Innovation might be at its peak in the premium segments of the smartphone market but it is the mid-tier phones that are driving sales. Smartphones from brands like Nothing and Realme have spiced up the competition, thereby encouraging more people to upgrade faster and get the latest in modern technology. The latest OnePlus Nord 4 is one such product, as it seems after its release date.
The Nord lineup has been a stroke of genius for OnePlus, a brand which previously used to make premium phones only. It mashed OnePlus’ philosophy of offering high-end specifications with clever compromises to attain sweet prices that set a benchmark for the competition. The previous generation Nord 3 brought upgrades to those aspects that matter a lot to people, namely the display quality, performance and battery life.
With the new Nord 4, OnePlus now faces strict competition from design-oriented rivals like Nothing’s Phone (2a) and Xiaomi’s Redmi Note 13 Pro Plus. With the OnePlus Nord 4 released, the midrange space has now a phone that caters to performance seekers. But is it the best in its class?
To find out, we gathered all the information related to the OnePlus Nord 4 and prepared a comprehensive guide for prospective buyers. Grab your popcorn and sit down for a detailed look at the next big thing in the midrange smartphone space.
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OnePlus Nord 4: More than just spicy specifications
For the longest while, we believed that the OnePlus Nord 4 is likely going to be a renamed version of the OnePlus Ace 3V – another solid midrange phone that OnePlus limits to the Chinese market. However, OnePlus’ global arm had different plans for India and other markets. The Nord 4 is not a copy-paste version of its China-exclusive offering. It is an entirely new midrange phone.
Pedal to the metal like never before with the #OnePlusNord4
— OnePlus (@oneplus) July 16, 2024
The OnePlus Nord 4 ditches the conventional Nord series design in favour of one that celebrates minimalism.
Ditching the usual trends, OnePlus has gone for a metallic unibody design on the Nord 4. Similar to the original Google Pixel from 2016, 80 per cent of the body is made of aluminium. The insert surrounding the dual rear cameras, however, is made of glass. No fingerprint sensor is present here, unlike the OG Pixel, but the camera lenses are seemingly out of proportion. The Nord 4 comes in Mercury Silver, Obsidian Black and mint colourways, with the former featuring a unique pattern.
It also retains the Alert Slider from the OnePlus 12 series. Nice!
Great display once again
The Nord 3 already featured a beautiful display panel and the Nord 4 will likely impress us in this department too. The Nord 4 features a familiar 6.7-inch 1240p AMOLED display with flat edges, a peak brightness of 2150 nits and a maximum refresh rate of 120Hz. For a midrange phone, this is one of the best OLED displays that you can obtain.
You will also get an under-display optical fingerprint scanner.
Beastly performance for its category
Excluding the entry-level budget offerings, OnePlus’ phones have always been among the fastest in their respective segments. For the Nord 4, OnePlus is sticking with the mighty Qualcomm Snapdragon 7+ Gen 3 chipset – Qualcomm’s latest 5G midrange chip that offers a great balance of power and efficiency. Under the hood of the Nord 4, this chip promises to keep the phone ready for the most demanding multitasking and casual video gaming needs.
OnePlus has tuned its OxygenOS 14 interface, based on Android 14, to make the most out of this chipset. Generative AI features are yet to make a debut on the Nord series.
To back up the solid performance, OnePlus is offering a massive 5,500mAh battery. The battery unit feels familiar to what we have seen on the OnePlus 12 series. Considering that the Nord 4 features a 100W charging solution, we expect buyers with battery life anxiety to pick this one over anything from Samsung, Nothing and Xiaomi.
Are we getting shutterbug-friendly cameras this time?
The OnePlus Nord 4 gets a revised camera hardware. The main camera on the back is a better 50-megapixel Sony LYTIA image sensor, which along with the nicer ISP on the Snapdragon 7+ Gen 3, could do wonders with photography in tricky conditions. Accompanying this sensor will be a secondary 8-megapixel shooter attached to an ultrawide lens. The front camera retains a familiar 16-megapixel sensor from its predecessor.
The OnePlus Nord 4 has never been a camera-centric phone but given the aggressive competition around, we expect OnePlus to do better this time.
OnePlus Nord 4 pricing
For the Nord 4, OnePlus maintains a suitable midrange pricing. The base variant of the Nord 4 with 8GB RAM and 256GB storage costs INR 32,999 (approximately SGD 530). For INR 35,999 (approximately SGD 578), you get the top-end variant with 12GB RAM and 256GB storage.
What do you think of the OnePlus Nord 4? Will you prefer it over all other Android midrange phones?
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(Hero and Featured Image Credits: Courtesy OnePlus)
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
The OnePlus Nord 4 released on 16 July 2024.
The OnePlus Nord 4 features a metal unibody design with a glass insert around the rear camera lenses.
The OnePlus Nord 4 starts at INR 32,999 (SGD 530) for the base variant.
No, the OnePlus Nord 4 does not support wireless charging.
