with up to 256GB on board, I see no reason to complain.
OnePlus Nord 2 sports a 6.43-inch AMOLED display with 90Hz refresh rate, while Poco F3 GT sports a 6.67-inch AMOLED panel with 120Hz refresh rate and 240Hz touch sampling rate (480Hz with Game Boost). Both these displays have full-HD+ resolution and both the companies claim support for HDR10+. In both these smartphones, you get 5G, Bluetooth 5.2 and Wi-Fi 6 with 4G VoLTE. The Poco F3 GT has an IR emitter which makes it possible to control the devices; A nifty feature.
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| The Poco F3 GT (left) has "maglev" trigger buttons for gaming while the OnePlus Nord 2 (right) has an alert slider. |
Poco says that it has implemented a vapor cooling chamber for better heat dissipation. In terms of hardware, these smartphones are quite good, but at the cost of size and weight, the Poco F3 GT has a slight edge with a bigger battery, higher refresh rate and faster charging speed.
While both these smartphones run on Android 11, the customization on top has set them apart. OnePlus Nord 2 runs Oxygen OS 11.3 while Poco F3 GT runs MIUI 12.5. In terms of UI, I prefer the cleaner interface over the OnePlus Nord 2. Yes, there are some very subtle changes that seem to be the result of Oppo's merger with ColorOS, but it still looks and feels like OxygenOS. You get some OnePlus and Google apps preinstalled with Netflix. The Poco F3 GT comes with a number of pre-installed apps, including LinkedIn, Netflix, Prime Video, GetApps, and Amazon, along with Mi and Google apps. I also got notifications from the Themes app while using the device.
OnePlus Nord 2 5G vs Poco F3 GT Performance
Regular use on both these devices was hassle free. I could multitask and load heavy apps without any hiccups. Both have a higher refresh rate on the Poco F3 GT and feel a bit smoother when scrolling through menus and pages. You will need to set this phone to a higher refresh rate manually as it is set to 60Hz by default, whereas the OnePlus Nord 2 was set to 90Hz. There is no dynamic mode on either device to automatically change the refresh rate.
The OnePlus Nord 2 has an in-display fingerprint scanner while the Poco F3 GT has a side mounted one. Both are fast and I don't need a second attempt to unlock either phone. Face recognition was also fast on these devices.
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| OnePlus Nord 2 (left) and Poco F3 GT (right) both have triple camera setup |
Watching content on both phones is engaging thanks to their crisp AMOLED displays and stereo speakers. The AI Color Boost setting on the OnePlus Nord 2 makes colors more attractive and slightly bumps up the sharpness. As a result, the Nord 2 has slightly better display quality, while the stereo speakers on these devices were on par.
I had the top-of-the-line OnePlus Nord 2 with 12GB of RAM, while the Poco F3 GT I had the mid-spec with 8GB of RAM. I still ran benchmarks to see how similar these devices really are. In AnTuTu, the OnePlus Nord 2 scored 5,83,748 points, while the Poco F3 GT scored 6,11,051 points. To see if these devices can deliver consistent performance, I ran benchmarks five times, and ultimately the OnePlus Nord 2 settled at 5,70,933, while the Poco F3 GT managed 5,94,428. However the Poco F3 GT had a higher CPU temperature at the end of these runs.
In Geekbench 5 single-core and multi-core tests, the OnePlus Nord 2 managed 819 and 2,749 respectively, while the Poco F3 GT scored 855 and 2,709 in the same tests. In PCMark Work 3.0, the Poco F3 GT scored higher with 11,931 points, while the Nord 2 5G scored only 8,323 points.
In GFXBench car chase scene, the OnePlus Nord 2 and Poco F3 GT both managed 38fps, while in the T-Rex test, they managed 74fps and 117fps, respectively. Even with less RAM, the Poco F3 GT managed to beat the OnePlus Nord 2 in most of our benchmark tests.
OnePlus Nord 2 vs Poco F3 GT Gaming Performance
I played BGMI on the OnePlus Nord 2 5G and Poco F3 GT and it defaulted to HD graphics and high frame rates on both. The game was playable at these settings without any problems. I played the game for 20 minutes on both the smartphones and both got a bit hot to the touch. Poco F3 GT showed 3 percent battery drain while OnePlus Nord 2 5G showed 4 percent drain.
Since both the smartphones have bigger batteries, you will be able to last them for about a day and a half before you have to charge them. In our HD video loop test, the OnePlus Nord 2 managed 19 hours and 46 minutes, while the Poco F3 GT managed 17 hours and 36 minutes. OnePlus Nord 2 was set to 90Hz refresh rate while Poco F3 GT was set to 120Hz during testing.
Both the smartphones come with a fast charger; The OnePlus Nord 2 5G has a Warp Charge 65W charger while the Poco F3 GT gets a 67W unit. In our charging test, it was the OnePlus Nord that quickly charged 58 percent in 15 minutes and up to 98 percent in 30 minutes. It took 32 minutes to get full charge. Poco F3 GT climbed up to 46 percent in 15 minutes and 72 percent in 30 minutes. It took about 47 minutes for Poco to be fully charged.
OnePlus Nord 2 5G vs Poco F3 GT Cameras
The OnePlus Nord 2 5G and Poco F3 GT both have a triple camera setup, but with slightly different types of sensors. Let's first take a look at the hardware of the OnePlus Nord 2 5G. It has a 50-megapixel primary camera with OIS and f/1.88 aperture, which is the same as the flagship OnePlus 9. There is also an 8-megapixel ultra-wide-angle camera with f/2.25 aperture and EIS. The third sensor is a 2-megapixel black and white camera. On the other hand, the Poco F3 GT packs a 64-megapixel primary camera with f/1.65 aperture, an 8-megapixel ultra-wide-angle camera with 119-degree field of view, and a 2-megapixel macro camera. The camera apps on both the phones are quite easy to use and you will not have any problem with either of them. Both apps have AI scene detection, and I found that they were quick to set up their cameras.
The OnePlus Nord 2 and Poco F3 GT were fast focussers and didn't require me to tap their screens. Daylight shots taken with the OnePlus Nord 2 looked natural and had decent details. The Poco F3 GT though delivered better details, possibly thanks to its higher resolution sensor, but it outputs a bit sharper which makes photos less attractive overall. The ultra-wide-angle cameras on both phones offer a wider field of view but the results aren't as detailed. I preferred shots taken with the OnePlus Nord 2 as the colors were more natural.
Daylight camera samples (tap to resize image)
Daylight ultra-wide-angle camera samples (tap to resize image)
For close-ups, it was the OnePlus Nord 2 that took crisper shots with finer details. When shooting portraits, you have the option to adjust the level of blur on both these smartphones. I liked the edge detection in both, but the OnePlus Nord 2 again produced better results. The Poco F3 GT has a macro camera that lets you get up close to subjects for a shot, but the output is limited to 2 megapixels in resolution.
Close-up camera samples (tap to resize image)
Portrait Camera Samples (tap to resize the image)
In low light, it's the OnePlus Nord 2 that shines again with brighter images and better details. With Night Mode enabled, the OnePlus Nord 2 takes longer than the Poco F3 GT, but the resulting shots also have much finer details.
Low-light camera samples (tap to See image)
Night Mode Camera Samples (tap to see image)
Video recording in both these smartphones is on top at 4K 30fps. In broad daylight, footage from both devices shot at 1080p as well as 4K was well-steady. Footage shot in low light on the OnePlus Nord 2 was much better.
Overall, in terms of camera performance, it is the OnePlus Nord 2 that has a clean edge over the Poco F3 GT.
Verdict
With both OnePlus and Poco launching smartphones in the same price range with similar specifications, it was clear that choosing one would not be easy. Both of these deliver great performance for the price but it is the Poco F3 GT that is scoring high in our benchmarks. The high touch sampling rate and 120Hz refresh rate along with Gaming Trigger make it well suited for gaming. It also offers good battery life and fast charging.
While I think the Poco F3 GT will appeal to anyone willing to play the game, the OnePlus Nord 2 is the better all-rounder. Its camera performance is better than Poco in many respects and battery performance was also better. The design of the OnePlus Nord 2 5G will also attract a wider audience, making it my pick between the two.
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