Home > Smartphone comparison > Nord CE6 vs Nord CE3 5G – which one to choose?

OnePlus Nord CE6 vs CE3 5G

68 out of 100
OnePlus Nord CE6
VS
57 out of 100
OnePlus Nord CE3 5G
OnePlus Nord CE6
OnePlus Nord CE3 5G

Here we compared two mid-range smartphones: the 6.78-inch OnePlus Nord CE6 (with Qualcomm Snapdragon 7s Gen 4) that was released on May 6, 2026, against the OnePlus Nord CE3 5G, which is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 782G and came out 3 years before. On this page, you will find tests, full specs, strengths, and weaknesses of each of the devices.

Select the amount of RAM to evaluate performance and value for money more precisely
Memory
  1. Differences
  2. Review
  3. Specs
  4. Benchmarks
  5. Battery life
  6. Camera
  7. Comments

Key differences

An overview of the main advantages of each smartphone
Reasons to consider the OnePlus Nord CE6
  • Waterproof body (IP69 classification)
  • Comes with 3000 mAh larger battery capacity: 8000 vs 5000 mAh
  • 42% better performance in AnTuTu Benchmark (1145K versus 806K)
  • Higher display refresh rate – 144 Hz
  • The phone is 3 years newer
  • More recent OS version: Android 16 versus 15
  • 14% higher pixel density (450 vs 394 PPI)
  • More energy-efficient CPU – Snapdragon 7s Gen 4
  • The front-facing camera can record video at 4K
  • Reverse charging feature
Reasons to consider the OnePlus Nord CE3 5G
  • Expandable storage via MicroSD card up to 1024GB
  • Weighs 31 grams less

Review

Evaluation of OnePlus Nord CE6 and CE3 5G crucial features
Display
Screen quality, color accuracy, brightness
Camera
Photo and video recording quality
Performance
CPU and memory performance (apps, system)
Gaming
Capabilities for playing modern games
Battery
Battery life, charging type and speed
Connectivity
Networks, ports, data transmission
Scores with a red asterisk (*) are approximate and may change in the future as we gather more data.
NanoReview Score
Final comparison evaluation
Select your primary usage scenario to get a more accurate NanoReview Score
📱 Primary usage:

Value for money (Beta)

Should I update?
No 48% Yes
Maybe, but mainly if you specifically want better battery life.
This is a situational upgrade. It makes the most sense if better battery life matters to you.
Main improvements: battery life, display, and gaming.
Be aware: the newer phone is weaker in camera.

Tests and specifications

Comparison table of technical specifications and tests
Phone:
Nord CE6
vs
Nord CE3 5G

Display

Type AMOLED AMOLED
Size 6.78 inches 6.7 inches
Resolution 1272 x 2772 pixels 1080 x 2412 pixels
Aspect ratio 19.6:9 20:9
PPI 450 ppi 394 ppi
Refresh rate 144 Hz 120 Hz
Adaptive refresh rate Yes (60-120 Hz) No
Max rated brightness 1800 nits 950 nits
Max rated brightness in HDR 3600 nits -
HDR support Yes, HDR10+ Yes, HDR10+
Touch sampling rate - 240 Hz
Screen protection Tempered glass Tempered glass
Screen-to-body ratio 89.3% 88.2%
Display features - DCI-P3
- Always-On Display
- DC Dimming		 - DCI-P3
- Always-On Display

Design and build

Height 162.5 mm (6.4 inches) 162.7 mm (6.41 inches)
Width 77.5 mm (3.05 inches) 75.5 mm (2.97 inches)
Thickness 8.5 mm (0.33 inches) 8.2 mm (0.32 inches)
Weight 215 g (7.58 oz) 184 g (6.49 oz)
Waterproof IP69 No
Rear material Plastic Plastic
Frame material Plastic Plastic
Colors Black, Silver, Blue Gray, Blue
Fingerprint scanner Yes, in-display Yes, in-display
Screen-to-body ratio
Nord CE6 +1%
89.3%
Nord CE3 5G
88.2%

Performance

Chipset specifications of OnePlus Nord CE6 and OnePlus Nord CE3 5G
SoC
Chipset Qualcomm Snapdragon 7s Gen 4 Qualcomm Snapdragon 782G
Max clock 2700 MHz 2700 MHz
CPU cores 8 (1 + 3 + 4) 8 (1 + 3 + 4)
Architecture - 4 cores at 1.8 GHz: Kryo Silver (Cortex-A520)
- 3 cores at 2.4 GHz: Kryo Gold (Cortex-A720)
- 1 core at 2.7 GHz: Kryo Prime (Cortex-A720)		 - 4 cores at 1.8 GHz: Cortex-A55
- 3 cores at 2.4 GHz: Cortex-A78
- 1 core at 2.7 GHz: Cortex-A78
Manufacturing TSMC TSMC
Lithography process 4 nanometers 6 nanometers
Neural processor (NPU) Yes Hexagon 770
GPU
Graphics Adreno 810 Adreno 642L
GPU shading units 256 512
GPU clock 895 MHz 719 MHz
FLOPS ~458.2 GFLOPS ~736.3 GFLOPS

Benchmarks

Benchmark comparison of OnePlus Nord CE6 and OnePlus Nord CE3 5G
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Nord CE6
1098
Nord CE3 5G +1%
1107
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Nord CE6 +15%
3111
Nord CE3 5G
2716
Compute Score (GPU)
Nord CE6 +77%
4647
Nord CE3 5G
2626
Compute Score (GPU) 4647 2626
Single-core score 1098 1107
Multi-core score 3111 2716
Sources: Geekbench [3], [4]
AnTuTu Benchmark 11
Nord CE6 +42%
1145513
Nord CE3 5G
806420
CPU 445015 326376
GPU 193175 112186
Memory 215728 170913
UX 291595 196945
Total score 1145513 806420
Samples Less than 3 [4 tests]
3DMark Steel Nomad Light
Stability - 69%
Graphics test - 2 FPS
Graphics score - 269
Sources: 3DMark [5]
PCMark 3.0
Nord CE6
n/a
Nord CE3 5G
10000
Web score - 8240
Video editing - 5647
Photo editing - 18954
Data manipulation - 8341
Writing score - 13368
Submit your benchmark results

Recent User Tests

The latest benchmark tests that have been submitted by users
OnePlus Nord CE6
No benchmark results yet
Add
OnePlus Nord CE3 5G
DateBenchmarkResult
📘 2026-09-28 (Arjems Tiwari)AnTuTu 11665501
📘 2026-06-15 (Prashant)AnTuTu 11805122
📘 2026-04-17 (zenith)AnTuTu 11863702
📘 2025-10-29 -> zenithAnTuTu 11806420
📘 2025-10-20 -> Faizan90AnTuTu 11784329
Add View all (7)

Memory

RAM
RAM size 8 GB 8 GB
Memory type LPDDR5X LPDDR4X
Memory clock - 2133 MHz
Channels 4 2
Storage
Storage size 128 GB 128 GB
Storage type UFS 3.1 UFS 3.1
Memory card No MicroSD
Memory card max size - Up to 1024 GB

Software

Operating system Android 16 Android 13 (Can be upgraded to Android 15)
ROM OxygenOS 16 OxygenOS 15
OS updates 4 years 2 years
Security updates 5 years 3 years

Battery

Capacity 8000 mAh 5000 mAh
Max charge power 80 W 80 W
Battery type Silicon-Carbon (Si/C) Li-Po
Replaceable No No
Wireless charging No No
Reverse charging Yes No
Bypass charging Yes -
Fast charging Yes Yes (53% in 15 min)
Full charging time - 0:31 hr
Add your battery life

Main camera

Matrix 50 megapixels 50 megapixels
Image resolution 8192 x 6144 8192 x 6144
Zoom Digital Digital
Flash Dual LED LED
Stabilization Optical Optical
8K video recording No No
4K video recording Up to 30FPS Up to 30FPS
1080p video recording Up to 120FPS Up to 60FPS
Slow motion 240 FPS (720p) 240 FPS (1080p)
Angle of widest lens - 112°
Lenses 1) Standard: 50 MP
2) Depth
1) Standard: 50 MP
2) Ultrawide: 8 MP
3) Macro: 2 MP
Camera features - Bokeh mode
- Pro mode
- RAW support		 - Bokeh mode
- Pro mode
Standard lens
Image resolution 50 MP 50 MP
Aperture f/1.8 f/1.8
Focal length 27 mm 24 mm
Sensor OmniVision OV50D40 Sony IMX890
Sensor size 1/2.88" (≈ 0.35 inch) 1/1.56" (≈ 0.64 inch)
Pixel size 0.61 micron 1 micron
Autofocus Phase autofocus Phase autofocus
Stabilization Optical Optical
Ultra-wide lens
Image resolution - 8 MP
Aperture - f/2.2
Sensor - Sony IMX355
Sensor size - 1/2.8" (≈ 0.36 inch)
Pixel size - 1.14 micron
Stabilization - Digital
Macro lens
Image resolution - 2 MP
Aperture - f/2.4
Stabilization - No

Selfie camera

Megapixels 32 megapixels 16 megapixels
Image resolution - 4920 x 3264
Aperture f/2.0 f/2.4
Focal length 21 mm 24 mm
Sensor Galaxycore GC32E2 CMOS
Sensor size 1/3.1" (≈ 0.32 inch) 1/3.13" (≈ 0.32 inch)
Pixel size 0.7 micron 1 micron
Autofocus Phase autofocus No
Stabilization Optical Digital
Video resolution 2160p (4K) at 30 FPS 1080p (Full HD) at 30 FPS
Depth sensor (TOF 3D) No No

Connectivity

Wi-Fi standard Wi-Fi 6 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax) Wi-Fi 6 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/)
Wi-Fi features - Dual Band
- Wi-Fi MiMO
- Wi-Fi Direct
- Wi-Fi Hotspot
- Wi-Fi Display		 - Dual Band
- Wi-Fi MiMO
- Wi-Fi Direct
- Wi-Fi Hotspot
- Wi-Fi Display
Bluetooth version 5.2 5.2
Bluetooth features LE LE
USB type USB Type-C USB Type-C
USB version 2 2
USB features - Charging
- USB-Storage mode
- OTG		 - Charging
- USB-Storage mode
- OTG
DisplayPort No -
GPS GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo, QZSS GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, QZSS
NFC* No Yes
Infrared port Yes Yes
Network
Number of SIM* 2 2
Type of SIM card Nano Nano
Multi SIM mode Standby Standby
eSIM support* No No
Hybrid slot No Yes
LTE Cat* - 13
5G support Yes Yes

Sound

Speakers Stereo Stereo
Headphone audio jack No No
FM radio No No
Dolby Atmos - Yes

Other

Category Mid-range Mid-range
Announced May 2026 June 2023
Release date May 2026 August 2023
Launch price (MSRP) $320 $320
Successor - - OnePlus Nord CE6
Sensors - Proximity sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient light sensor
- Compass
- Fingerprint		 - Proximity sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient light sensor
- Compass
- Fingerprint
Bundled charger Not included Yes, 80 W
*Disclaimer! NFC, GSM network support, and some other specs can be different depending on the country.

Conclusion

After analyzing all the data, we think that the OnePlus Nord CE6 is definitely a better buy.

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