OnePlus Nord CE 4 5G comes with a powerful Snapdragon 7 Gen 3 SoC, a massive 5,500mAh battery and features 100W fast charging, IP54 dust and splash resistance and more
After weeks of rumors and speculation, the OnePlus Nord CE 4 was finally launched in the Indian market on April 1st. The smartphone is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 7 Gen 3 chipset, houses a massive 5,500mAh battery, and also features a dual camera setup on the back. The Nord CE 4 is seen as an attempt by the smartphone maker to cement its position in the mid-range price segment, coming months after the successful launch of the OnePlus 12 series.
The latest Nord device has been used for over a week, and here’s a detailed analysis of how the device performed during the testing period.
Unboxing:
Credit is due, whether it’s the flagship OnePlus 12 series or the Nord lineup, the most premium unboxing experience for a smartphone is consistently provided by OnePlus. Inside the black-colored box, the Nord CE 4 is included, along with a 100W SUPERVOOC adapter and red charging cable, a SIM ejector tool, a color-matched case, and some paperwork.
Design and display:
The Celadon Marble variant of the Nord CE 4 5G was received, which looks stunning and is bound to catch attention. A mix of seafoam green and pearlescent white colors has been used by OnePlus to create a subtle wave pattern on the back, mimicking the finish of natural marble and providing a 3D effect to the phone. For users preferring a more minimalist aesthetic, the Nord CE 4 is also offered in a Dark Chrome colorway.
In terms of design changes, the Nord CE 4 5G ditches the rounded camera module design of its predecessor and instead comes with a more modern-looking vertical pill-shaped cutout housing the dual camera setup and LED flash. Volume rockers and the power button continue to be placed on the right-hand side of the device, while the left side remains empty. Moreover, taking a cue from the 12 series, an IR blaster has been added on top of the device by OnePlus, enabling users to control a plethora of electronic devices using the pre-installed ‘IR Remote’ application.
Despite having a plastic back and flat edges, the Nord CE 4 doesn’t feel cheap and is comfortable to hold for long periods of time due to its slim profile and excellent weight management. The phone weighs around 186 grams and is just 8.4mm thick. Furthermore, the hard plastic material used by OnePlus ensures that the back of the Nord CE 4 isn’t prone to smudges or fingerprint marks, which is a common issue with many phones with a glass back.
In terms of display, a 6.7-inch Full HD+ AMOLED display with up to 120Hz refresh rate and 1100 nits of peak brightness (900 nits in High Brightness Mode) is featured on the Nord CE 4. Minimal bezels around the display contribute to the Nord CE 4 boasting an impressive 93.4 percent screen-to-body ratio. The AMOLED panel on the Nord CE 4 produces vivid colors and sharp color reproduction, making the smartphone ideal for multimedia experiences like streaming movies or watching videos on YouTube.
Performance and battery:
One of the key highlights of the Nord CE 4 is the performance, with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 7 Gen 3 chipset and the Adreno 720 GPU. The phone feels snappy in hand and handles all tasks with ease, whether performing heavy-duty tasks like gaming or multi-tasking or day-to-day tasks like browsing the web or watching a movie.
A few games were played with the Nord CE 4 5G, and no issues were encountered. The back of the CE 4 5G does become slightly warm during elongated gameplay sessions, but it is not excessively hot or hindering the gaming experience.
The performance gains are reflected in the benchmark scores, with the mid-range smartphone boasting an AnTuTu score of 8,10,317, a single-core score of 1140 on Geekbench, and a multi-core score of 2979 on Geekbench.
Another upgrade with the Nord CE 4 5G lies in terms of battery capacity and charging abilities. A massive 5,500 mAh battery (the biggest-ever battery on a Nord device) is included, along with support for 100W SUPERVOOC charging.
The massive 5,500mAh battery, along with the efficiency gains with the Snapdragon 7 Gen 3, ensures that the Nord CE 4 can be easily lasted a single day with something left in the tank.
Software and other improvements:
OnePlus’ tried and tested Oxygen OS 14, based on the latest Android 14 operating system, is run by the Nord CE 4. Two years of operating system updates and three years of security patch updates have been promised by OnePlus with this device.
A near-stock Android experience is offered by OxygenOS 14 with a few nifty features, including O-Haptics, Flexible Windows, Holo audio, auto pixellate, and more. Unlike the more premium OnePlus 12 series, however, the CE 4 5G comes with a bit of bloatware pre-installed, including a few games, Agoda, Instagram, Netflix, and OnePlus’ own apps. All of these apps can either be uninstalled or disabled, and there are no annoying lock-screen ads to worry about with this device.
Better water resistance is also offered by the Nord CE 4, much like the OnePlus 12 series, coming with an IP 54 rating, which ensures that the phone is good to handle a few splashes of water and limited amounts of dust particles. Additionally, support for Aqua Touch technology is provided by the CE 4, which should ideally make it easier to use the phone with wet fingers or during light rainfall. However, the Aqua Touch technology continues to be a bit inconsistent in reality, meaning that the Nord CE 4 worked well with wet fingers but struggled when there were a few water droplets on the screen.
Camera performance:
A dual rear camera setup is now included with the Nord CE 4 5G, comprising a 50MP SonyLYT 600 primary sensor with support for optical image stabilization (OIS) and an 8MP Sony IMX355 ultra-wide-angle lens. The gimmicky 2MP macro lens found on the Nord CE 3 has been ditched by OnePlus, focusing instead on the quality of the two primary lenses.
Pleasing images are produced in daylight by the 50-megapixel primary camera, capturing crisp and vibrant shots with near-natural colors and great detail. The sensor also largely holds its own in night shots, capturing decent detail with relatively low noise. However, the camera suffers from lens flare in scenes with bright light sources, such as street lamps or car headlights, and problems with exposure control are also noticed in some scenes.
Below are some Sample shots from OnePlus Nord CE 4
The Nord CE 4 does not come with any dedicated telephoto lens but the smartphone is capable of up to 20x digital zoom. However, there is a significant loss in details beyond 5x zoom and I found myself using the camera for only up to 2x zoom.
The 8MP ultra-wide angle is decent for the price point and captures eye-pleasing pictures. However, the shift in colours is noticeable in pictures as you shift from the primary sensor to the ultra-wide angle lens.
Verdict:
OnePlus has ticked almost all the boxes with the Nord CE 4, providing a big 5,500mAh battery with support for 100W fast charging, a powerful processor, sleek and unique design, an ad-free software experience and decent cameras.
While there are many competitors for the Nord CE 4 in the under ₹25,000 price segment, the latest Nord series device manages to stand out as a balanced mid-range option that offers excellent value for money.
