OnePlus Nord CE 4 review: A "Marbelous" looking phone under 30K

OnePlus brought back one of its popular smartphone, which targets the masses with "more for less." The Nord CE-series was launched with the aim of targeting power users who want a premium experience at an affordable cost. The all-new Nord CE4 lives up to the hype by bringing about redesigned body, improved specs and more.

OnePlus Nord CE4 is positioned in the Rs 25,000 price bracket. Available in 8GB+128GB and 8GB+256GB configurations, the Nord CE4 is priced at Rs 24,999 and Rs 26,999, respectively. The phone comes in Celadon Marble, which is mint green, and Dark Chrome, which has a gradient black finish.

Here are the key specs of Nord CE4:

1. Display: 6.7-inch FHD+ AMOLED 120Hz
2. CPU: Qualcomm Snapdragon 7 Gen 3
3. Camera: 50MP f/1.8 + 8MP 112-degree UW dual camera setup
4. Front camera: 16MP f/2.4
5. RAM: 8GB
6. Storage: 128GB/256GB (expandable up to 1TB via microSD)
7. Battery: 5,500mAh Battery 100W SUPERVOOC
8. OS: OxygenOS 14.0

Design

OnePlus Nord CE 4 retains sleek and minimalist design language, something OnePlus has consistently managed to excel in. Though the smartphone comes in Celadon Marble and Dark Chrome variants, the former looks stunning with its wave pattern inspired by natural marble. The premium finishing on the back can easily fool anyone but it has a plastic panel. Besides the slim profile, the Nord CE 4 has excellent weight management, which is evenly distributed to ensure those long binge-watching sessions won't strain the hands.

The placement of ports and buttons are standard, ergonomic and intuitive. But once again, OnePlus has ditched the signature Alert Slider. By now, you should convince yourself that the alert slider won't make it to the CE-edition phones. At least, you won't accidentally switch to silent or loud while putting the phone in the pocket or getting out of it.

Display

OnePlus Nord CE 4 is equipped with a 6.7-inch AMOLED display, offers immersive, vibrant colors and sharp detail. The Full HD+ resolution and 120Hz refresh rate ensure smooth scrolling and fluid animations, which is a big deal and makes all the difference in gaming and multimedia consumption. For those who like to change display settings to their preferences, there are sRGB, DCI-P3, and HDR10+ options. All of these are standard options seen even many budget phones. But what I liked is the incorporation of Aqua Touch technology, which improves touch detection even when the phone's screen is mildly wet.

Camera

OnePlus Nord CE 4 has a 50MP primary sensor, which is paired with an 8MP ultra-wide sensor. On the front, the device gets a decent 16MP camera. The main camera is the showstopper, delivering crisp and detailed photos in various lighting conditions. The sensor retains natural colors and has good dynamic range, which was the case even in ambient lighting conditions.

Given the demand for videos, the Nord CE 4 supports Optical image stabilization (OIS), which ensures smooth and stable shots. Then there's the ultra-wide sensor, which captures expansive landscapes by mildly stretching around the corners, which does not appear to be odd.

The front-facing camera is surprisingly good. It captures sharp and detailed selfies, and with good lighting, you can get some really great shots in both normal and portrait. 

Speaking of portraits, the Nord CE 4 is up for the challenge. It can pick up the subject, bring it in focus and softly blur to the background in a jiffy. There's no artificial outlining of the subject visible, making portraits look natural, be it in cases of both objects and humans. Things get mildly tricky in front camera's portrait mode, which you won't even notice until you zoom into the edges of the subject captured. Low light conditions pose a challenge, but you can always stick to the main camera for better results.

There's no macro mode lens, and frankly, we didn't miss it.

Check out a few camera samples to give you a fair idea of what the Nord CE 4's camera can do:

Performance

OnePlus Nord CE 4 is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 7 Gen 3 chip and 8GB of LPDDR4x RAM, and with it delivers snappy performance. The smartphone is well suited for browsing the web, streaming videos, or even playing games. The sizeable RAM ensures seamless multitasking and there is good memory management. Even though the base model comes with 128GB storage, there's 256GB tier. What's almost extinct, OnePlus decides to preserve the microSD card slot, which supports expandable storage up to 1TB.

Coming terms of day-to-day operations, OnePlus Nord CE 4 can be a reliable main device. It will get you through the day without any hassles, by carrying out necessary communications and entertainment operations. The smooth and snappy OxygenOS 14 runs the show efficiently and the Nord CE 4 is an important device for OnePlus software-wise considering it's the first of the Nord to run the latest Android ROM. Everything from the animations to colour themes worked perfectly. Only downside is that the device only 2+3 software support, which means it gets two major software updates and three years of security updates, which is a standard among budget and mid-range phones.

Battery life

OnePlus Nord CE 4's strongest suit is the battery. What's surprising, given the phone's weight and sleekness, is that it packs a massive 5,500mAh battery. That's not even the best part. There's support for 100W SUPERVOOC charging, which is a huge deal. Charging the phone from 0-60% takes less than 30 minutes. If you're just topping up the charge after a day's end, you won't need to wait that long. Even a full charge will take about 40 minutes, which is fantastic. 

For most users, the device can easily last a full day on a single charge. Even with heavy usage, the battery is well optimised for longevity. Meeting you're gaming needs, streaming habits, and communications is well within Nord CE 4's capabilities. If you're a light user, the Nord CE 4 can even last you two days. 

Verdict

OnePlus Nord CE 4 impresses with its stylish design, vibrant display, reliable performance, capable camera system, and long-lasting battery life. It checks all the right boxes, with some skippable downsides (plastic back, 2+3 software support, average secondary camera).

The phone is priced at ₹24,999, which is a strong price category and full of competition against the likes of Nothing Phone 2A, Realm 12 Pro, Poco X6 Pro to name a few. But the Nord CE 4 commands its own presence, thanks to the brand recognition that comes with OnePlus.