The new OnePlus Nord CE4 Lite (review) may seem like an ideal choice for those looking for a smartphone that promises a long battery back, thanks to the upgraded 5,500mAh battery on board. To further sweeten the deal, the Nord smartphone even offers 80W fast charging support – a feature several smartphones are yet to offer in the Rs 20,000 segment.
For perspective, last year’s Nord CE3 Lite (review) features a 5,000mAh battery with 67W charger.
Let’s see if this significant upgrade on paper translates into improved performance in real life. Here’s a battery comparison between this year’s Nord CE4 Lite and last year’s Nord CE3 Lite.
Table of Contents
OnePlus Nord CE4 Lite vs OnePlus Nord CE3 Lite battery specifications
| OnePlus Nord CE4 Lite | OnePlus Nord CE3 Lite |
| 5,500mAh battery | 5,000mAh battery |
| 80W charging | 67W charging |
PCMark
PCMark’s battery test can provide a decent benchmark for the best battery backup in optimal conditions. We adjusted the screen brightness to 80 percent and enabled flight mode at the start of the test. We also ensured the smartphones had 100 percent charge before the battery levels dropped to 20 percent.
The OnePlus Nord CE4 Lite lasted 11 hours and 32 minutes, which is a decent score at best. The Nord CE3 Lite lasted 14 hours and 23 minutes despite carrying a 5,000mAh battery unit. The results suggest that while the Nord CE4 Lite can provide a longer backup, its battery still awaits optimisation.
Winner: OnePlus Nord CE3 Lite
Video streaming
The next test involved running a YouTube video with the same playback specifications and screen brightness for 30 minutes. Both smartphones consumed barely three percent of their battery. That’s also because neither smartphone supports HDR playback.
As the battery capacities differ between both smartphones, the absolute consumption values are different. In the case of the OnePlus Nord CE 4 Lite, it consumed 165mAh out of its total 5,500mAh capacity. The Nord CE 3 Lite, on the other hand, consumed 150mAh.
Winner: OnePlus Nord CE3 Lite
Gaming
For gaming, we played three popular titles (BGMI, Call of Duty, and Real Racing 3) for 30 minutes each. The average battery consumed by OnePlus Nord CE4 Lite was 6 percent, while the Nord CE3 Lite battery consumption was 7.6 percent. In absolute terms, the former consumed a 330mAh battery and 380mAh for the latter.
Winner: OnePlus Nord CE4 Lite
Charging
As technical specifications point out, the OnePlus Nord CE4 Lite supports faster charging than the Nord CE3 Lite. Even in real life, the Nord CE4 Lite took 50 minutes to charge the 5,500mAh battery onboard. The Nord CE3 Lite took close to an hour (57 minutes).
Mind you, our charging test involves analysing the time taken to charge the battery from 20 to 100 percent.
Winner: OnePlus Nord CE4 Lite
Verdict
Based on the four tests, these two smartphones are tied. However, it’s worth noting that a smartphone with a bigger battery is recommended, as it may deteriorate slowly, therefore providing a better backup in the long run. Having said that, it is also clear that the Nord CE4 Lite’s 5,500mAh battery is not fully optimised, though it could be mitigated with an OTA update.
You can also check out our performance comparison between the OnePlus Nord CE4 Lite and the OnePlus Nord CE3 Lite, as both smartphones draw power from the same Qualcomm Snapdragon 695 SoC.
