This month, OnePlus introduced its newest Nord CE series smartphone – OnePlus Nord CE4 under the midrange category featuring a fast Qualcomm Snapdragon 7 Gen 3 octa-core SoC, 120 Hz AMOLED display with Aqua Touch technology, 50 MP Sony LYT-600 OIS camera, IP54 water-resistant design, 5,500 mAh battery with 100W super-fast charging, and more. Here’s what we have to say about the smartphone in our OnePlus Nord CE4 review.
OnePlus Nord CE4 Specifications & Features
- Display & Design: 6.7-inch AMOLED display, Full HD+ resolution (2412 x 1080 pixels), 120 Hz refresh rate, 240 Hz touch sampling rate, 2160 Hz PWM Dimming, and 1,100 nits peak brightness, IP54 dust and water-resistant, Aqua Touch technology, 8.4 mm thickness, 186 grams weight
- Software: Android 14, Oxygen OS 14
- CPU: 4nm Qualcomm Snapdragon 7 Gen 3 octa-core SoC clocked up to 2.63 GHz
- GPU: Adreno 720 Graphics
- Memory: 8 GB LPDDR4x RAM, extended RAM feature
- Storage: 128 GB OR 256 GB UFS 3.1 internal storage, expandable up to 1 TB via microSD card
- Main Camera: Dual Cameras (50 MP f/1.95 Sony LYT-600 OIS main + 8 MP f/2.2 ultra-wide-angle), LED flash
- Selfie Camera: 16 MP f/2.4
- Others: USB Type-C, in-display fingerprint scanner, dual stereo speakers, Aqua Touch technology
- Cellular: 5G network, dual-SIM, dual VoLTE
- Battery & Charging: 5,500 mAh, 100W fast charging, one day power in 15 minutes charging
- Colors: Dark Chrome, Celadon Marble
- Price: ₹24,999 (8 GB RAM and 128 GB Storage), ₹26,999 (8 GB RAM and 256 GB Storage)
- Availability: From 4th April 2024 on Amazon.in, OnePlus.in, OnePlus Store App, OnePlus Experience Store, Reliance Digital, Croma, and other retail channels
- Offers: Up to ₹1,500 bank discount (ICICI, OneCard), no-cost EMI for up to 6 months, additional exchange bonus of up to ₹2,500 on exchange, free OnePlus Nord Buds 2r
Design, Display, & Build Quality
On the design front, the OnePlus Nord CE4 uses a sleek back marble finish design with IP54 dust and water-resistant ratings and a dual rear camera setup with minimal camera bump. The phone is available in two color variants – Dark Chrome, and Celadon Marble, we got the Celadon Marble as you can see in the images. The overall appearance of the smartphone looks absolutely gorgeous (Celadon Marble), even though it uses a plastic back, the design is much more refined and smooth.
The Dark Chrome builds on past OnePlus dark colorways and adds a subtle shiny gradient for extra glamour. The Celadon Marble is a premium and elegant design with a vibrant and exciting tone based on designs first seen on the OnePlus 11 Marble Odyssey edition as per the company. It has a new internal structure which cushions the phone if it’s dropped.
The OnePlus Nord CE4 equips a 6.7-inch AMOLED screen with Full HD+ resolution (2412 x 1080 pixels), a 120 Hz refresh rate, 240 Hz touch sampling rate, 2160 Hz PWM Dimming, and 1,100 nits peak brightness. The display uses the OnePlus’ Aqua Touch technology for a smoother touch experience even with wet fingers or in rains. The display offers enough brightness with crisp details, good for the price range, however, you may see better AMOLEDs with 10-bit color depth (1.07B colors) and as much as 2,000 nits brightness.
On the sides, the right side houses a power button and volume controls while no alert slider is provided on the sides. The bottom side offers a USB Type-C port that supports 100W fast charging, and audio output through a USB Type-C to 3.5 mm adapter, along with stereo loudspeakers (with a secondary speaker at the earpiece), a microphone (another at the top), and a dual 5G SIM tray with no microSD card support.
Software, User Interface, & Features
The OnePlus Nord CE4 runs on the new OxygenOS 14 based on the Android 14 operating system with a security patch of 5th March 2024. You can expect at least 2 years of Android updates and 3 years of security updates from the company and OnePlus software support is pretty much reliable as far as we know.
The OxygenOS 14 is the company’s latest customized user interface that packs loads of features along with all the perks the Android 14 has. It offers a refreshing UI experience with the optimized Aquamorphic design, smart AI features, Always-on display customizations with tracking and insights, Live Wallpapers, icon packs, fingerprint animations, edge lighting, HyperBoost Gaming Engine, display enhancements, RAM Vita, Zen Mode, Privacy and Security features, and various improvements over its predecessor.
OxygenOS is currently one of the best Android interfaces you can get with a host of features and customizations and is also free from bloatware. You don’t get bloatware or any pre-installed apps on the phone, only the essential ones like GApps, Netflix, and a few OnePlus apps, the rest of the UI is just so clean. You will also find traces of OPPO’s ColorOS inside the settings page, a few familiar features in the camera app, and so on.
You get a promising user experience on OnePlus smartphones, the Nord CE4 offers a smoother UI with its 120 Hz refresh rate and faster UI response in terms of competition. You can change the refresh rate in the Display Settings, tweak the display enhancements, and other settings on the smartphone.
Hardware, Performance, & Gaming
The OnePlus Nord CE4 is powered by a 4nm Qualcomm Snapdragon 7 Gen 3 octa-core SoC clocked up to 2.63 GHz and paired with Adreno 720 GPU. Furthermore, it comes with 8 GB LPDDR4x RAM that extends up to +8 GB RAM via RAM Vita technology, and either 128 GB or 256 GB UFS 3.1 storage options.
The Snapdragon 7 Gen 3, which was introduced last year in November, is a midrange SoC featuring a 4nm process and follows the 1 + 3 + 4 architecture similar to its predecessor. Featuring a combination of Kryo CPUs based on 1x ARM Cortex-A715 prime core clocked at 2.63 GHz, 3 x ARM Cortex-A715 performance cores clocked at 2.4 GHz, and 4 x ARM Cortex-A510 efficiency cores clocked at 1.8 GHz.
Additionally, the SoC boasts a Snapdragon X63 5G Modem-RF System, 5G Dual-SIM Dual-Active (DSDA) that allows simultaneous use of two 5G + 5G SIM cards, Qualcomm FastConnect 6700 Mobile Connectivity System for Bluetooth 5.4, triple frequency location support, VC cooling for efficient heat dissipation, Hi-Res Audio (Wired & Wireless), and Spacial Audio.
The Snapdragon 7 Gen 3 is closely related to the counterpart MediaTek Dimsniety 8200 and is on par in terms of overall performance, however, it may have an edge in gaming when it comes to GPU. With the Adreno 720 GPU, you get a reliable gaming performance on the device. The Adreno 720 GPU can play most games with medium to high graphics settings and can be a good choice for gamers who are seeking a gaming smartphone in this price segment.
The SoC is nearly 15% improved in CPU performance compared to its predecessor (Snapdragon 7 Gen 1) according to Qualcomm. In addition, the Snapdragon 7 Gen 3 SoC is over 50% faster in terms of GPU performance when compared to that of the Snapdragon 7 Gen 1. The Qualcomm AI Engine offers 60% better AI performance per watt comparatively.
About the storage and RAM, the Nord CE4 is available in two storage variants – 128 GB UFS 3.1 or 256 GB UFS 3.1 onboard storage without support for microSD cards. The price for the 128 GB storage model is ₹24,999 and for the 256 GB storage model is ₹26,999.
Other features of the smartphone include an on-screen fingerprint scanner, stereo speakers with Dolby support and Spacial Audio, USB Type-C Audio, 5G connectivity, support for VoLTE, Wi-Fi 6E 802.11ax (2.4 GHz + 5 GHz), Bluetooth 5.4, NFC, and GPS.
Cameras
The cameras include a dual rear setup of a 50 MP f/1.9main camera utilizing the Sony LYT-600 sensor and OIS (Optical Image Stabilization) and a secondary 8 MP f/2.2 ultra-wide-angle camera using the Sony IMX355 sensor. One major highlight of the smartphone in its cameras is the Sony LYT600 image sensor with OIS support. You may see it as a triple camera setup, but there’s only two cameras, it’s just the part of design.
The secondary camera is a 8 MP ultra-wide with f/2.2 aperture with Sony IMX355 sensor and 120-degree FOV while the front side equips a 16 MP with f/2.4 aperture and a 24mm lens for selfie and video calling needs. The camera package is probably much stronger compared to the predecessors, it supports a better quality sensor, OIS, and 4k video recording which is pretty much good for this segment.
The smartphone offers up to 20x digital zoom, up to 4K video recording at 30 fps, up to 1080p slow-motion videos at 120 fps (720p at 240 fps), OIS (50 MP), and a number of features and modes including Dual-view Video, Night Mode, Portrait Mode, Pano, Slo-mo, Time-lapse, Text-scanner, Hi-res Mode, Retouching, Filters, Google Lens, Pro Moden for the rear camera, and Face Unlock, Screen Flash, Night Mode, Portrait mode, Pano, Time-lapse, Retouching, Filters, and Dual-view Video.
The OnePlus Nord CE4 camera offers very good results, we captured some shots to see how it performs and the overall image quality from the camera is impressive, thanks to the high-quality sensor and OIS support, it offers photo-capturing capabilities. Take a look at the shots we took from the OnePlus Nord CE4 camera below.
OnePlus Nord CE4 Camera Samples
Battery Runtime & Charging
Like the OnePlus 12 Series, the OnePlus Nord CE4 also supports the faster 100W SuperVOOC charging and packs a larger 5,500 mAh battery compared to its predecessor Nord CE3 5G equipped a 5,000 mAh. The 100W Type-A charger comes in the box, rated at 100W (11V, 9.1A), and is capable of providing the Nord CE4 a day’s power in just 15 minutes, you can expect a 50% charge in about 10 minutes.
Utilizing two dual-cell batteries (2x 2,750 mAh) connected in parallel, the Nord CE4 ensures rapid charging capabilities. The battery performance has been improved, you can get as much as 16.6 hours of YouTube playback, 15.2 hours of Instagram use, 44.5 hours of music playback, and 24.6 hours of voice calls. The battery lasts longer than the Nord CE3 5G due to its larger capacity of 5,500 mAh battery, except for up to two days depending on your usage patterns.
Verdict – OnePlus Nord CE4 Review
The OnePluls Nord CE4 offers a compressive package including top-notch performance in the segment, super-fast 100W fast charging with a larger battery, a smooth gaming experience, a bright 120 Hz AMOLED display, great camera performance, IP54 water-resistant design, stereo speakers, and a bunch of perks from OxygenOS 14. For those looking for a smartphone in the ₹25,000 price budget, the Nord CE4 is a great pick for this segment, the price starts at ₹24,999 for its 8 GB RAM and 128 GB storage variant which can be grabbed with ongoing offers.
OnePlus Nord CE4 Price In India – Where To Buy
The price for the OnePlus Nord CE4 starts at ₹24,999 for its 8 GB RAM and 128 GB storage and ₹26,999 for its 8 GB RAM and 256 GB storage. The smartphone is available on Amazon.in, OnePlus.in, OnePlus Store App, OnePlus Experience Store, Reliance Digital, Croma, and other retail channels. Launch offers include up to ₹1,500 bank discount (ICICI, OneCard), no-cost EMI for up to 6 months, additional exchange bonus of up to ₹2,500 on exchange, and free OnePlus Nord Buds 2r.
