OnePlus Nord 4 Review: Most balanced smartphone under ₹30,000
- OnePlus Nord 4 review: OnePlus' latest device comes with a unique metal unibody design with dual tone finish, powerful Snapdragon 7+ Gen 3 chipset, massive 5,500 mAh battery and 100W SUPERVOOC fast charging.
OnePlus has been on a bit of a roll this year, from the launch of the OnePlus 12 and 12R earlier this year, to the OnePlus Watch 2, and later the OnePlus Nord CE 4. All of these devices have been well received by users and tech enthusiasts like myself, thanks to their great design, powerful chipset and massive battery, while remaining relatively inexpensive. The only exception to this trend was perhaps the OnePlus Nord CE 4 Lite, which was perhaps the least impressive launch from OnePlus this year.
But now OnePlus seems to have topped its efforts with the newly launched OnePlus Nord 4, which not only matches the competition with its Snapdragon 7+ Gen 3 chipset, AMOLED display and 50MP OIS camera, but also beats them in some respects with its unique AI features, 6 years of software support and a massive 5,500mAh battery, all at a starting price of ₹29,999.
But while the Nord 4 looks, on paper at least, like a formidable device, does it have what it takes to stand out in the very crowded sub- ₹30,000 price segment? Well, I used the Nord 4 for about 10 days and here's my detailed review of the device.
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Unboxing and Design:
Inside the Nord 4 box you get the device itself, a red coloured Type A to Type C cable, a SIM ejector tool, a 100W adapter, a transparent case and some paperwork. I received the top-end model with 12GB RAM/256GB storage in Obsidian Midnight colourway.
At 8mm thick and weighing in at around 200 grams, the Nord 4 isn't the lightest phone around, but OnePlus has done a good job with the weight distribution on this phone, making it easy to hold even during those long phone calls or gaming sessions.
The Nord 4 immediately stands out from the competition with its metal unibody design and dual-tone finish. The camera layout has also been reworked to accommodate the metal body, with the vertical pill-shaped camera layout now giving way to a horizontal look that looks pretty neat and eye-catching.
The shiny part of the back has a mirror-like finish and gives the phone a premium feel, but also makes it more prone to fingerprints and smudges. On the plus side, despite having two large camera cutouts, the Nord 4 doesn't wobble or become unbalanced when placed on a flat surface.
Meanwhile, the volume rockers and power button are now on the right side of the device, while the left side has OnePlus' iconic alert slider. The Nord 4 comes with an IR blaster, a USB 2.0 port, an in-display fingerprint scanner, stereo speaker setup, Bluetooth 5.4, Wi-Fi 6, NFC and an IP65 rating for splash and dust resistance, meaning it can handle light rain and splashes, but don't go swimming with it just yet.
Display and battery:
Nord 4 sports a 6.74-inch flat AMOLED display with minimal bezels and a screen-to-body ratio of 93.5%. It has a peak brightness of 2,150 nits, which means the display remains readable even in direct sunlight.
The AMOLED panel is probably one of the best in its class, with crisp and vibrant colours, making it ideal for those binge-watching sessions. The phone supports HDR, and I tried playing a few videos on YouTube to see how the display would perform, and it's safe to say that the results didn't disappoint.
One display feature that will come in handy during this monsoon season is OnePlus' AquaTouch technology, which ensures that you can use the Nord 4 in light rain or when using the phone with wet fingers.
The only problem I have here is that OnePlus hasn't been very forthcoming about the screen protection it has used for the Nord 4's display. There is a plastic screen protector pre-installed on the device, but I would recommend getting a tempered glass installed to better protect the display.
On the battery front, the Nord 4 gets a big boost from its predecessor and packs a 5,500 mAh setup with support for 100W SUPERVOOC fast charging, which takes the device from 0-100% in around 30-35 minutes. The phone easily lasts over a day in normal use, and I got a consistent screen-on time of around 6.5 to 7 hours.
Software and AI:
The Nord 4 runs OnePlus' own Oxygen OS 14.1, based on Android 14, and is promised at least four years of OS upgrades and six years of security patches, making it the OnePlus device with the longest software support. Nord 4 has also received the TÜV SÜD Fluency 72 Month A rating, meaning it should work well for 6 years, at least in theory.
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My Nord 4 has already received the July security patch update, and with OnePlus' history of timely software updates, I feel confident about using this device in the long term. However, we'll just have to take OnePlus at its word when it comes to the 6-year fluency claim.
Much like its younger siblings, the Nord 4 comes with a bit of bloatware preinstalled, including some useful apps like LinkedIn, Facebook, Netflix and Microsoft 365, as well as some completely unnecessary ones like Bubble Pop and Candy Crush. The good news is that all these apps are bundled in separate folders and can still be easily uninstalled.
While OxygenOS on Nord remains ad-free, I noticed that there are now app suggestions in the app tray, and clicking on them takes you to a third-party app store called 'App Picks', and there is also a screening page called 'Security Test' that pops up after installing new apps. App suggestions can be turned off by simply disabling 'Global Search' in the home screen settings, but these new changes could be a sign of things to come.
On the plus side, the Nord 4 comes with plenty of useful AI features such as AI Eraser (which can now remove people with a single click), Smart Cutout and Auto Pixelate. I particularly like the Auto Pixelate feature, which hides sensitive information like contact and credit card details with one-tap.
OnePlus has also added a new feature within the Recorder app called AI Recording Summary, which helps translate or summarise a recording. Additionally, other AI features such as Text Summary and Text Translate are set to arrive with a future update.
All in all, OnePlus' commitment to 4 years of OS updates and 6 years of security patches makes the Nord 4 stand out as the phone with the highest software support in the sub- ₹30,000 price segment. Moreover, OxygenOS is still one of the cleanest UIs around, with very few bloatware apps, no ads and some nifty AI features, but the addition of Global Search and Security Scan suggests that ads may soon be part of the user experience, at least on Nord devices.
Performance:
The Nord 4 runs on the powerful Qualcomm Snapdragon 7+ Gen 3 chipset, which is subordinate to the flagship Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset but more or less on par with last year's top-end Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 SoC.
In terms of benchmarks, the Nord 4 scored 10,86,875 on Antutu, which is slightly lower for a Snapdragon 7+ Gen 3 device, suggesting that OnePlus may be soft limiting performance, presumably to control the thermals. On GeekBench 6, it got a single-core score of 1,148 and a multi-core score of 3,572. However, I did notice that the phone got a little too hot to handle while running benchmarks, but it also cooled down very quickly, properties of metal I suppose.
In terms of everyday use, however, I had no problems with the Nord 4, whether browsing the web, switching between apps or even streaming content. I also really like the new animations that OnePlus has used on this device, which really enhance the user experience.
Playing demanding games such as BGMI, Call of Duty Mobile and Real Racing 3 was also no problem, with no frame drops or stuttering. While the phone did occasionally get a little warm during extended gaming sessions, it wasn't something that forced me to stop playing and there was no noticeable drop in performance.
Camera:
Spec-wise, the Nord 4 features a dual camera setup on the back, with a 50MP Sony LYT 600 primary sensor and an 8MP ultra-wide angle lens. For selfies, there's a 16MP sensor on the front, which is said to get support for an 'AI Groupfie feature' in a future update.
The 50MP primary sensor takes decent shots in good lighting conditions, capturing plenty of detail and maintaining near-natural colours of both objects and human subjects. It also manages to capture decent highlights when it comes to sky shots.
However, the phone seems to struggle with night shots, where the loss of detail is noticeable and OnePlus seems to overdo some colours to get a more appealing image. For example, notice how 'Bistro' has been blown out of proportion in the image below.
That's not to say it's a bad phone in low light, it's just that OnePlus' software processing could have been a little better. In fact, I really liked the Nord 4's night-time portraits, which, although the colour balance was a little off, still produced an overall pleasant output.
To my surprise, the ultra-wide-angle lens managed to take decent looking pictures in daylight, but the loss of detail and colour consistency is immediately apparent when you switch to night shots.
As usual, you don't have to take my word for the camera's performance, you can access all the raw images via the Google Drive link attached to this article.
Verdict:
Nord 4 isn't the perfect or flawless smartphone on the market by any stretch of the imagination, and there are only a few obvious flaws, such as the lack of any disclosed display protection, heating issues during benchmarks and average cameras.
However, the Nord 4 is a typical OnePlus phone in that it may not be a clear winner in one segment, but it is still an excellent overall package for its segment. For example, it's not the most powerful phone under ₹30,000, that would be the Poco F6 (Review). It's not the best camera phone either, that would probably be the Realme 12 Pro+ or Vivo V30e. But when you look at the combined package, there are few devices that can match the OnePlus Nord 4 with its massive 5,500 mAh battery, fast charging, relatively clean UI, long software support and unique metal dual-tone design.
| Pros | Cons |
| Great display | No disclosed protection for display |
| Massive 5,500 mAh battery with 100W fast charging | Gets hot during benchmarks |
| Unique Metal unibody design with dual tone finish | Average cameras |
| IP 65 rating | |
| 6 years of software support |
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First Published:18 Jul 2024, 10:54 PM IST
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