OnePlus Nord 4 review: Pedal to the metal!

So today I have the recently launched OnePlus Nord 4 in for review. As expected, this OnePlus phone is a bit overpriced here in Nepal compared to India — but if you look at its overall specs — you'll see that the Nord 4 is a pretty well-rounded midrange phone. But there are definitely a few things OnePlus should have done better with this thing! Starting with the fact that OnePlus has finally settled by including cheap bloatware apps and recommendations in the UI just like Realme and OPPO phones. It’s... disappointing, I know! And I have a feeling, things are going to get even worse in the future unless the community speaks up about it! Now without any further ado, let’s dive into the review with a quick rundown of its specifications first. 

OnePlus Nord 4 review: Specifications

• Design and Build: 162.6 x 75 x 7.99 mm, 199.5 gm, IP65 rating
• Display: 6.74-inch AMOLED panel, 1.5K resolution, 120Hz refresh rate
• Chipset: Snapdragon 7+ Gen 3 5G (4nm mobile platform)
• Memory: 12/16GB LPDDR5X RAM, 256/512GB UFS 4.0 storage (non-expandable)
• Software & UI: Android 14 with OnePlus OxygenOS 14.1 on top
• Rear Camera: Dual (50MP primary, 8MP ultrawide)
• Front Camera: 16MP sensor (hole-punch)
• Security: Fingerprint sensor (optical in-display)
• Connectivity: Dual-SIM (Nano), WiFi 6, Bluetooth 5.4, USB-C, NFC, 5G
• Sensors: Accelerometer, Ambient light, E-compass, Gyroscope, Hall, IR blaster, Proximity
• Battery: 5,500 mAh with 100W fast charging (no power adapter inside the box)
• Price in Nepal: NPR 63,999 (12/256GB) | NPR 69,999 (16/512GB)
• Check the full specifications of OnePlus Nord 4 here

Buy OnePlus Nord 4 here

OnePlus Nord 4 review:

Design and build

• 162.6 x 75 x 7.99 mm, 199.5 grams
• Glass front, aluminum back/frames
• IP65 dust/splash resistant

Anyway, other than the bloatware situation, I have loved using this device. First of all, I really like the fusion of this metal & glass back design. It looks so much different from the rest of the bunch! Actually, this phone reminds me of the Huawei P10 from 2017! Good old days! You also get metal frames here, instead of the usual plastic you get on every midrange phone so that’s nice too! And because of this, the Nord 4 is a tad bit heavier and I really liked its overall heft. It has a premium feel!   But one thing you have to be super careful with the Nord 4 is with the handling. Because this phone is quite slippery and I have already dropped it like few times. Another problem with metal design phones is with the 5G reception. To solve this, OnePlus says they have used new antennas and technology that utilizes the metal back to amplify the signal. And during my time, I didn't encounter any problems with the 4G and 5G connectivity! Likewise, you get a basic IP65 dust and water resistance, but I am surprised to see OnePlus not including any kind of Gorilla Glass protection for the display! At this price, most phones come with Gorilla Glass Victus or Victus 2 Protection.

Display

• 6.74-inch 1.5K AMOLED panel
• 120Hz refresh rate, 2,150 nits (peak brightness)

Quality-wise, this display is quite good though. I love the fact that the bezels here are almost non-existent. The flat screen is a bonus for me since I play a lot of AAA games, and I don’t want accidental touches which you get with curved displays!   But there are a few things about Nord 4’s display that are not the most competitive. Like... even though the Nord 4 has a good enough 1100 nits of brightness in HBM, its screen is not as bright as the Realme GT 6T (review). And even Motorola Edge 50 Pro while using it outdoors. However, HDR playback on YouTube and streaming platforms works well here.  And the haptic feedback on the OnePlus Nord 4 is to die for. Like seriously. It has the most precise, tight feedback I have used on a mid-range device recently. The Realme GT 6T is somewhat close enough, but the vibration feedback you get here while using the alert slider, or in the UI here is something else. So if you are someone who types a lot, and sends a lot of messages and emails from your phone, you are going to have a good time interacting with the Nord 4’s display. I do have to let you know that the fingerprint sensor is placed a bit lower, so you might have to get used to that. Also, the stereo speakers are not the most balanced, they are loud and do the job for you, but I’ve heard better!

Performance

• Qualcomm Snapdragon 7+ Gen 3 (4nm)
• 12/16GB RAM, 256/512GB storage (non-expandable)
• Android 14 with OnePlus OxygenOS 14.1 on top
• 4 years of OS and 6 years of security updates

Anyway, another thing I like about this phone is the performance.

I mean, when I started using it, my first reaction was, wow this phone is fast! 

I am also very impressed with the gaming results. You can play PUBG at around 85 – 90 fps, even games like Genshin Impact play smoothly with good stability. And the best thing is, this phone does not heat up or throttle while gaming for a longer time. It does get warm after like 30 minutes into games like Genshin Impact, but I have noticed that the heat is not localized in one area. And it gets dissipated around the chassis. Plus, since metal is a good conductor of heat, the phone cools down relatively quickly too. Even while running demanding benchmarks, I recorded a max of 43°C on the Nord 4 while something like the Realme GT 6T with the same Snapdragon 7+ Gen 3 chipset, would reach 45 – 46°C easily. OnePlus has been clever about this because it seems like they have throttled the performance a little when the phone starts to heat up. This does not affect the gaming performance so much, but you will get slightly lower benchmark numbers on the Nord 4 than other 7+ Gen 3 phones.

What about the software?

But in real life, you won’t find even a hint of stutter on the Nord 4 while using the UI, multitasking, or playing games. OnePlus has also promised 4 years of OS and 6 years of security updates which is even better than what Samsung promises in their mid-range phones. 

Cameras 

• Dual camera setup at the back
• (50MP main, 8MP ultrawide)
• 16MP selfie camera (hole-punch cutout)

OnePlus has downgraded the main sensor this time (IMX890 vs LTY-600) but I don’t know if it’s the high-end image processor at work, the images don’t have a downgrade in quality. Comparing it with the Realme GT 6T, I am happy to report that the Nord 4 did not disappoint. The details are there and the dynamic range is well preserved too. I wouldn’t say OnePlus does better than Realme but it competes quite well. In fact, I found the colors to be more digestible on the Nord 4 than the GT 6T. Or even the Moto Edge 50 Pro for that matter. When it comes to ultrawide images, they are nothing to write home about with okay details and slightly worse dynamic range than the primary images.  The only thing I missed while using the Nord 4 is the lack of a telephoto lens! Yes, the digitally cropped 2x portraits from it look nice enough, but it just doesn't compete with a dedicated zoom lens. Like that 3x lens on the Edge 50 Pro.  Sometimes the punchy colors on Motorola do make the portraits look a bit overbearing, but most of the time the 3x portraits from Motorola look more appealing!  And if you are someone who loves taking selfies and selfie videos, I have bad news for you. First, most selfies from the Nord 4 appear a bit pale, and second, it can only record 1080p 30 fps selfie videos, which if you compare it with Motorola’s 4K selfies, you can see Moto can provide rich color processing with a hint of contrast that looks good to my eyes.

And videos?

From the back camera though, you can click up to 4k 60 fps videos, and EIS works well to stabilize the video. OnePlus does need to tone down the contrast a bit with updates, but other than that the 4K videos are workable. But hold on. I recently compared the Nord 4's cameras with the POCO X7 Pro (review), and I was quite shocked to see that its camera quality has actually gotten worse with updates. Especially in terms of things like highlight management and color consistency. So I hope OnePlus can undo its mistakes with a few more updates.

Battery 

• 5,500 mAh battery (100W wired charging)
• No power adapter inside the box

Lastly, another best thing about the Nord 4 has to be its battery life! Like with most OnePlus phones, you get a big 5,500 mAh battery and the screen time I've been getting here is superb. Even using the phone at constant 120Hz, I am getting about 7.5 to 8 hours of screen on time – that too on intensive use! And when I am home all day watching videos, the SOT would go around 9 hours or more! Even when the battery is about to die, the 100W charger that comes with the phone is super fast! It gets the phone from 0-100% within 30 minutes.

OnePlus Nord 4 review: Conclusion

So, overall, to sum up my experience, I had a pretty good time using the OnePlus Nord 4! I believe this is one of the safest midrange phones to get right now under NPR 70,000 in Nepal. Even though I completely agree that OnePlus Nepal could've done a much better job in terms of the price. I love its fast fluid performance, interacting with the display is great thanks to the excellent haptics, you get an all-day excellent battery life, and it is easily the best-looking phone in its class. Overall, a pretty well-balanced phone!   But if the camera is your topmost priority and you like to click a lot of selfies and portraits, you should definitely go with the Honor 200 (review). Since that one has a dedicated 2.5x telephoto lens for excellent zoom and portrait shots. Not just that but the Honor 200 has a better set of cameras overall compared to the Nord 4.

• Watch our video review of the OnePlus Nord 4

OnePlus Nord 4 review: Pros and Cons