OnePlus Nord CE 4 first impressions

For years, OnePlus has been delivering what it calls a “core experience” with its Nord CE series of phones. While this experience largely ensures a smooth and lag-free software experience, it often falls short in other areas. Even though regular cameras have been available for years, the package as a whole still makes sense. But with some pretty competitive smartphones like the Realme 12 Pro+ sliding down to this sub-Rs. 30,000 market segment, how does OnePlus maintain CE’s relevance? Some of these answers may be addressed in the latest Nord CE 4.

OnePlus Nord CE 4 comes with a 100W wired charger in the box

First of all, this is a strictly embargoed phone, so we’re not allowed to reveal a lot of details (display, software, etc.) because OnePlus is still in the “hype” phase of the smartphone. But we will try our best to make you aware of all the features and new features of this smartphone.

First, there’s a completely new design. It looks and feels very different from the Nord CE 3, Nord CE 3 Lite, and newer Nord 3. It is available in two colors – Dark Chrome and Celadon Marble. We received the Celadon Marble review unit, which has a mint green finish that looks like marble. OnePlus says both colors are meant to appeal to young people, who are the target audience for the Nord series of devices.

OnePlus Nord CE 4’s design blends rounded corners, straight lines, and sharp edges

The phone has a fairly large footprint (it’s the same size as the Pixel 8 Pro), and at 186 grams it feels pretty heavy. While I appreciate the curved edge rear panel, it ends abruptly with a polycarbonate frame that has flat sides and sharp edges. Like the previous model, the alarm slider is missing on the Nord CE 4. Its design also has two water-centric features that I can’t reveal at this time.

Its display looks familiar in design from previous models, but has a thick bezel around it that feels a bit abrupt. Like the previous model, the Nord CE 4’s display is also of the AMOLED type. It has Full HD+ resolution and offers a 120Hz refresh rate. In the box, OnePlus provides a charger, a Type-A to Type-C charging cable, and a soft case that looks quite high-end.

The soft shell in the box feels very high-end and looks good too

Talking about what drives the core OnePlus experience. There’s a new Qualcomm Snapdragon 7 Gen 3 SoC, which should give the smartphone a considerable performance boost over the previous model. The chipset is also very power efficient, which should technically translate into better battery life. The phone comes with 8GB RAM and 256GB storage, and also offers expandable storage up to 1TB via a microSD card slot.

While I’m not allowed to reveal the battery’s capacity, I can tell you that it’s very capable. Surprisingly, OnePlus has also managed to offer 100W wired charging, which is the fastest of any Nord device to date. In theory, it should be a true road warrior.

OnePlus Nord CE 4 comes with dual rear camera setup

In fact, there’s still a lot to explore before we can wholeheartedly recommend the new OnePlus Nord CE 4 over the existing competition, which has also become quite fierce this year. So stay tuned for our detailed review coming soon.