OnePlus Nord 4

The biggest similarity among this year's Nord smartphones, and the primary differentiator from the top-end numbered series, lies in the camera. The Nord 4 carries the same camera system as the Nord CE4 (review). While the latter performed adequately in our review, customer expectations in the sub-Rs 35K segment have been sky-high with the introduction of telephoto cameras by Realme. The OnePlus Nord 4's camera specifications are modest at best.The back includes a 50MP OIS camera (Sony LYT-600 sensor) and an 8MP ultra-wide camera. The front has a 16MP selfie shooter.DaylightThe overall camera experience on the OnePlus Nord 4 may feel snappier due to a more powerful processor, but there's not a substantial difference in the output compared to the Nord CE4. Images in daylight continue to feature a natural finesse with a slight degree of high contrast for a more dramatic approach. Most colours will look natural and close to the actual scene.I compared the camera performance against the Motorola Edge 50 Pro, and there's a visible difference in the overall brightness and colour reproduction. For instance, the Edge 50 Pro typically boosts green and blue spots for aesthetic appeal. The same can be achieved on the Nord 4 via the native editing app. It depends on your preference.Otherwise, both smartphones excel at capturing details while minimising noise levels. The portrait shots also look good, and in my case, the phone has managed to detect the complexion accurately. Facial details are still not the best.Ultra-wideYou will notice a colour consistency between the primary and ultra-wide cameras in most cases. However, the Nord 4 tends to add a warm layer for outputs with the ultra-wide lens. Details remain decent, if not the best.The Edge 50 Pro exhibited a similar camera performance as you will notice both images are nearly identical. You can argue Moto turns out to be more versatile as its ultra-wide camera doubles as a macro camera.SelfieSelfie shots with portrait mode look much more natural than those taken with the primary camera. A simple point-and-shoot image may appear a little dull, but this is easily fixable by adjusting the brightness. In that case, the Motorola Edge 50 Pro performs relatively better. I compared the same shot with the Realme GT 6T, and the Nord 4 did a significantly better job with edge detection and skin complexion.Low lightI was mostly pleased with photos in dim conditions, which was also the case with Nord CE4. That's also because the Nord 4 increases exposure time by default to capture more light. However, in extremely dim conditions, things can get very tricky. Even enabling night mode does not offer a big relief. To be fair, that's a setback with most smartphones in this range.You will notice Nord 4 performing relatively better than the Motorola Edge 50 Pro, but the difference isn't substantial.VideoVideo performance on the Nord 4 is decent and there is support for 4K recording at 30fps. However, stability isn't always the best and you may notice some jitters. Additionally, the front camera only allows full HD recording at 30fps.Therefore, upcoming creators may want to increase their budget and probably consider a Realme GT 6T. For serious content creators, iPhones remain the best for video in any segment.

In many ways, the Nord 4 feels more premium than the pricier OnePlus 12R. Its top 256GB variant utilises the faster UFS 4.0 storage type, which we now know isn't available on the OnePlus 12R. The Nord 4 is also eligible for extra years of software updates. There's a lot of noise around AI, which wasn't the case at the launch of the OnePlus 12 series.The Nord 4 features Qualcomm's new Snapdragon 7+ Gen 3 SoC paired with up to 12GB of LPPDR5x RAM and 256GB of UFS 4.0 storage (priced at Rs 35,999). The base model offers 8GB RAM and 128GB of USF 3.1 storage at Rs 29,999. The variant I am using has 8GB RAM and 256GB storage for Rs 32,999. Therefore, this variant goes up against Realme GT 6T (Rs 32,999) and Motorola Edge 50 Pro (Rs 34,999).Based on the synthetic benchmarks, the OnePlus Nord 4 attained decent scores in AnTuTu and Geekbench. However, the Realme GT 6T with the same Qualcomm chipset performed better, likely due to OnePlus' old habit of underclocking the peak performance to avoid heating issues. OnePlus had to be extra mindful of heating because of Nord 4's metal chassis.I can safely say that I did not encounter abrupt heating issues during my week-long test. The phone may sometimes feel warm, possibly due to Delhi's humid weather.You may feel the extra warmth during intense gaming, though it does not affect the performance substantially. I played BGMI on the Nord 4 and was happy to see an average fps of 55, which was better than what Motorola Edge 50 Pro offered. In fact, the Nord 4 consumed less battery at the end of a 30-minute-long BGMI round. The flat display also ensured a smooth touch experience.There's not much to complain about the software experience either, as OnePlus is known for offering a near-stock Android experience with its own added flavour. Some of those additions remain my absolute favourites, including Shelf for a quick glance at some productivity apps and ORelax for a peaceful audio experience. Apart from those, OnePlus is taking a leaf out of OPPO's playbook and introducing features like Linkboost, AI Note Summary, and AI Audio Summary. The same features are available on the newly launched OPPO Reno12 series, plus some others.Pre-loaded apps OS UpdatesOnePlus Nord 4484 years OS, 6 years securityRealme GT 6T523 years OS, 4 years securityMotorola Edge 50 Pro413 years OS, 4 years security

The Nord 4 is the fourth OnePlus smartphone of 2024, featuring a much bigger 5,500mAh battery. Despite this chunky addition, OnePlus has managed to cap the weight under 200 grams - a remarkable achievement.Unlike the cheaper Nord smartphones, the Nord 4 uses a dual-cell battery, which attains a full charge in just 23 minutes. Even the battery backup is equally impressive despite using the device with the highest settings enabled (AOD, 120Hz refresh rate, and Vivid display mode). Even in the PCMark battery test, the Nord 4 exhibited a respectable performance.Phone Charging Time (20-100 percent)OnePlus Nord 4 (100W)23 minutesRealme GT 6T (120W)32 minutes Motorola Edge 50 Pro (125W)32 minutes