OnePlus Nord 3 or Motorola Edge 40? Which phone to choose on a budget? Let’s talk…
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OnePlus Nord 3
OnePlus Nord 3 marks the return of OnePlus to flagship killer territory. It has a great performing chipset, great display, fast charging, and more.
Pros
- Great display
- Great processor
- Good build & design
- Good primary camera
Cons
- Average secondary and selfie cameras
Motorola Edge 40
Motorola Edge 40 offers a flagship-like premium experience, with all the features you’d typically find in a flagship, like a curved display, vegan leather finish, wireless charging, and IP68 rating.
Pros
- Great design & build
- Good curved display
- IP68 certified
Cons
- Smaller battery
OnePlus Nord 3 Vs. Motorola Edge 40 – KEY TAKEAWAYS
- OnePlus Nord 3 has a glass back with either a gloss or matte finish depending on the colors. Motorola Edge 40, on the other hand, stands out with its vegan leather finish.
- Nord 3 has a flat display, a 1.5K display with a 120Hz refresh rate, and Motorola Edge 40 has a curved display with a 144Hz refresh rate and Full HD+ resolution.
- OnePlus Nord 3, with its Mediatek Dimensity 9000 SoC, performs better than Motorola Edge 40, which uses Dimensity 8020.
- OnePlus Nord 3 has a triple camera setup – 50 + 8 + 2 MP, while Motorola Edge 40 uses a dual camera setup – 50 + 13 MP.
- Nord 3 has a bigger battery and faster charging, coming at 5000mAh and 80W. Motorola Edge 40 has a smaller 4400mAh battery and slightly slower 68W fast charging.
- Motorola Edge 40 supports wireless charging and has an IP68 water and dust resistance rating.
Design & Build
OnePlus Nord 3 has the new design language OnePlus uses for the Nord series of phones. The phone uses a dual circular camera array that houses the triple cameras of the phone. It uses a glass back and has a plastic frame. OnePlus Nord 3 comes in two colors: Misty Green and Tempest Gray. The Misty Green color variant has a gloss back, while the Tempest Gray has a matte back finish. Nord 3 comes with an IP54 rating for splash resistance.
Motorola Edge 40 doesn’t look like any other Motorola lineup smartphone. It is slim and has a vegan leather back, giving it a premium finish. The camera array also oozes premiumness and houses the dual camera in an excellent camera array. Motorola Edge 40 comes with an IP68 rating for water and dust resistance.
Displays
OnePlus Nord 3 has a flat display, a 6.74-inch AMOLED panel with a resolution of 1.5K (1240 x 2772 pixels), and a refresh rate of 120Hz. The resolution is unusual for the panel, as the flagship phones usually have a screen of 2K resolution, while the lower-priced phones have a Full HD+ display. The 1.5K resolution bridges the gap between these segments very nicely! This display is protected by Asahi Dragontrail glass, can go up to 1450 nits in peak brightness, and has HDR10+ certification.
Motorola Edge 40 has a curved display: a 6.55-inch pOLED panel with a resolution of Full HD+ and a refresh rate of 144Hz. The display can reach 1200 nits in brightness and has HDR10+ certification.
Performance
OnePlus Nord 3 is powered by MediaTek Dimensity 9000 SoC, the flagship grade chipset from MediaTek. It is a much more powerful chipset than the one in Motorola Edge 40, comparable to Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 or Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1, the previous year’s flagships from Snapdragon.
Motorola Edge 40 is also powered by a MediaTek chipset, the MediaTek Dimensity 8020 SoC. It’s not as powerful as Dimensity 9000, but it’s still comparable to the Snapdragon alternatives you’d generally find in the phones in this segment.
Camera
OnePlus Nord 3 uses a triple camera setup; the primary camera uses a 50 MP Sony IMX890 sensor with OIS. It is the same camera used in OnePlus’ much pricier phones, such as OnePlus 11 and OnePlus 11R; it was also featured recently in Oppo Reno 10 Pro+. Coming to the secondary cameras, the phone uses an 8MP ultrawide camera with a field of view of 112° and a 2MP macro camera. To the front the phone uses a 16MP selfie shooter up on the front.
Motorola Edge 40 has a dual camera setup. The primary camera is a 50MP one that uses the Omnivision OV50A sensor, the same one used in Motorola Edge 40 Pro and Edge 30 Pro. The ultrawide camera is 13MP with a 120° field of view. The ultrawide camera can also double up to become a macro shooter, so there really isn’t a need for a third macro camera like Nord 3. To the front, the phone has a 32MP selfie shooter.
Battery
OnePlus Nord 3 has a 5,000mAh battery with 80W super fast charging support. Motorola Edge 40 has a smaller 4,400mAh battery that supports 68W super fast charging. Edge 40 also supports 5W wireless charging, which Nord 3 doesn’t support.
Software
OnePlus Nord 3 comes with OxygenOS 13.1 based on Android 13 out of the box. The OxygenOS custom skin from OnePlus is based on Oppo’s ColorOS 13 and has many features, customizations, and privacy features.
Motorola Edge 40 comes with MyUX based on Android 13 out of the box. MyUX is a close-to-stock Android skin that will give you a Pixel-like experience but with additional Motorola-specific features.
Specs Comparison Table
| Specification | OnePlus Nord 3 | Motorola Edge 40 |
|---|---|---|
| Dimensions | 162 x 75.1 x 8.2 mm | 158.4 x 72 x 7.6 mm |
| Weight | 193.5 g | 167 g |
| Build | Glass front, glass back, plastic frame | Glass front, aluminum frame, plastic back or eco leather back |
| SIM | Dual SIM (Nano-SIM, dual stand-by) | Dual SIM (Nano-SIM, eSIM) |
| IP rating | IP54 | IP68 |
| Display size | 6.74 inches | 6.55 inches |
| Display type | AMOLED | pOLED |
| Resolution | 1240 x 2772 pixels | 1080 x 2400 pixels |
| Refresh rate | 120Hz | 144Hz |
| Display Certifications | HDR10+ | HDR10+ |
| Protection | Dragontrail Glass | N/A |
| Processor | Mediatek Dimensity 9000 | Mediatek Dimensity 8020 |
| CPU | Octa-core (1×3.05 GHz Cortex-X2 & 3×2.85 GHz Cortex-A710 & 4×1.80 GHz Cortex-A510) | Octa-core (4×2.6 GHz Cortex-A78 & 4×2.0 GHz Cortex-A55) |
| GPU | Mali-G710 MC10 | Mali-G77 MC9 |
| RAM | 8 GB / 16 GB | 8 GB |
| Storage | 128 GB / 256 GB | 128 GB / 256 GB |
| Main camera | 50 MP, f/1.8, 24mm, 1/1.56″, 1.0µm, multi-directional PDAF, OIS | 50 MP, f/1.4, 1/1.55″, 1.0µm, multi-directional PDAF, OIS |
| Ultra-wide camera | 8 MP, f/2.2, 112˚, 1/4″, 1.12µm | 13 MP, f/2.2, 120˚, 1.12µm, AF |
| Macro camera | 2 MP, f/2.4 | N/A |
| Selfie camera | 16 MP, f/2.4, 24mm, 1.0µm | 32 MP, f/2.4, 0.7µm |
| Battery capacity | 5000 mAh | 4400 mAh |
| Charging speed | 80 W | 68 W |
| Wireless charging | – | – |
| Operating system | OxygenOS 13.1 based on Android 13 | MyUX based on Android 13 |
| Price | Staring from €449 | Starting from £530 / €599 |
Price And Value For Money
OnePlus Nord 3 is not available in the US. It is currently available in Europe and India; it is also listed as coming soon in the UK.
Here are the prices of the OnePlus Nord 3 in Europe:
- 8 + 128 GB – €449.
- 16 + 256 GB – €499.
Motorola Edge 40 is available in the UK and Europe. But it is not available yet available in the US.
Here are the Motorola Edge 40 prices:
- 8 + 256 GB – £530 / €599.
Comparing the prices of OnePlus Nord 3 and Motorola Edge 40, it appears that OnePlus Nord 3 offers better value for money.
Conclusion
OnePlus Nord 3 is the better-priced phone, undercutting Motorola Edge 40 by €100 for the 256 GB variant with double the RAM.
OnePlus Nord 3 offers a better display, a better chipset, good cameras, a better battery, faster charging, and a lower price. If you want the best phone for your money, OnePlus Nord 3 is the one you should get for this budget.
But Motorola Edge 40 offers a premium flagship experience at a lower price. The phone has a curved display, vegan leather build, IP68 rating, and wireless charging. It also offers a decent processor and a decent set of cameras. If you fancy a premium flagship-like experience with Pixel-like software, you can go with Motorola Edge 40 even if it costs a little more.
