Metal and smartphones go back a long time. It’s not common to see customers and critics scoff at the fact that smartphones have become boring, with their glass-sandwich designs. But what glass is to us now, metal was to the world back in the mid-2010s. That’s the thing about humans – we get bored really quickly, and then miss things when they are gone. So, OnePlus decided to bring back a bit of nostalgia with the Nord 4, which boasts the tag of being the first metal unibody 5G phone in the world. It’s different, it’s polarising, and it’s precisely what buyers want right now. What about the rest of the phone? Find out in my review of the OnePlus Nord 4.
OnePlus Nord 4
Rs 29,999
What Is Good?
- Refreshing metallic design among a sea of glass sandwiches
- Punchy and vibrant display
- Up-to-date with AI features
- Good battery life and fast charging
- Great software support
What Is Bad?
- Packs a little bit of bloatware
OnePlus Nord 4 Review: Pricing in India
The OnePlus Nord 4 is available in three different variants, going up to 12GB RAM. The phone can be bought on Amazon.
| Variant | Price in India |
| 8GB + 128GB | Rs 29,999 |
| 8GB + 256GB | Rs 32,999 |
| 12GB + 256GB | Rs 35,999 |
OnePlus Nord 4 Review: Design
The OnePlus Nord 4 might not win you over at first glance, but its design has a way of growing on you. It comes in three colours. The top section, where the camera lives, is made of a shiny material that contrasts with the rest of the phone. All the three colour variants have a smooth texture. That’s right, you may think that the silver variant will have a texture, but it’s just an optical illusion. As was the case with metal phones of the past, there are quite a few antenna bands around the body. OnePlus has been careful enough to place them all symmetrically so that they are easy on the eye.
| Dimensions | 16.26 x 7.50 x 0.80 cm |
| Weight | 199.5 g |
| Frame material | Metal |
| Rear panel material | Metal unibody |
| Alert slider present? | Yes |
| Port/button placement | Bottom: Hybrid dual SIM slot, USB Type C, mic, Speaker grille
Right: Volume rocker, power button Top: IR blaster, secondary mic Left: Alert slider |
The moment you hold it, a wave of nostalgia hits you. It’s a handsome chunk of metal. The cold, slippery yet solid sensation of a metallic phone takes you back a few years when life was much simpler. The glossy texture on the top serves the purpose of providing you with a grippy surface for your index finger.
The alert slider is still here, and it too has a nice metallic finish on it. One point of advice would be not to carry this phone without a case in a pocket which has sharp objects in it. Metals are susceptible to scratches, and this is no different. The Nord 4 also comes with an IP65 rating, which should help you avoid some oopsie moments around water splashes. However, a dunk in your neighbourhood pool is not advised.
OnePlus Nord 4 Review: Performance and Software
The intention of the Nord numbered series isn’t to kill flagships (that task is of the OnePlus R series). However, they are usually expected to be pocket rockets. We have previously seen the performance of Snapdragon 7+ Gen 3 powering the Nord 4 in the Realme 6T GT, and we understand the reasoning behind deploying it here – AI. The processor has a capable AI repertoire, with support for multiple LLMs (large language model) and LVMs (large vision model) such as Llama 2 and Gemini Nano, among others.
| Hardware | Specifications |
| Processor | Qualcomm Snapdragon 7 Plus Gen 3 |
| RAM | 8GB or 12GB (LPDDR5X) [8GB variant reviewed] |
| Storage | 128GB (UFS 3.1)
256GB (UFS 4.0) – Reviewed |
| Storage Test | Seq read speed: 3358.7MB/s
Seq write speed: 2847.7MB/s |
| CPU Throttling Test | 61% of original performance |
| AnTuTu score | 1145842 |
| Software Version | OxygenOS 14.1 |
| Connectivity Details | Wi-Fi 6, NFC, Bluetooth 5.4 |
And, as you’d expect, OnePlus is also pushing the AI envelope just like Realme, which is a great thing. The AI-powered Trinity Engine adjusts parameters on the CPU, RAM and storage so that you get optimal performance while multitasking or while using intensive tasks.
While that was AI behind the scenes, the Nord 4 also offers front-facing AI features such as Audio Summary (for transcription), Screen Translate and LinkBoost (reduces the time taken to latch on to a mobile network when you’re in a low network area). In order to use screen translate, you’ll have to enable the smart sidebar in the settings.
Justifying the synthetic benchmarks figures, the overall day-to-day performance is snappy, and OxygenOS 14.1 offers a buttery smooth UI experience as usual. Heating hasn’t been an issue so far, although I was expecting something to happen given it has a metal unibody. I’ll agree that I haven’t really used the phone in peak Indian summers, but I haven’t felt the phone become uncomfortably hot in my hands or pocket yet.
However, I did spot a bunch of bloatware in the form of pre-loaded games. While I let pre-installed productivity or social media apps slide as legitimately useful apps, I’m not sure if Bubble Pop, Tile Match or Word Connect come under this category. Nevertheless, you can uninstall them easily without wasting too much time. I also didn’t notice any spammy notifications.
OnePlus has also promised four years of software updates and six years of security patches for the phone. This is a commendable step to increase the longevity factor of the phone. To put things into more context, the previously launched OnePlus Nord 3 offered three years of software updates and four years of security patches.
OnePlus Nord 4 Review: Cameras
OnePlus has given you all the basics to get the ball rolling when it comes to photography. There’s no pretension either, the two rings have exactly two camera sensors – a primary and an ultrawide, and there’s no macro or depth sensor to take up the camera count. I really wish a tele would have made this spread even better, but I’ll any day take a decent ultrawide for a crappy tele. OnePlus has made an interesting decision to carry forward the same set of cameras found in the Nord CE 4 5G.
| Camera | Specifications |
| Primary Camera | 50 MP Sony LYT-600 Camera
– OIS supported – EIS supported |
| Secondary Camera | 8 MP Sony Camera
– Field of View: 112° |
| Selfie Camera | 16 MP |
| Video Recording Capabilities | – 4k video at 60/30 fps
– 1080p video at 60/30 fps – 720p video at 60/30 fps – EIS/OIS video: 1080p video at 60 fps – Slo-mo video at 1080p at 120 fps, 720p at 240 fps – Time-lapse at 4k, 1080p – Dual-view video at 1080p 30 fps – Movie: 3840 × 1644 at 30 fps |
The photos clicked by the Nord 4 are decent. The daylight shots are crisp, and maintain good highlights and texture even under harsh backlight. The viewfinder may deceive you sometimes by giving you a bad-looking portrait preview, but the processing corrects it to an extent. The ultrawide portrays the same traits as the cameras found in the CE 4 5G’s, clicking reasonably good shots during the day. Just don’t try to zoom in on the photos too much, and you’ll be fine.
At night, the primary camera does fine at maintaining sharpness and not making street lights appear as blobs of lights. But I believe it could do a better job of controlling the highlights of a complex scene.
OnePlus Nord 4 Review: Battery
Despite a rather sleek appearance, the Nord 4 manages to pack a 5,500mAh battery, which is an upgrade over the previous generation. This new 5,500mAh battery also seems to be a pattern in OnePlus’ launches this year – the 12R, Nord CE4, CE4 Lite, and now the Nord 4 all got this slight bump.
| Feature | Specification |
| Battery | 5,500 mAh |
| Charging | 100W SUPERVOOC Fast Charging |
| PCMark Battery Test | 18 hours and 20 minutes |
It is capable of lasting a day easily on a full charge, while easily making it over to the next day as well with some 20-25 per cent juice remaining. It even managed to get a respectable score on PC Mark’s Battery test, just like the Nord CE 4 5G. The charging speeds are also respectable. It ships with a 100W charger and charges at the same output. In our testing, it took about 24 minutes for it to go from 0-100%, which is just madness.
OnePlus Nord 4 Review: Display
The display seems to be the least changed aspect of the Nord 4. It’s identical to that of the Nord 3, except for a slightly tweaked brightness figure. I’m not getting too deep into its capabilities, although you may check out the Nord 3’s review to find out more about it. In a nutshell, it’s still smooth, bright, vibrant and one of the best displays for its price point (except if you’re into curved displays).
| Display | Specifications |
|---|---|
| Size | 17.12 cm (6.74 inches) |
| Type | Super Fluid AMOLED with Ultra HDR support |
| Resolution | 2772 × 1240, 450 ppi |
| Refresh Rate | 120 Hz |
| Peak Brightness | Claimed: 2150 nits |
OnePlus Nord 4: Verdict
At a starting price tag of Rs 29,999, the Nord 4 comes at a lower price than what the Nord 3 was launched at.
If you’re a OnePlus fanatic and value a lightweight yet functional UI and have been holding on to an older Nord phone, it’s time to upgrade. The new design, the processor, a bigger battery and the AI capabilities make it a worthy successor to the previous cult hit. I won’t say it has zero bloat, but it’s cleaner than several other smartphones in its price category. What’s more commendable on the software front is the long support – this should invoke a trust factor amongst many users.
When compared to its contemporaries, it’s a very similar package to the Realme GT 6T except that it has a flat display and a metallic body that exudes premium quality. The Nord 4 also looks to focus on an all-rounder appeal, rather than prioritising performance. It’s just going to be a matter of taste and preference.
