The OnePlus Nord 4 5G was launched last month and is in one of those sweet spots in the mid-range price segment that’s crowded with options trying to provide the most value for money. Priced starting at Rs 29,999, should you consider it over the Realme GT 6T or the iQOO Neo 9 Pro? Let’s have a look.
Design & Display
The OnePlus Nord 4 5G brings back a long-lost design language: metal. Giving you HTC One M8 vibes, the Nord 4 adopts a Metal unibody design, and depending on which colour you get, there are different looks. I personally went with the silver one with laser-cut stripes on the back because it looked the nicest one out of the trio. Black is for those who want a subtle look, while Green is for those who like that dual-tone look.
Silver is surely the flashiest of the three and best showcases the handset’s bold metal look. The striped pattern on the back doesn’t have a texture but is there purely for the looks, and it handles that well. Despite being all metal, the device didn’t feel hefty and is one of the most premium devices I have held recently.
A departure from the usual aluminium and glass design seen in smartphones nowadays is a welcome move. The buttons on the right feel tactile, while the alert slider on the left has an orange tint inside, which, again, looks excellent.
The ordinary-looking camera modules have glass around them, which gives the phone that dual-tone finish. I’d say OnePlus surely made a smartphone that stands out amongst the crowd.
OnePlus has included a case within the box, which has a matte finish on the sides and a transparent TPU back. The case also has a unique touch.
Apart from the design, the OnePlus Nord 4’s Haptics are also good. They are tight and used well across the whole system for that immersive and premium feel. The stereo speakers sound loud and are well-tuned. They don’t have a lot of bass, but considering the price point, I don’t have any complaints.
The front display sports a 6.74-inch 120Hz AMOLED Display with a 1.5K Resolution of 2772 x 1240 pixels, 100% DCI-P3 support, HDR10+, and 2150 nits of peak brightness.
Speaking of brightness first, you won’t be touching those peak brightness numbers often, but only till 1100 nits even in direct sunlight which is not the best but manageable. I found it challenging to read the screen in direct sunlight; it wasn’t as effortless as it is with the iQOO Neo 9 Pro in similar conditions. However, it was still acceptable.
You wouldn’t find anything else to complain about for the rest of the aspects. The display is sharp and reproduces punchy colours. Auto-brightness works as it should while the display stays at 120hz most of the time, even when the Refresh Rate is set to Auto. It’s also responsive while gaming which is another advantage. The in-display fingerprint sensor is an optical one and is quick and accurate in detecting the fingerprint and unlocking the device.
Software & Performance
The OnePlus Nord 4 5G is powered by the Snapdragon 7+ Gen 3 SoC paired with up to 12GB of LPDDR5x RAM and 256GB of UFS 4.0 RAM.
I bought the top-end model because I plan to use it for as long as I can, and I can tell I made the right decision. RAM management stays excellent, and the device is quick and responsive even when performing demanding tasks.
One might doubt the thermals because the device has an all-metal build, but there’s nothing to worry about. Yes, it does get warm at times when you are running tasks like Google Maps or playing heavy titles but never did it get uncomfortably hot.
Talking of gaming, you can expect to play titles like Call of Duty and BGMI at high graphics and get consistent frame rates, thanks to the quite capable Snapdragon 7+ Gen 3 processor. The device didn’t throttle easily while playing such titles.
Read More: OnePlus Rolls Out OxygenOS Update for Nord CE 4 Lite
OxygenOS has come a long way since its inception, and today, it remains one of the smoothest Android skins out there. It did lose its identity in between, and I was the one to criticize it, but in Nord 4, I can say OxygenOS handles many things right. The animations are smooth, interruptive, and fluid. Not once did the OnePlus Nord 4 lag during my use, whether during heavier or lighter tasks. You can also set the App opening and closing animation speed, which is set to medium by default but can be set to fast.
The Android skin also remains feature-packed to the core, including AI features like AI article summary, AI smart cutout, AI eraser, and AI audio summary. All these features worked well for the most part, especially the AI eraser, which has improved quite a lot since it was first introduced. The results don’t look unnatural or digitally manipulated like they did before.
In addition, you get the smart sidebar, a bunch of Always-on display styles, wallpaper-based theming, fingerprint animations, various fonts, a battery indicator style, a clock style, double-tap to wake or sleep, and much more.
The device comes pre-loaded with bloatware, which is, fortunately, easy to uninstall.
OnePlus says the device will receive updates for 6 years, wherein the device will get 4 major OS upgrades and only security patches for the remaining two years. This matches Samsung’s policy, which is one of the only brands providing 4 major OS upgrades.
Interestingly, this software policy is even longer than what OnePlus offers for its 12R, a smartphone one segment above Nord 4. Coming back to Nord 4, with how the device performs, I don’t doubt whether the device can last so long.
With a metal build, network reception is not a concern because the Nord 4 has loads of antenna bands, including the ones in the frame and the one that goes all around the display. It doesn’t have any issues handling a 5G network. Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connections also work without any issues.
Battery & Charging
The 5500mAh battery cell inside the OnePlus Nord 4 5G is easily among the best we have reviewed recently. It’s on par with the competition and can easily last up to 2 days with minimal use. Even with heavy use, the Nord 4 can easily last 24 hours or more.
During my usage, including navigating, scrolling through social media, watching YouTube videos, making some calls, and browsing the web, the Nord 4 performed effortlessly. It delivered an impressive screen-on time of nearly 8 hours, which is excellent.
The Nord 4 has a bundled 100W charger that can charge the device from 20% to 100% in under 25 minutes, which is outstanding. A battery protection feature is also available, allowing you to restrict the charging to just 80% for better battery ageing.
Cameras
The OnePlus Nord 4 has a dual rear camera setup, which includes a 50-megapixel Sony LYT-600 f/1.8 primary shooter and an 8-megapixel Sony IMX355 f/2.2 ultra-wide angle lens. On the front, there is a 16MP f/2.4 camera sensor for selfies.
The camera app on the Nord 4 is good to use, and the shutter lag is minimal. Shots clicked outdoors are acceptable. The detailing in these shots could be better, but the colours are on point, and the dynamic range is decent, too.
Photos from the ultra-wide-angle sensor have a slight colour shift over regular shots. The detailing still needs some improvement, but the colours are natural with a cool hue. It’s not as good as you’d expect it to be, but it is usable if you don’t shoot a lot of Wide-Angle photos.
Portrait photos from the sensor are excellent, with high detailing and colour accuracy. The EDGE detection is also on point, and the bokeh effect feels natural. However, when shooting from the ultra-wide angle sensor, the edge detection can get a little messy.
Selfies from the 16MP sensor aren’t the best regarding skin tones and other colours, as these look faded. While the detailing is high, the photos from the front-facing sensor may not appeal to those who enjoy clicking selfies often.
Low-light shots are surprisingly well handled, but because of the shutter lag, the photos can often come out blurry, as seen in the above shot. It was clicked in near pitch-black conditions, so I’d say the result is average. Night shots have a decent dynamic range, but you cannot expect a lot of sharpness and detail in a photo clicked on in such conditions.
Photos under artificial lighting, similar to portrait photos, have a good amount of detailing and handle the colours very nicely.
Similar to other phones in the segment, when you give the sensor enough light, it performs amazingly. However, because of inconsistencies, camera enthusiasts may not find the Nord 4 a compelling option.
