Review of the OnePlus Nord 4: My Moment to Shine

When OnePlus's flagship killers began to move up the price scale, the Nord series was first meant to close the gap that was created. The first phone call was rather interesting, but the other ones didn't really stick. Now that the Nord 4 has arrived, with its sleek new look and alluring features, is this the best midrange tablet to get this year? After extensive testing and approximately a week of use, I'll be sharing my honest thoughts in my OnePlus Nord 4 review.

Overview of the OnePlus Nord 4's specs

Specs	OnePlus Nord 4
Weight	199.5 grams
Processor	Qualcomm Snapdragon 7+ Gen 3 (4nm)
RAM/Storage	8/12 GB LPDDR5X, 128 (UFS 3.1), 256 GB (UFS 4.0)
Display	1.5k Full HD+ AMOLED, 120 Hz, 2150 nits (peak brightness), 10 Bit colors
Rear Camera	50MP Main + 8MP Ultrawide
Front Camera	16MP
Video	Up to 4K at 60FPS
Dual SIM	Yes; Does not support eSIM
Connectivity	9 5G Bands, Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.4, NFC
USB-C	Type C
Battery	5,500 mAh
Charging	100W fast charging
IP Rating	IP65
Software	OxygenOS 14 based on Android 14, 4 years of OS updates

Check Out the Detailed Specifications at Devices Adibri

Contents of the Box

OnePlus succeeds in include all the necessities with your new phone in 2024, a year when other manufactures don't even bother to provide charging adapters with low-cost phones. These are the contents of the box.

The Onelus Nord 4
USB A to C cable
100 Watts SuperVOOC charging adapter
SIM ejector tool
Transparent silicon cover
OnePlus Nord stickers
Red Cable Club card
User manual and other paperwork

OnePlus Nord 4: Construction and Style

With its unique back covers, the newly debuted CMF Phone 1 revived a bygone era of smartphone fashion. Furthermore, I had no idea that I would see the resurgence of a bygone era so quickly. Yes, the metal body of the OnePlus Nord 4 is back. from what I see as the smartphone golden age.It even borrows design elements from the Google Pixel 2, one of the greatest Android devices available at the time. with its horizontally aligned camera system and half-glass, half-metal construction. It, incidentally, keeps the phone from swaying when it is placed flat. The alert slider on the silver Nord 4 model even has a orange accent. Most likely an allusion to the phone's orange power button.The antenna lines, which provide a more upscale appearance, are the nicest feature of metal phones. As if the technology should submit to the design. Bravo to the design team as well for creating the side curvature of the frame. The phone is now more convenient since its flat edges don't cut into your hands. The alert slider is on the left, while the power and volume controls are on the right when you hold the phone.The IR blaster is located on top of the phone, while the SIM tray, USB-C charging connector, and secondary speaker grill are located on the bottom. I think it should go without saying that I love this design and hope Google will use it on their next Pixel. That being said, like a couple of my acquaintances, you may find it a bit strange if you are not sentimental about bygone times.

Speakers And Display

A 120 Hz flat panel measuring 6.74 inches diagonally serves as the Nord 4's display. Now, for some reason, the phone felt little in my hands, so I kept thinking there was no way the screen size estimates could be accurate. Most likely because I may be used to phones with bigger screens. It might possibly be because of its tiny bezels, which let it fit a larger screen into a smaller package.Now that you bring up content consumption on this gadget, everything fits the bill. You receive a high-resolution 1.5K display, a 10-bit screen, with support for HDR 10+. The vivid color tones produced by this display can seem a little oversaturated. However, this adds to the allure of the material, particularly animated films with vibrant color tones.For this reason, I really loved viewing anime and web series on the Nord 4. But the one problem I kept encountering was its brightness. It often only goes up to 1100 nits, thus I had to constantly make sure the brightness slider was at its highest setting. Panda glass protects the screen, but as I said, tempered glass is the best option regardless of the kind of protection.Haptic Feedback and SpeakersHowever, the sound is the other side; the display is merely one. The Nord 4 has a stereo speaker configuration for that reason. Although they are fairly evenly distributed, I believe the bottom speaker puts in more effort, giving the top and bottom speakers a 60:40 ratio. Up until you turn it all the way up, the sound quality is generally clear and powerful. It then becomes quite strident.We have an x-axis motor on board that provides you with tight tactile feedback in terms of haptics. in addition to how the user interface (UI) utilizes vibrations to enhance user interaction. And at this price point, you have a formula for a satisfying haptic experience, which is fantastic.

OnePlus Nord 4: User Experience with Software

As of right now, the OnePlus Nord 4 is running OxygenOS 14.1. However, I don't believe it seems appropriate to name it OxygenOS. Since the company replaced the fan-favorite UI with ColorOS, I have a bad taste in my mouth. Nevertheless, the company provided a bloatware-free substitute for other Oppo and Realme smartphones with the same user interface.However, this has progressively evolved into what it is now. There are 11 bloatware apps included with the Nord 4, 4 of which you may select not to use during setup. They have their own app shop, which you will see even if you have Google Play shop loaded. Oh, and did I mention that even when you install an app from the Play Store, security checks are made? Furthermore, how did I overlook the Lock Screen Magazine?I find it difficult to refer to it as OxygenOS anymore in light of these factors. Indeed, they are less intrusive than they were at MIUI's peak, so you may choose to ignore them. In addition, a number of new AI features have been added, including AI Writer, AI Note Summary, AI Audio Summary, AI Linkboost, and a new BeaconLink function that allows users to call others nearby without using a network.These AI functions will most likely only be available on this phone and future OnePlus models. The OS is generally fast, and the animations have been improved. You should anticipate 4 years of significant changes, among other things. indicating that Android 18 will be installed on this phone. In addition, quarterly security fixes will be provided for six years.

Gaming and Performance

You would need a chipset that can live that long for a phone that claims to provide software upgrades for around five years. The newest Snapdragon 7+ Gen 3 is thus included in the Nord 4. The Realme GT 6T was the first device to use this 4nm octa-core chipset. It's the greatest midrange smartphone available.This is paired with either 128 GB or 256 GB of storage and 8 or 12 GB of LPDDR5X RAM. But enough with the stats, let's get right in. We used this phone to perform all of the benchmarks, and the results are shown below. For a detailed examination of the Snapdragon 7+ Gen 3 and its capabilities, see this story.Daily UtilizationI have good usage of the Nord 4 in my daily life. Regardless of whether you discuss navigating between many applications, browsing through hundreds of Reels and Shorts, placing calls, responding to messages, or viewing movies. There were no glitches, delays, or other issues that hindered the experience. It began quick and fluid. and didn't change while I was using it. Thus, no complaints in this regard.Experience Gaming The internals of this phone can handle a good number of frames per second without straining, even if it's not really a gaming phone. I discussed the highest graphics and frame rate settings you should anticipate in such games after playing the well-known games we utilize for every exam.

Games	Settings
Genshin Impact	Highest + 60FPS (Averages 50 FPS)
CoD Mobile	Max Graphics = Very High + Max Max Framerate = Low + 90FPS
BGMI	Max Graphics = Ultra HDR + Ultra Max Framerate = Smooth + Extreme+ (90FPS)
Warzone Mobile	Medium + Uncapped FPS + High Resolution (Averages 55 FPS)

The OnePlus Nord 4 performed well in popular games like BGMI and COD Mobile throughout the testing time. No matter how hot things become, the framerate stays fixed. You will notice some frame drops with higher visual settings, although they will only be noticeable by a few digits.Yes, Warzone and Genshin Impact really did test the limitations of the 7+ Gen 3. The CPU had trouble keeping up. On Warzone, I was averaging 55 frames per second, whereas Genshin Impact was about between 45 and 55. Although turning on High Performance mode didn't really help, maybe a future release would address the issue.Speaking of hot conditions, after a while of gaming, the back of the phone did become warm. And just ten or fifteen minutes for Genshin Impact and Warzone. However, the metal back effectively dispersed the heat throughout the frame to prevent overheating in any one area.

Camera

on the OnePlus Nord 4Regarding the camera, there is an 8 MP ultrawide lens and a 50 MP Sony LYT 600 sensor with OIS as the primary optic. There is a 16 MP front-facing camera for taking selfies. Let's get beyond the specifications and discuss the phone's camera performance.Daytime Photos When the light is bright, the primary camera captures decent images. The photographs in the attachment are crisp and clear, however the shadows appear exaggerated. There are quite a few details. However, the detail's crispness is lost. while enlarging the view.You'll see that the pictures are inconsistent. At times, the camera produces photographs that are almost true to life, while at other times, it enhances the hues. Please take note that I did not use AI scene augmentation for the picture session.The ultrawide lens fulfills its purpose. It takes decent photos, but not many details are captured since the lens is just 8 MP. I do commend OnePlus for fine-tuning the cameras to preserve color uniformity, however. This prevents the transition between lenses from becoming startling.Images of the NightI enjoyed the nighttime picture shoots. They have a rather somber appearance, which some individuals may find appealing or disagreeable. In this case, the OIS is helpful in capturing clear shots with little to no noise.The details seem softer, yet the lights and shadows aren't overexposed. Additionally, there isn't any fake oversharpening occurring here, which is something that phones often attempt to do during post-processing.Portraits and SelfiesThe quality of my selfies is nice, but not as fantastic as I had wanted. The majority of the skin tones are accurate. However, the softness of the features is not the result of any beautifying technique. It may be taking place in the background. In some cases, the camera also has exposure issues. Hopefully an update resolves the issue.OnePlus, on the other hand, has a good grasp of portrait photography. Their system creates those nearly natural seeming portrait images with a fair degree of accuracy. The accuracy of the edge detection is rather good. For those who like to take portraits, choosing this one should be simple.Video The OnePlus smartphone has the ability to record 4K super HD films at 60 frames per second. I recorded the busy, winding streets of Hauz Khas with the OnePlus Nord 4 for my review, and the results looked fairly good. There were some jitters, but nothing more bothersome. OIS contributed as much as it could to keep the videos from being shaky, however EIS or the phone's stabilization mode didn't function with 4K video quality.I guess you have to control your expectations when it comes to the camera. It won't blow you away, but if you like shooting pictures to post on social media, it will be more than sufficient.

Power Source and Recharge

I have been pleased by the OnePlus Nord 4's battery life throughout the evaluation time. Large 5,500 mAh battery capacity is one of its characteristics. I said in my comparison between the IQOO Neo 9 Pro and the OnePlus Nord 4 that this phone got me through a busy day. In addition to using it as a WiFi hotspot, I streamed music, made calls, and took a ton of pictures and videos. There was still some petrol left over when I got home.The phone should last roughly seven hours with moderate use. It can last five to six hours for all of you mobile players. If you want to increase the lifespan of the gadget, you may switch between 1080p and automatic refresh rate. But I wouldn't advise doing so. It takes around 20 minutes to fully charge the phone from 0% to 100% since the smartphone comes with a 100 watt charger.

Is the OnePlus Nord 4 a Good Buy?

A welcome update to the Nord series is the OnePlus Nord 4. Its design demonstrates that the group went back to the drawing board after finishing their task. Yes, there are ups and downs, and some of them may not be acceptable to you. Such as OxygenOS's bloatware, the reduced brightness, or the patchy camera performance. But there's also a lot to enjoy about this.Above all, it's among the best midrange gadgets I've seen in a long time since it doesn't aim to break the bank or any boundaries. It meets the needs of the majority of users in terms of basics. Thus, the OnePlus Nord 4 is the one to think about if you want a useful OnePlus phone or a gadget that will last you for years.