OnePlus Nord 4

Pros:

– Premium Design: Unique metal unibody with a premium feel.

– Performance: Powerful Snapdragon 7 Plus Gen 3 chipset.

– Fast Charging: 100W SuperVOOC charging (0% to 100% in 28 minutes).

– Oxygen OS: Clean and user-friendly interface with useful AI features.

– Stereo Speakers: Good loudness and sound quality.

Cons:

– Camera: Lack of stabilization in 4K videos and mediocre ultra-wide performance.

– Bloatware: Pre-installed unnecessary apps and ads in the software.

– Slippery Design: Metal body can be slippery to hold.

– No Expandable Storage: Storage cannot be expanded via microSD card.

– Average Selfie Camera: Underwhelming performance in selfies.

– Thermal Throttling: Performance drops during prolonged heavy use.

The OnePlus Nord 4 comes with mid-range features meant to offer flagship-like performance. It builds upon the success of its predecessors by bringing significant improvements in design, performance, and features. This review will give an in-depth analysis of this latest offering from OnePlus.

Unboxing and First Impressions

In addition to the phone itself, the sleek box contains a 100W charger, a USB-C cable, a clear protective case, and other usual documentation. The initial impressions of the device are quite promising with its rich touch and uniqueness compared to its forerunners and competitors.

Design and Build Quality

OnePlus Nord 4’s design is one of the standout features. Unlike earlier versions that featured either glass or vegan leather on their rear panels, the Nord 4 has a metal unibody primarily made of aluminum, giving it a tough and premium feel. The laser-engraved texture on the metallic back surface adds some uniqueness, although it makes the phone slide out of my hands easily. By deploying new compact antenna designs and using the entire backside for signal amplification, OnePlus managed to address potential challenges related to connecting to 5G networks.

The phone has an IP65 rating against dust and water, which is much better than the last generation’s rating of IP54. It can handle splashes and light rain but is not completely waterproof. Moreover, the Nord 4 has retained its three-step alert slider, which can instantly switch between Silent, Vibration, or Ringing modes.

Display

The OnePlus Nord 4 comes with a 6.74-inch OLED panel with high resolution and a refresh rate of up to 120Hz. This results in a pixel density of up to 451 ppi, leading to sharp and bright pictures on display. Furthermore, this display supports HDR10+ video as well as 10-bit color, making it perfect for watching movies and shows. The screen is assisted by auto-brightness, reaching peak levels of nearly one thousand nits so that users can use their phones in direct sunlight.

The company included some quirks though. Initially, low-resolution screens looked unexpectedly improved after adjusting the screen resolution settings and turning off adaptive detail enhancement, slightly enhancing the situation. However, the writing in the notification center was still blurry, indicating a software bug that needed fixing. In general, though, for its cost, this display stands out because it offers lively colors plus smooth scrolling with a 120Hz refresh rate.

Performance

The OnePlus Nord 4 is powered by the Snapdragon 7 Plus Gen 3 chipset. This represents a significant improvement over the previous generation, providing better performance and built-in AI features. There are two storage options available for this device: 128GB with UFS 3.1 storage and 256GB with UFS 4.0 storage. In benchmarks, the Nord 4 scored around 11.5 lakhs, slightly lower than devices with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, but still impressive for its price range.

In terms of real-world usage, this phone works surprisingly well. It can seamlessly handle tasks like editing videos in 4K resolution or playing graphics-intensive games such as Call of Duty at a frame rate of ninety frames per second without suffering from any major heating problems. Nevertheless, during long stress tests lasting several minutes, it showed massive thermal throttling, which may affect its performance over long gaming periods.

Camera

The Nord 4 camera configuration includes a Sony IMX600 sensor main camera lens with 50MP and an ultra-wide lens with 8MP. The main camera performs well under good lighting conditions, producing images with wide dynamic ranges and very sharp details compared to other mobiles. Although not as sharp as the main shooter’s picture quality, it does provide some decent two-times digital zooming capabilities given its small size.

To help with low light performance, the phone has a night mode which gives less noise, more natural, and clean photos although sharpness could be improved.

The ultra-wide camera has good contrast and accurate color but limited dynamic range. Taking 3-4 seconds to capture photos that are soft with less contrast in low light is a function of night mode. The ultra-wide camera can only shoot up to 1080p footage, which feels soft and lacks detail. Selfies from the 16MP front-facing camera come out disappointing, as they tend to have poor detail, weak contrast, and lack color vibrancy.

The lack of electronic stabilization during 4K recording is an important drawback. On one hand, video at 4K resolution from the main camera is very sharp with fine detailing and a wide dynamic range. On the flip side, shaky videos might occur because there isn’t any stabilization option on this device. However, you can use Ultra Steady mode, which simulates action camera stabilization when shooting at 1080p 60fps.

Software and AI Features

It runs on Android version 14 named Oxygen OS version 14.1. Some AI-based functions are being developed by OnePlus under its “OnePlus Intelligence” nameplate. Among these services are article summarization in web browsers, AI writing assistance, and an artificial intelligence eraser for deleting undesired picture areas, such as people or objects, from snapshots. Beacon Link is another groundbreaking innovation that functions as a short-range walkie-talkie, allowing you to make calls without the need for a SIM or internet.

Furthermore, OnePlus has guaranteed four major software updates and six years of security patches on the Nord 4, which ensures longer support for the device. The user interface is simple but highly intuitive. However, it is full of bloatware and ads that detract from the overall experience. There are a dozen pre-loaded apps on the device, such as Netflix and Spotify, some of which are useful while others are simply unnecessary.

Bloatware and Ads

The presence of ads and bloatware is one aspect of the Nord 4 that could be less appealing. There are twelve pre-installed applications, including Netflix, Spotify, and LinkedIn. The hot apps section and hot games can be turned off, along with App Piic (formerly known as the OnePlus App Store), which feels redundant. Making things even harder, there are app search ads and suggestions all over the software, making it look more like an Oppo or Realme device rather than providing the clean experience OnePlus had become famous for.

Battery Life and Charging

The OnePlus Nord 4 is equipped with a bigger battery of 5,500 mAh, supporting amazing battery life. The handset reached an active use score of 14 hours and 41 minutes in our tests, making it one of the best in its category. Compared to last year’s 80W, this phone now supports 100W SuperVOOC charging. Unlike the previous version, which had a slightly smaller battery, the Nord 4 can go from 0% to full charge in just 28 minutes using the correct charger.

Conclusion

The OnePlus Nord aims to be a cheaper flagship killer; this is largely achieved as evidenced by the Nord’s fantastic metal design, great battery life, quick charging, and powerful CPU. However, some improvements are needed concerning the camera experience and the inclusion of ads and bloatware, which detract from the overall software experience. Also worth mentioning is the lack of electronic stabilization for shooting videos at a resolution above Full HD.

Despite these few disadvantages, the OnePlus Nord still offers substantial value for the money spent on it. The Nord series continues to introduce high-end features at lower price points. If you are ready to overlook these gripes regarding software and camera performance limitations, then the OnePlus Nord 4 could be a strong option in the affordable mid-budget phone segment.