OnePlus Nord 4 review
The OnePlus Nord 4 is this year's flagship-killer mid-ranger, packing more features than its predecessor. While maintaining a relatively competitive price point, the Nord 4 boasts a capable chipset, fast charging, and a new main camera sensor. The phone's design has also seen significant changes, with a sleek metal unibody replacing glass or vegan leather. With improved water and dust protection, a high-resolution OLED display, and stereo speakers, the Nord 4 promises to deliver a premium experience without breaking the bank.
Build Quality and Design
The OnePlus Nord 4 boasts a striking new design that sets it apart from its predecessor, the Nord 3. Gone is the glass or vegan leather exterior, replaced by a sturdy metal unibody made primarily of aluminum. The phone's back features a laser-engraved texture, giving it a premium feel. However, one notable drawback is the slippery nature of the device, which can make it prone to accidental drops. OnePlus faced a significant challenge in designing the Nord 4 with a metal body without compromising its 5G connectivity. To overcome this hurdle, they employed a new compact antenna design, allowing them to amplify the signal using the entire back of the phone. This innovative approach demonstrates OnePlus's commitment to delivering high-end features at an affordable price point. The IP65-rated protection against water and dust is also an upgrade over the previous model, offering added peace of mind for users. The device's metal body is a notable departure from the usual glass or plastic construction found in many smartphones, making the Nord 4 stand out in a crowded market. While the phone's design may not be to everyone's taste, it undoubtedly feels premium and well-built. The attention to detail in the laser-engraved texture on the back adds a touch of sophistication, making the Nord 4 a compelling choice for those seeking a high-quality device without breaking the bank.
Battery Life
One of the standout features of the OnePlus Nord 4 is its impressive battery life. With a larger capacity of 5,500mAh hours, this phone can easily last a day and a half with moderate use. In our tests, the Nord 4 managed to achieve an active use score of 14 hours and 41 minutes, making it one of the best in its class. OnePlus has also upgraded the charging capabilities of the Nord 4, supporting fast 100W SuperVOOC charging. While a charger is not included in the box, this feature allows for rapid refueling, going from zero to full in just 28 minutes. Although this may not seem like a significant improvement over the previous model's 32-minute charge time, it's worth noting that the battery capacity has increased by 10% this year. The Nord 4's efficient battery life is complemented by its fast charging capabilities, making it an ideal choice for users who need a phone that can keep up with their busy lives. Whether you're a heavy user or someone who only uses their phone occasionally, the OnePlus Nord 4's impressive battery life is sure to provide peace of mind and reduce the need for constant recharging.
Display
The display on the OnePlus Nord 4 is one of its standout features. The phone boasts a 6.74-inch OLED panel with a high resolution and a 120Hz refresh rate, resulting in a sharpness of 451 PPI. This makes for an excellent viewing experience, with crisp and vibrant colors that are well-suited to the phone's HDR 10+ video capabilities. In terms of brightness, the display is capable of reaching a maximum of around 530 nits, which is quite impressive. However, it's worth noting that switching to automatic brightness allows for an additional boost to over 1,000 nits when needed. This means that users can enjoy a well-lit screen even in bright environments. One of the most notable aspects of the display, however, is its refresh rate. While the phone's screen defaults to 120Hz while swiping and scrolling to smooth out animations, it dials down to 60Hz when idle to conserve energy. This makes for efficient battery usage, but it can be a bit jarring to switch between high-refresh and low-refresh modes. In some apps, like Chrome, the refresh rate even drops as low as 90Hz. While this might not be ideal for those who crave a seamless, silky-smooth experience, it's still a decent compromise considering the phone's overall performance. Overall, the display on the OnePlus Nord 4 is a significant strength of the device. Its combination of high resolution, 120Hz refresh rate, and HDR 10+ video capabilities make for an enjoyable viewing experience that's hard to find in this price range. While it may not be perfect, the phone's display does its job admirably, making it a great choice for those looking for a capable and feature-rich smartphone.
Camera
The camera system on the OnePlus Nord 4 is a mixed bag, with some impressive features and others that fall short. The main camera sensor is a significant upgrade over its predecessor, featuring a 50MP Sony IMX600 sensor. In bright lighting conditions, photos taken by the main camera are excellent, with plenty of fine detail, accurate colors, and wide dynamic range. During the day, photos have a decent amount of fine detail without additional sharpening added. Colors are conservative but accurate, and the dynamic range is pretty wide. The 2x digital zoom from the main camera is also good for the most part, although the shots are not as sharp as the regular ones but still decent in some cases. However, things take a turn for the worse in low light conditions. While the automatic night mode process kicks in more often than not, these photos look pretty natural and clean without oversharpening. There is plenty of detail, but sharpness could be better in some cases. Dynamic range is impressive, and noise is almost non-existent. 4K footage from the main camera is also quite nice, with plenty of fine detail, wide dynamic range, and natural-looking colors. However, there's a significant drawback – the lack of electronic stabilization when recording in 4K. The ultra-wide cam, which does a decent job for this sort of camera, has limited dynamic range in low light conditions. Night mode takes quite a bit of time to take a single photo, at least 3-4 seconds, and results are soft and fuzzy with low contrast. Ultra-wide videos are also soft and lack detail, with washed-out colors and somewhat limited dynamic range. Selfies from the 16MP front-facing camera are pretty underwhelming, with detail but soft, low-contrast, and poor color saturation. Overall, while the main camera on the OnePlus Nord 4 is capable of producing excellent photos in bright lighting conditions, its performance in low light situations and lack of electronic stabilization for 4K footage hold it back. The other cameras, including the ultra-wide and selfie cameras, are not particularly impressive either.
Price and Value
The OnePlus Nord 4 is an intriguing mid-ranger that seems to offer a lot for its price. As the flagship-killer's sibling series, the Nord range has consistently delivered high-end features at relatively competitive price points. OnePlus promises four years of major software updates and six years of security patches with this device, which adds significant value to the purchase. The interface is Oxygen OS 14.1 on top of Android 14, bringing AI-based features such as text summarization, translation, and call transcription. The hardware itself is impressive, with a new Snapdragon 7 Gen 3 chipset that's a step up from its predecessor. It also boasts fast charging capabilities, including 100W superv charging, although the charger isn't included in the box. With a starting price of around $400-$500, depending on storage capacity, the OnePlus Nord 4 seems like an excellent value proposition for those who want a high-performance device without breaking the bank. The competitive pricing means it can hold its own against other flagship devices, and the added features and software support make it a solid choice for buyers. The phone's design is also noteworthy, with a metal unibody made of aluminum that feels premium despite being slippery to hold. The camera setup, while not spectacular, offers decent performance in various conditions, including low light. Overall, considering its price point and what you get, the OnePlus Nord 4 seems like an excellent value proposition for buyers seeking high-end features without the hefty price tag associated with flagship devices.
Performance
The OnePlus Nord 4 is a feature-packed mid-ranger that boasts impressive performance credentials. Under the hood lies the new Snapdragon 7 Gen 3 chipset, which is a significant upgrade over its predecessor. This chip is more powerful and brings built-in AI capabilities, making it one of the best in its class. In benchmarks, the Nord 4 outperforms most competitors in both CPU and Graphics tests, although it still doesn't match true flagship silicon like a Snapdragon Hn2. When it comes to sustained performance, however, the Nord 4 struggles with heavy thermal throttling within just a few minutes of prolonged stress testing. While the phone's performance is commendable, its battery life is even more impressive. The larger 5,500mAh battery capacity provides great results among the best in class, earning an active use score of 14 hours and 41 minutes. This is due to the efficient Snapdragon 7 Gen 3 chip and OnePlus' optimization efforts. Charging speeds are also noteworthy, with support for 100W SuperVOOC charging. While a charger doesn't come in the box, the Nord 4 can go from zero to full in just 28 minutes, which is a significant improvement over last year's model. One notable omission is the lack of electronic stabilization when recording 4K video, although an ultra-steady mode does provide some semblance of stabilization at lower resolutions. This aside, the Nord 4's performance credentials are solid, making it a compelling option for those seeking high-end features without breaking the bank.
Pros
1. The OnePlus Nord 4 has a shiny new flagship-killing mid-ranger design, with a metal uni-body made of aluminum that feels premium and slippery.
2. The phone comes with a powerful Snapdragon 7 Plus Gen 3 chipset, which is a step up from the regular Snapdragon 7 Gen 3 in pretty much all aspects, making it more powerful and bringing built-in AI capabilities.
3. The Nord 4 has a great battery life, with an active use score of 14 hours and 41 minutes, and supports 100W super-fast charging that can go from zero to full in just 28 minutes.
4. The phone's camera experience is good, especially the main cam which takes decent photos during the day with fine detail, accurate colors, and wide dynamic range.
5. The display on the Nord 4 is excellent, with a high resolution, 120Hz refresh rate, and 451 PPI sharpness, making it perfect for swiping and scrolling.
6. The phone comes with four years of major software updates and six years of security patches, which is a great commitment to long-term support.
7. The Nord 4 has stereo speakers that produce loud and full sound with decent bass and clean vocals.
Cons
1. The camera experience on the Nord 4 is a mixed bag, with the main cam being good but lacking electronic stabilization in 4k video recording.
2. The ultra-wide cam takes soft photos and limited dynamic range in low light conditions, and videos are soft and lack detail.
3. Selfies from the 16MP front-facing cam are underwhelming, with soft details, low contrast, and washed-out colors.
4. The phone's design is slippery to hold due to its metal uni-body, which may not be ideal for everyone.