The OnePlus Nord CE4 has a ton of internal and external modifications over the Nord CE3 5G (review) from the previous year. For instance, there are no longer three cameras on the back panel as there were in an earlier incarnation. Longer battery backup and quicker charging are priorities. The phone’s powerful AI capabilities are even promised by the latest Snapdragon 7 Gen 3 SoC.
One feature that hasn’t changed, though, is the selfie camera, which is still a vital component of smartphones today, in my opinion. While the guarantee of two years of Android OS updates is respectable, it falls short of industry standards. Additionally, unlike the Nord CE3 5G, the Nord CE4 does not have an alert slider for volume adjustment.
Rating: 8 / 10
Verdict
With its several well-considered improvements, the OnePlus Nord CE4 is a far more alluring choice than the Nord CE3 from the previous year. The phone‘s performance, battery life, and display all meet the needs of regular users. Not only are its cameras good, but they’re the greatest. Though cutting-edge AI functions are promised by the Snapdragon 7 Gen 3 SoC, we still have to wait for OnePlus to provide those functionalities.
Design and display
The color and positioning of the back cameras are two obvious differences between the Nord CE3 and Nord CE4 when compared side by side.
The back is divided into three cuts, the third of which merely houses the LED flash. The camera module’s pill-shaped design is reminiscent of the 2021 OnePlus Nord CE. If that’s your thing, I have the Nord CE4 with a marble-inspired design, which has a more carefree and youthful attitude. Dark Chrome, the typical black option, is for people who want something more conventional.
Its 6.7-inch AMOLED display‘s other features are largely the same as those of the device from the previous year. It does not imply that the viewing experience won’t be enjoyable for you. The Nord CE4 maintains its full HD+ resolution of 2,412 x 1,080 pixels, 20:1:9 aspect ratio, and refresh rate of 120 Hz. To enhance the overall viewing experience, HDR playback is supported by Netflix and Amazon Prime.
I had a decent time watching Spider-Man: No Way Home on Netflix and Blackberry on Amazon Prime. Deep blacks and brilliant colors were produced by the AMOLED display, though occasionally I found it to be a little too aggressive. The dual speakers on the Nord CE4 enhance the whole watching experience as well. You will need to rely on Bluetooth connectivity if you want to use earbuds because there’s no headphone jack.
Cameras
As previously established, the Nord CE4 does away with the 2MP macro lens in favor of two cameras on the back. In comparison to the previous year, this also means one fewer camera feature. A new 50MP Sony LYT-600 sensor with support for optical image stabilization (OIS) is now used as the primary camera. An 8MP ultra-wide camera still exists. There is a 16MP selfie camera on the front.
The OnePlus Nord CE4 provides dependable performance for still photos in both bright and low light. The phone prioritizes natural colors over artificial ones with a well-balanced white balance. The phone’s specifications were respectable and its muted colors held up well in direct sunshine. During my test, though, the primary camera had trouble picking up the correct shade of dark blue.
The OnePlus Nord CE4 outperformed the Nothing Phone 2(a) (review) in both bright and dark environments, at least when it came to still images. Although it could do a better job at capturing facial details, the 16MP front camera was also reasonably good at detecting skin. We saw the same thing on the Nord CE3 of the previous year.
For videos, meanwhile, the Phone 2(a) provides superior stabilization and is a better option than the Nord CE4, particularly if you’re a budding content creator. In light of this, please subscribe to our YouTube channel for a thorough camera comparison with the Nothing Phone 2(a).
The OnePlus Nord CE4’s simple camera UI with readily available presets and effects is another feature I like.
Performance and software
The most recent Snapdragon 7 Gen 3 SoC from Qualcomm powers the OnePlus Nord CE4. The phone has UFS 3.1 storage and LPDDR4X RAM. For Rs 24,999, the base variant now comes with 8GB RAM and 128GB storage. I am also utilizing the highest model (Rs 26,999), which has 256GB of storage. With the phone’s hybrid SIM slot, you may use two SIM cards at once or one SIM card and a microSD card to expand your capacity by up to 1 TB.
The inbuilt Snapdragon 7 Gen 3 SoC provides respectable performance improvements over the previous generation. The Nord CE4 outperformed its immediate contemporaries in terms of numbers in AnTuTu’s overall CPU-CPU test (see the images above). Even in the single- and multi-core Geekbench tests, the Nord CE4 outperformed its competitors. The Snapdragon 7 Gen 3 SoC promises native AI functionality, which we haven’t seen yet but will probably see in future software releases.
In our game test, the Nord CE4 performed admirably. I played COD and BGMI at 60 frames per second with high visuals, and I never had any hot or mistouch problems. Its heat management was on par with or perhaps superior to that of its competitors. Nonetheless, the POCO X6 Pro continues to lead in terms of numbers.
Battery
Additionally, there aren’t many issues with the battery backup because it has a larger and more recent 5,500mAh cell. It is also amazing that the Nord CE4 only weighs 2 grams more at 186 grams, even with a larger battery.
The Nord CE4 demonstrated remarkable endurance in the PCMark battery test, lasting more than 16 hours with flight mode activated and 50% screen brightness. With AOD turned on and a high refresh rate enabled, you may anticipate an all-day backup with performance that is even better in real life.
Furthermore, the charging speed is really fast. The device can be fully charged in less than 35 minutes with the 100W SuperVOOC charger that comes in the box.
Final verdict
The “never settle” philosophy of OnePlus is aptly embodied by the Nord CE4. This phone consistently performs well in terms of battery life, display quality, camera performance, and general speed.
Although the construction quality is unquestionably strong, I don’t think the marble design language is as enticing. If you value design highly, you may want to look into alternatives such as the Samsung Galaxy A35 or the Nothing Phone 2(a). A few sections require enhancements as well. For example, the quality of the movies on the Nord CE4 was subpar, and given the competition, two years of Android OS updates might not seem noteworthy. Maybe next year, these things will get better.
