OnePlus Nord CE4 overview: Nonetheless not ok

Final 12 months’s Nord CE3 was a good mid-range possibility, providing a good 120Hz AMOLED panel, good digicam on the again, and 80W charging. OnePlus is not making too many adjustments with the Nord CE4; the telephone has the identical 120Hz display, however it has a bit extra energy due to the Snapdragon 7 Gen 3, a bigger battery with 100W charging, and a brand new 50MP digicam on the again.

Nevertheless, the Nord CE4 has inherent limitations; the telephone will get simply two Android platform updates, there isn’t any alert slider, and the cameras do not do a satisfactory job in the case of taking pictures movies. With Nothing setting the bar excessive on this section due to the Cellphone 2a, OnePlus needed to ship the absolute best gadget to have the ability to measure up.

But it surely hasn’t executed that. The Chinese language producer as an alternative centered on iterative upgrades with out addressing key shortcomings of the Nord CE collection, and in doing so, it made the CE4 a poor total selection on this section.

OnePlus Nord CE4: Pricing and launch date

OnePlus unveiled the Nord CE4 in India on April 1, and the telephone is now out there on the market within the nation. The telephone is offered in Celadon Marble (the mannequin I am utilizing) and Darkish Chrome shade variants, and it retails for ₹24,999 ($300). That is for the variant that has 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage, and when you want extra storage, there’s an 8GB/256GB model that is out there for ₹26,999 ($324).

OnePlus has a couple of launch incentives that low cost the telephone by as much as ₹1,500 ($18) with choose playing cards, and you may get a further ₹2,500 ($30) off by exchanging your present telephone.

OnePlus Nord CE4: What I like

OnePlus likes to change up the design of Nord CE telephones with each technology, and that is the case with the CE4 as effectively. The telephone would not have many similarities to the Nord CE3, with OnePlus now providing an rectangular digicam housing that appears rather a lot cleaner.

The selection of shade is attention-grabbing as effectively; the Celadon Marble variant has a particular sample on the again that stands out, and whereas the hue is not as vibrant, it evokes similarities to the OnePlus 11 Marble Odyssey and even the OnePlus 12. The again has a shiny end and is vulnerable to selecting up smudges, and it has a refined curve the place the again meets the mid-frame.

The again and mid-frame are made out of polycarbonate, and I’ve no issues with that. The telephone has flat sides, however you get beveled edges that make holding and utilizing it a bit of simpler. There’s additionally an IR blaster and MicroSD slot, so if you have to prolong storage the old school means, you are able to do that with ease.

I feel the design seems recent and chic — significantly with the Celadon Marble model — and the addition of IP54 ingress safety makes the Nord CE4 that rather more resilient to the weather. One other intriguing characteristic that made its means from the OnePlus 12/12R is the Aqua Contact tech that allows you to use the gadget with moist fingers.

Coming to the panel, the Nord CE4 has the identical 6.7-inch 120Hz AMOLED display as final 12 months, and it’s serviceable. You’ll be able to set the refresh price to 60Hz or 120Hz, and there is an auto mode that adjustments it on the fly. OnePlus is utilizing a customized Panda Glass answer as an alternative of the usual Gorilla Glass over the display, and whereas the producer says the telephone is ready to face up to a tumble from 1.5 meters, I did not put that to the take a look at.

As for the {hardware}, the Nord CE4 is powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 7 Gen 3; it makes use of the brand new Cortex A715 and A510 cores and is constructed on a 4nm node. You get 8GB of RAM as commonplace, and the bottom mannequin has 128GB of UFS 3.1 storage, with the 256GB variant additionally providing UFS 3.1. The Nord CE3 had 12GB of RAM with the 256GB mannequin, however the CE4 is restricted to 8GB throughout the board. That mentioned, extra RAM would not actually make a distinction, and 8GB is satisfactory on this state of affairs.

The telephone would not have noticeable lag in day by day use, and it does a good sufficient job in the case of gaming — supplied you follow informal video games. I did not see any points with overheating or whereas making calls and usually day by day utilization conditions, and the Nord CE4 proved to be dependable. The gadget has Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.4, and the same old AptX HD codec.

The largest change with the Nord CE4 is the battery — the telephone now has a 5500mAh battery, and there is 100W charging. It takes simply over half-hour to completely cost the battery, and there actually is not one other gadget on this section that comes near the Nord CE4 on this regard. Battery life is excellent as effectively, and I simply received a day and a half between fees.

Cameras proceed to be a giant differentiator on this class, and the Nord CE4 makes use of a brand new 50MP Sony LYT600 sensor with OIS. That is joined by an 8MP wide-angle lens that options the Sony IMX355, and on the entrance, you get a 16MP module.

The digicam takes good pictures in most conditions, and I haven’t got any issues on this regard. Daylight pictures have good element rendition and dynamic vary, and the gadget is ready to lock in on a topic with ease, and keep focus. The digicam does a good job in low-light eventualities as effectively, and whereas there’s some noise, you get good particulars and colours.

On the software program aspect of issues, you get the identical ColorOS 14 interface primarily based on Android 14 as different OnePlus telephones, and there is not a lot to speak about. The UI is trendy and has a couple of Materials You-based choices that mean you can customise accent colours to your preferences, and there’s no scarcity of customizability.

OnePlus Nord CE4: What I do not like

Whereas the design is nice, the Nord CE4 would not fairly have the identical in-hand really feel as different gadgets on this section; the perimeters are likely to dig into the palm, and that makes utilizing the telephone with out a case mildly annoying. Then there’s the truth that you miss out on the alert slider — even OPPO telephones now have the slider, so I do not perceive why OnePlus cannot be bothered so as to add the characteristic to its gadgets.

There are points with the display as effectively; colours have a definite cooler tone that’s evident when streaming movies on the gadget. Switching to the Pure mode makes a distinction, however even then the colour stability is not dialed in, and I needed to regulate the slider all the way in which to the nice and cozy finish of the size to get practical colours. I did not see points with brightness, however the telephone would not get as vibrant as its rivals — the Cellphone 2a was significantly better in out of doors use.

All video games are locked to 60fps, and this can be a limitation inside ColorOS, so no matter what OnePlus gadget you are utilizing, you will not have the ability to play excessive refresh price titles. So regardless that you get playable framerates in informal titles, the Adreno 720 is not in a position to deal with demanding video games, and there’s noticeable jitter.

The Cellphone 2a does a significantly better job on this space, and regardless that it would not have {hardware} that is considerably extra highly effective than what you are getting right here, Nothing’s optimization makes all of the distinction. And as regards to {hardware}, you do not get NFC; I nonetheless do not get why telephone producers omit the characteristic on their gadgets, however when you want the radio, you may must get the Nord 3.

It is good to see OnePlus not bothering with ineffective sensors just like the 2MP macro lens that was a mainstay on its gadgets, however the draw back is that it would not supply a technique to shoot macro pictures in any respect. Most manufacturers allow you to use the primary digicam or the wide-angle lens to shoot macro pictures, however OnePlus hasn’t bothered to take action right here.

On that observe, the wide-angle lens is not wherever nearly as good as the primary digicam, and it barely delivers satisfactory pictures in low-light conditions. Video recording is equally hobbled, and movies taken in daylight are grainy and do not have a lot in the way in which of element.

However the largest limitation with the Nord CE4 is the software program. OnePlus ensures simply two platform updates with the telephone, and that isn’t sufficient in 2024. The finest OnePlus telephones get 4 updates as commonplace, and different gadgets on this section now supply three Android OS updates, and that places the Nord CE4 on the backfoot.

OnePlus Nord CE4: The competitors

In order for you the very best telephone that this section has to supply, you have to get the Nothing Cellphone 2a. The gadget has a way more attention-grabbing design with LED lights on the again, the software program is clear, uncluttered, fluid, and would not have any bloatware. You additionally get extra software program updates, the {hardware} is optimized like no different finances telephone, and there are two usable cameras on the again.

The POCO X6 Professional is a superb selection in order for you the very best {hardware}. I just like the design of the X6 Professional — significantly in yellow — the panel will get brighter, you get UFS 4.0 storage, NFC, and the Dimensity 8300 Extremely is nice at enjoying demanding video games. The software program is not uncluttered, however it’s fluid, and also you get three platform updates.

OnePlus Nord CE4: Must you purchase it?

You should purchase this if:

• You need a telephone with 100W charging
• You want a MicroSD card slot
• You need a good digicam on the again

You should not purchase this if:

• You need a finances telephone with the very best {hardware}
• You want clear software program
• You need long-term software program updates
• You want usable auxiliary cameras

The Nord CE4 has a couple of issues going for it; the telephone has the very best battery lifetime of any finances telephone I examined this 12 months, and the digicam holds its personal in opposition to its rivals. However the remainder of the bundle is lackluster to say the least. OnePlus ought to have put in additional effort to distinguish the telephone, as a result of because it stands, I do not see any purpose to advocate it.

The {hardware} is not the very best on this section, the dearth of NFC is irksome, the wide-angle digicam would not measure as much as the primary lens, and there isn’t any alert slider. But it surely’s the replace coverage that in the end hinders the Nord CE4 — two platform updates are simply not ok anymore, significantly when speedy rivals just like the Cellphone 2a and X6 Professional assure three updates as commonplace.

OnePlus says the Nord CE collection is all about delivering the core necessities that customers want, and if that’s certainly the case, the corporate ought to have considered including options that its prospects truly care about, like long-term updates and optimized {hardware}.