Last year’s Nord CE3 was a good mid-range option, offering a decent 120Hz AMOLED panel, a good rear camera, and 80W charging. OnePlus hasn’t changed much with the Nord CE4; the phone has the same 120Hz screen, but it’s more powerful thanks to the Snapdragon 7 Gen 3, a larger battery with 100W charging, and a new 50MP camera on the back .
However, the Nord CE4 has its inherent limitations; the phone will only get two Android platform updates, there’s no alert slider, and the camera isn’t great at shooting video. With the advent of the Phone 2a, Nothing has set a high bar in this segment, and OnePlus has to deliver the best possible device to live up to it.
But it didn’t do that. Instead, the Chinese manufacturer focused on iterative upgrades without addressing the key shortcomings of the Nord CE series, and in doing so made the CE4 a poor overall choice in this segment.
OnePlus Nord CE4: Pricing and release date
OnePlus launched the Nord CE4 in India on April 1 and the phone is now available in the country. The phone is available in Celadon Marble (the model I’m using) and Dark Chrome, and retails for 24,999 rupees ($300). This is for the variant with 8GB RAM and 128GB storage, and if you need more storage, you can opt for the 8GB/256GB variant priced at Rs 26,999 ($324).
OnePlus has some launch incentives, with up to 1,500 rupees ($18) off on phones with select cards, and you can also get an additional 2,500 rupees ($30) off by exchanging your current phone.
OnePlus Nord CE4: What I like
OnePlus likes to change the design of its Nord CE phones with each generation, and the CE4 is no different. The phone doesn’t bear much resemblance to the Nord CE3, and OnePlus now offers an oval-shaped camera housing that looks much cleaner.
The color choice is also interesting; the Celadon Marble model has a unique pattern on the back that’s quite eye-catching, and while the hue isn’t as bright, it’s similar to the OnePlus 11 Marble Odyssey or even the OnePlus 12. The back has a glossy surface that’s prone to smudges, and there’s a subtle curve where the back meets the midframe.
The back and midframe are made of polycarbonate, which I had no issues with. The sides of the phone are flat, but the edges are beveled, which makes it a little easier to hold and use. There’s also an IR blaster and MicroSD slot, so if you need to expand storage the old-fashioned way, you can easily do so.
I think the design looks fresh and elegant, especially the Celadon Marble version, and the addition of IP54 ingress protection makes the Nord CE4 more resilient to the elements. Another interesting feature of the OnePlus 12/12R is the Aqua Touch technology, which allows you to use the device with wet fingers.
In terms of panel, Nord CE4 uses the same 6.7-inch 120Hz AMOLED screen as last year, and it is also repairable. You can set the refresh rate to 60Hz or 120Hz, and there’s an automatic mode to change it on the fly. OnePlus uses a custom Panda Glass solution on the screen instead of standard Gorilla Glass, and while the manufacturer says the phone can withstand a 1.5-meter drop, I didn’t test it.
| category | No phone 2a | OnePlus Nord CE4 |
|---|---|---|
| PCMark Work 3.0 (overall) | 13898 | 11879 |
| PCMark Work 3.0 (web browsing) | 16009 | 12835 |
| PCMark Work 3.0 (Video Editing) | 5246 | 5731 |
| PCMark Work 3.0 (Writing) | 19519 | 13754 |
| PCMark Work 3.0 (photo editing) | 24538 | 19769 |
| Geekbench 6 (single core) | 1125 | 1019 |
| Geekbench 6 (multi-core) | 2412 | 2891 |
| 3DMark Wildlife Extreme (Score) | 1144 | Chapter 1473 |
| 3DMark Wildlife Extreme (FPS) | 6.85 | 8.82 |
In terms of hardware, Nord CE4 is equipped with Qualcomm Snapdragon 7 Gen 3; it uses the new Cortex A715 and A510 cores and is built on the 4nm node. It comes standard with 8GB RAM, the base model comes with 128GB UFS 3.1 storage, and the 256GB model also offers UFS 3.1. The Nord CE3 has 12GB of RAM (256GB model), but the CE4 is limited to 8GB across the board. That said, more RAM doesn’t really make a difference, and 8GB is enough in this case.
The phone has no noticeable lag in day-to-day use, and it performs well enough when it comes to gaming – as long as you stick to casual games. I didn’t notice any issues with overheating, phone calls, and general day-to-day use, and the Nord CE4 proved to be reliable. The device features Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.4, and the usual AptX HD codec.
The biggest change with the Nord CE4 is the battery – the phone now has a 5500mAh battery with 100W charging. The battery takes just over 30 minutes to fully charge, and there’s really no other device in this segment that can match the Nord CE4 in this regard. Battery life is also excellent, easily lasting a day and a half on a single charge.
The camera continues to be a big differentiator in this category, with the Nord CE4 using a new 50MP Sony LYT600 sensor with OIS. Coupled with an 8MP wide-angle lens equipped with Sony IMX355, you get a 16MP module at the front.
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The camera takes decent photos in most situations and I didn’t have any issues with it. Daylight photos have good detail reproduction and dynamic range, and the device is able to easily lock on to the subject and maintain focus. The camera also performs well in low-light scenes, and while there’s some noise, you get good detail and color.
On the software side, you get the same Android 14-based ColorOS 14 interface as other OnePlus phones, and there’s not much to talk about. The user interface is modern, has some Material You-based options that allow you to customize accent colors to your liking, and there’s no lack of customizability.
OnePlus Nord CE4: What I don’t like
While the design is nice, the Nord CE4 doesn’t feel quite like other devices in the segment. The edges tend to dig into the palm, which makes using the phone without a case a bit annoying. There’s also the fact that you missed the alert slider – even OPPO phones have sliders now, so I don’t understand why OnePlus wouldn’t add that feature to its devices.
There are also issues with the screen; colors have a distinctly cold tint that’s noticeable when playing videos on the device. Switching to Natural mode made a difference, but even then, the color balance wasn’t dialed in and I had to adjust the slider all the way to the warmer end of the scale to get realistic colors. I didn’t notice a brightness issue, but the phone isn’t as bright as the competition – the Phone 2a is much better for outdoor use.
All games are locked at 60fps, which is a limitation in ColorOS, so no matter what OnePlus device you have, you won’t be able to play high refresh rate games. So even if you get playable frame rates in casual games, the Adreno 720 can’t handle more demanding titles and there’s noticeable jitter.
The Phone 2a does this better, and while it doesn’t have more powerful hardware than what you get here, Nothing’s optimizations make all the difference. Hardware-wise, you don’t get NFC; I still don’t understand why phone manufacturers omit that feature on their devices, but if you want a radio, you’ll need to buy a Nord 3.
It’s nice to see OnePlus not using useless sensors like the 2MP macro lens, which is the mainstay of its devices, but the downside is that it doesn’t offer a way to take macro photos at all. Most brands allow you to use the main camera or wide-angle lens for macro shots, but OnePlus doesn’t bother to do that.
It’s worth noting that the wide-angle lens isn’t as good as the main camera anywhere, and it’s nearly impossible to take passable photos in low-light conditions. Video recording is similarly limited, with videos shot during the day grainy and without much detail.
But the biggest limitation of the Nord CE4 is the software. OnePlus guarantees the phone only two platform updates, which won’t be enough in 2024. While the best OnePlus phones get four updates as standard, other devices in the segment are now offering three Android OS updates, which puts the Nord CE4 at a disadvantage.
OnePlus Nord CE4: The Competition
If you want the best phone in the segment, then you need to buy the Nothing Phone 2a. The design of the device is more interesting, with LED lights on the back, and the software is clean, uncluttered, smooth, and free of any bloatware. You also get more software updates, the hardware is optimized differently than other budget phones, and there are two usable cameras on the back.
If you want the best hardware, the POCO X6 Pro is a great choice. I like the design of the X6 Pro – especially the yellow color – the panel gets brighter, you get UFS 4.0 storage, NFC, and the Dimensity 8300 Ultra is great for playing demanding games. The software isn’t neat, but it’s smooth, and you get three platform updates.
OnePlus Nord CE4: Should you buy it?
You should purchase this product if:
- You want a phone with 100W charging
- You need a MicroSD card slot
- You want a good rear camera
You should not purchase this product if:
- You want a cheap phone with the best hardware
- You need clean software
- You want long-term software updates
- You need a secondary camera available
The Nord CE4 has a few strong points: It has the best battery life of any budget phone I’ve tested this year, and the camera holds its own against the competition. But the rest of the program is lackluster, to say the least. OnePlus should put more effort into differentiating this phone because as it stands, I don’t see any reason to recommend it.
The hardware isn’t the best in the segment, the lack of NFC is annoying, the wide-angle camera doesn’t measure up to the main lens, and there’s no alert slider. But what ultimately holds the Nord CE4 back is its update policy – two platform updates are no longer good enough, especially when direct competitors like the Phone 2a and X6 Pro guarantee three updates as standard.
OnePlus says the Nord CE series is designed to deliver the core essentials that users want, and if that’s the case, the company should consider adding features that customers actually care about, like long-term updates and optimized hardware.