OnePlus Nord CE4 Lite review: light, but relevant updates

The OnePlus Nord CE4 Lite is OnePlus’s most affordable smartphone of 2024, succeeding last year’s highly popular OnePlus Nord CE3 Lite (review). Like all new generation devices, the smartphone comes with a bunch of upgrades, including an AMOLED display for a punchier viewing experience and a chunkier battery for longer backup. Mind you, the new additions do not lead to an increased weight or thickness.

However, the OnePlus Nord CE4 Lite still utilises Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 695 SoC, the same chipset that powers last year’s Nord CE3 Lite and Nord CE2 Lite (review) of 2022. While this may not seem like a major issue, but in the tech world, it can be hard to justify as most OEMs boast newer processors and their capabilities. Does this affect OnePlus and its new offering? Can the Nord CE4 Lite meet users’ expectations? Let’s find out.

Verdict

In a nutshell, the OnePlus Nord CE4 Lite is all about the display and battery, even though the company boasts its “upgraded” camera system. The design has also changed, which I quite like, though I would’ve preferred different colour options. OnePlus took a big bet by retaining the same Qualcomm chipset for the last two years. You won’t face issues with daily work, but gaming and intense tasks may require more juice. OnePlus also needs to focus on improving low-light photography on its budget offerings.

Design and display

Before we start, a confession: I quite like OnePlus Nord CE4 Lite’s design, no matter where the numbers put it against rivals. While most smartphones in the segment experiment with flashy designs and colours to stand out, the Nord CE4 features minimalist tones and patterns. The build is mostly plastic, but the back provides a glass-like smooth finish. It also feels highly premium, considering the price. The only drawback is keeping it clean, as the glossy back panel can attract a lot of fingerprint smudges if you’re not using the protective clear case in the box.

For this review, I used the Mega Blue variant, which looks bold and punchy. OnePlus is also offering two more variants in grey and orange. Perhaps the company could’ve considered white and black coloured variants, which would’ve looked neat(er) with this smooth finish.

The design may seem inspired by the iPhone 12 series with vertically stacked dual rear cameras. The rims around the cameras adopt the same colours for uniformity. The placement of the volume and power buttons is perfect for my grip. The top and bottom have vents for the speakers, somewhat similar to last year’s Nord CE3 Lite. Additionally, you get the 3.5mm audio jack at the bottom for wired earphones.

The Nord CE4 Lite continues to skip the alert slider, an addition I am waiting to see on budget OnePlus phones. The company has also gradually started adding an IR blaster to all its new smartphones, and we may see that in a “Lite” smartphone down the line. It’s good to see that the OnePlus Nord CE4 Lite has an official IP54 certification for protection against water splashes and dust. However, its predecessor offers slightly better protection with an IP55 certification.

Notably, the old Nord CE3 Lite also offers a taller display (table above). The change in size is likely because of capping the weight due to a chunkier battery onboard. What’s changed this year is the addition of an AMOLED display panel on the Nord CE4 Lite for a more vivid viewing experience. The phone continues to offer a 120Hz refresh rate and Full-HD+ resolution (2,400 x 1,080 pixels).

Compared to its predecessor, the Nord CE4 Lite surely offers a refined viewing experience. The AMOLED panel provided punchier reds and deeper blacks. The Nord CE4 Lite provided a better outdoor viewing experience than the Nord CE3 Lite, iQOO Z9 (review), and Realme P1 (review), with superior brightness. However, iQOO Z9’s AMOLED panel reproduced punchier colours while watching YouTube videos indoors, though it’s not a significant difference. Do note that I conducted this test while keeping the screen colour mode to “natural” for all smartphones. The default vivid mode may offer more boosted colours.

Overall, the viewing experience is decent on the Nord CE4 Lite, considering the price and what rivals offer. I particularly enjoyed the scrolling and gaming experience on the flat display. There’s still room for the brand to gain an edge over competitors. Perhaps the next iteration can include HDR playback support. A higher IP rating and a more durable screen will surely appeal to its fans and potential customers.

Cameras

The new OnePlus Nord CE4 Lite may seem modest based on megapixels compared to its predecessor as it now features a 50MP primary camera instead of a 108MP sensor. However, the former gets an upgraded Sony LYT-600 sensor, which also features in Nord CE4. The rear camera system also includes a 2MP camera for improved portraits, and there’s no macro mode anymore. The front gets a 16MP camera. This also means the phone lacks an ultra-wide camera.

Daylight

In most cases, the Nord CE4 Lite applies a warm layer over its photos and as a result, you will notice images with high saturation, whether in daylight, low light, or for selfies. The camera system also plays around with shadows for a more dramatic approach. As a result, some details get comprised due to prominent shadows, and the dynamic range can be off. The sharpness can be inconsistent despite having OIS (optical image stabilisation).

In short, the camera performance of the Nord CE4 Lite is average, though it fares well against its competitors. For instance, if you look at the image below, the result with Nord CE4 Lite will appear more natural. The phone also detected the correct shade of the sky and the textures of the buildings and leaves on the tree. Compared to Realme P1, the colours may appear slightly unnatural, but the phone does a decent job with sharpness and a balanced dynamic range.

The new sensor also captures more light, and you can see an evident difference in the photos with Nord CE4 Lite and Nord CE3 Lite.

Low light

The 50MP primary camera performs seemingly well in dim-light conditions, though it struggles massively in poor lighting conditions. The phone tends to oversoften details, and as a result, the image loses sharp elements. The colours also get distorted in the process. You can see a significant difference in the shot with iQOO Z9. The iQOO smartphone by default increases exposure time to capture more light. It performs even better with night mode enabled.

Selfies

As mentioned, the Nord CE4 Lite can apply a warm layer on its selfies. I am mostly happy with the front camera results, as the Nord smartphone does not blemish the skin for a flawless look. I am aware that some users prefer this treatment, though I’d like it done in post-editing if it comes to that. The front camera in portrait mode does a brilliant job with edge detection. In fact, in my test, the Nord CE4 Lite offered the most natural bokeh compared to the Nord CE3 Lite, iQOO Z9, and Realme P1.

At the same time, the Nord CE4 Lite struggles to detect accurate skin tones. The Realme P1, on the other, hand does surprisingly well.

Video

Video recording maxes out at 1080p at 30fps for both front and back cameras. In that case, 4K recording could’ve given it an edge. Compared to Nord CE3 Lite, the difference in stability is evident. However, most smartphones in this range have a way to go for videos – be it colour science or stability.

Performance

As mentioned, the Nord CE4 Lite utilises the same Snapdragon 695 SoC powering last year’s OnePlus Nord CE3 Lite. Even the storage configuration remains the same. The base variant with 8GB RAM (LPDDR4X) costs Rs 19,999. The top variant with 258GBGB, which I am also reviewing, costs Rs 22,999 – Rs 1,000 more than the Nord CE3 Lite’s original price for the same configuration.

Naturally, there aren’t big leaps in performance because of the same processor onboard. In our AnTuTu and Geekbench benchmarks, both smartphones attain similar scores. Notably, the Nord CE3 Lite achieved marginally higher scores in Geekbench. The Nord CE4 Lite exhibited better CPU stability in the throttle test via the Burnout app (images below).

Based on our scores in similar benchmarks, the top-performing smartphone in the sub-Rs 20K segment remains the MediaTek Dimensity 7200 SoC-powered iQOO Z9. The OnePlus Nord CE4 Lite managed to do relatively better than the Dimensity 6080 SoC-powered POCO X6 Neo (review), another popular device in the segment.

Beyond numbers, the OnePlus Nord CE4 exhibited reliable performance despite using Qualcomm’s old Snapdragon 695 SoC, at least for daily usage. This includes basic browsing, social media, video consumption, and calling. However, it comes with several pre-installed apps, though most third-party apps can be uninstalled. You can expect to use popular OnePlus features, including Shelf (for a glance at the weather, step count, and live scores) and ORelax remaining available, which I also enjoy using.

Due to its modest specifications, there aren’t big AI features. The phone ships with Android 14-based OxygenOS 14, and is promised to receive two years of major Android OS updates. This also remains standard across smartphones in the segment.

The gaming experience on the OnePlus Nord CE4 is decent at best. This isn’t surprising since OnePlus mostly targets productivity-focused customers. The smartphone supports HD graphics (60fps) in BGMI, but the average FPS is around 30. I am still happy with the gaming performance due to its flat display and touch response. The Infinix GT20 Pro is the best choice for under Rs 25,000 purely for gaming and software experience.

Battery

Apart from the new display panel and primary camera sensor, Nord CEC4 Lite’s biggest focus is the battery backup with the 5,500mAh. Moreover, the charging speed is also increased to 80W (charger and cable in the box).

In the PCMark battery test, the OnePlus Nord CE 4 Lite lasted for 11.35 hours before its battery dropped from 100 to 20 percent. While this score is decent, several rivals, including the Realme 12 (19 hours), have performed much better. In real-life usage, you can expect all-day battery life with the highest settings enabled. By adjusting the settings, you can even extend the battery life to over a day.

However, the phone strangely takes 50 minutes to charge from 20 to 100 percent. Had OnePlus switched to a dual-cell battery, the charging time could’ve been less.

Final Verdict

The OnePlus Nord CE4 Lite may seem modest on paper, especially compared to last year’s Nord CE3 Lite, there’s a lot to like about this phone once you hold it in your hand. I found its flat-edge design appealing, and the new AMOLED display offers a much more refined viewing experience. The speakers are loud, and there’s a 3.5mm audio jack to complement the display experience.

Its battery backup is solid, though the charging speed is decent at best. The cameras perform reliably in ample light, but low-light photography needs improvement. To be fair, this is a limitation with most smartphones in this range, and the OnePlus Nord CE4 Lite may even appear a notch better.

But for gaming and intense tasks, the iQOO Z9 or Vivo T3 are solid options in the segment. For daily usage, the Nord CE4 will not disappoint

Editor’s rating: 7.5 / 10

Reasons to buy

• The OnePlus Nord CE4 Lite offers good in-hand feeling despite featuring a chunky 5,500mAh battery.
• The display experience has been refined with the new AMOLED display panel.
• Its new 50MP camera performs well in daylight or well-light conditions.
• The 5,500mAh battery offers a solid battery back.

Reasons to not buy

• Low-light photography on the Nord CE4 Lite needs improvement.
• OnePlus could’ve added a new processor. The current one is decent at best.