The OnePlus Nord CE 4 Lite has arrived in India, aiming to capture the hearts of budget-conscious smartphone enthusiasts. It succeeds the popular Nord CE 3 Lite and boasts a few key upgrades, including a stunning OLED display and a primary camera with optical image stabilisation (OIS). But in a market teeming with competitive options boasting OLED screens, 5G connectivity, and fast charging, will the Nord CE 4 Lite manage to stand out? We put this new OnePlus contender through its paces to see if it has what it takes to shine in the bustling budget segment.
OnePlus Nord CE 4 Lite Price in India
The OnePlus Nord CE 4 Lite comes in two storage variants:
- 8GB + 128GB: ₹19,999
- 8GB + 256GB: ₹22,999
It’s available in three vibrant colors: Mega Blue, Super Silver, and Ultra Orange.
OnePlus Nord CE 4 Lite Review: Design
The review unit we received was the eye-catching Mega Blue variant. The rear panel is crafted from plastic and feels smooth to the touch, resisting fingerprints and smudges. The phone’s edges are also flat and made of plastic with a metal-like finish, providing a comfortable grip.
The design is familiar yet refined. The vertically aligned rear camera layout is reminiscent of its predecessor, but this year’s model gets a fresh pill-shaped section surrounding the camera lenses. This section sits under the rear panel and houses dual LED flash.
On the bottom edge, you’ll find a 3.5mm audio jack, a microphone, a USB Type-C port, and a speaker grille. An additional speaker sits comfortably on the top edge, while the power and volume buttons reside on the right side. The SIM card tray is located on the left edge. Adding to its practicality, the Nord CE 4 Lite carries an IP54 rating, ensuring some protection against splashes.
OnePlus Nord CE 4 Lite Review: Specifications and Software
The OnePlus Nord CE 4 Lite delivers two significant upgrades over its predecessor:
- OLED Display: The phone boasts a 6.67-inch full-HD+ (1,080×2,400 pixels) AMOLED screen with a 120Hz refresh rate, offering a vibrant and responsive viewing experience. The display reaches up to 1,200 nits of brightness, surpassing its LCD predecessor.
- OIS-Enabled Main Camera: The primary camera now features optical image stabilisation (OIS) in addition to electronic image stabilisation (EIS), promising steadier shots, especially in low-light conditions.
However, OnePlus has opted to stick with the Snapdragon 695 chipset, a chip that has powered the Nord CE Lite series for the past three years. The phone comes equipped with 8GB of LPDDR4X RAM and up to 256GB of UFS 2.2 storage.
The phone runs Android 14 with OxygenOS 14 layered on top. While OnePlus hasn’t officially announced the software support window, its predecessor is slated for two major Android updates and an additional year of security updates.
Connectivity options remain similar to the Nord CE 3 Lite, offering Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.1, 5G, 4G LTE, GPS, and a USB Type-C port. The Nord CE 4 Lite, however, does lack NFC support for contactless payments.
OnePlus has bumped up the battery capacity to 5,500mAh and introduced 80W SuperVOOC charging for faster refuels. The OLED display also grants the phone access to an in-display fingerprint sensor for enhanced security.
OnePlus Nord CE 4 Lite Review: Performance
The Snapdragon 695, while a capable chip for everyday tasks, delivers similar performance to competitors powered by MediaTek’s Dimensity 7050 chipset. The Nord CE 4 Lite can handle popular games and apps without too much struggle, as long as they aren’t overly demanding.
We put the phone through its paces with games like Battlegrounds Mobile India (BGMI) and Asphalt 9. BGMI ran well on default graphics settings, but experienced minor lag in certain scenarios when the phone started to warm up. Asphalt 9, on the other hand, ran smoothly and effortlessly for extended periods.
We also ran synthetic benchmark tests to see how the Nord CE 4 Lite compares to other smartphones with similar chipsets:
| Benchmark | OnePlus Nord CE 4 Lite | Realme P1 5G | iQoo Z9 5G |
|---|---|---|---|
| Geekbench 6 Single Core | 904 | 956 | 1151 |
| Geekbench 6 Multi Core | 2015 | 2369 | 2669 |
| AnTuTu v10 | 448,127 | 570,926 | 687,545 |
| PCMark Work 3.0 | 9,850 | 13,319 | 13,319 |
| 3DMark Wild Life | 1508 | 4126 | 4126 |
| 3DMark Wild Life Unlimited | 1507 | 4205 | 4205 |
| 3DMark Sling Shot | 4226 | 6654 | 6654 |
| 3DMark Sling Shot Extreme | 3121 | 5766 | 5766 |
| GFXBench Car Chase | 17 | 21 | 33 |
| GFXBench Manhattan 3.1 | 30 | 39 | 60 |
| GFXBench T-Rex | 60 | 60 | 108 |
Overall, OxygenOS 14 on the Nord CE 4 Lite provided a stable and smooth experience. Apps stayed in memory for a decent period after use, switching between them felt effortless, particularly with navigation gestures. Most apps loaded quickly, ensuring a responsive user experience.
Like many smartphones in its price segment, the Nord CE 4 Lite comes pre-loaded with bloatware, including apps like Agoda, Bubble Pop, Netflix, Facebook, LinkedIn, Microsoft 365, Myntra, Tile Match, and Word Connect. However, the good news is that these apps are uninstall-able, giving users more control over their device’s software.
The Nord CE 4 Lite’s AMOLED display is a welcome upgrade over its predecessor’s LCD. OnePlus claims a peak brightness of 1200 nits, and in our testing, the display offered excellent visibility outdoors when automatic brightness was enabled.
Battery life on the Nord CE 4 Lite is on par with other devices in the same price range. In our HD video battery loop test, it lasted for 22 hours and 17 minutes. On average, we achieved about 6 hours of screen on time over a week-long usage period. The 80W SuperVOOC charging makes for a quick recharge, taking about 30 minutes to reach 72 percent and a full charge in approximately 55 minutes.
OnePlus Nord CE 4 Lite Review: Cameras
The Nord CE 4 Lite features a dual rear camera setup consisting of a:
- 50-megapixel main shooter with a Sony LYT-600 sensor and an f/1.9 aperture
- 2-megapixel depth sensor with an f/2.4 aperture
The primary camera is the workhorse, while the depth sensor is largely decorative.
Despite having a lower megapixel count than its predecessor, the new model packs optical image stabilisation (OIS) and electronic image stabilisation (EIS), which is a notable improvement.
In our tests, the primary camera captured clear daytime images, as long as the subject wasn’t too distant. These images hold their own on social media but lack sufficient detail when zoomed in.
The camera app also includes an in-sensor zoom mode that lets users capture images at 2x zoom while retaining some detail for closer subjects. However, similar to the 1x mode, detail diminishes when zoomed in.
The Nord CE 4 Lite also boasts a dedicated Night mode for shooting in dimly lit conditions. This mode needs to be manually enabled, which can be a little inconvenient, as the camera won’t automatically adjust for dark scenarios.
Once activated, Night mode delivers better visibility and slightly more detail compared to auto mode. However, each image takes a bit over a second to capture, making it less suitable for moving subjects. Extensive noise reduction can create excessive smoothing, and the sky tends to appear brighter than its actual nighttime appearance.
The front camera is a 16-megapixel shooter, capturing decent selfies outdoors during the day, or indoors with ample light. However, nighttime selfies suffer from blurriness and less vibrant colors.
Video capture on the primary rear camera tops out at 1080p/ 30fps at both 1x and 2x zoom. Both zoom levels support OIS and EIS (with no option to disable them). Videos are clear and suitable for sharing on social media, but OIS performance suffers slightly in low-light scenarios. The selfie camera also manages 1080p/30fps video capture, but stabilization is not available.
OnePlus Nord CE 4 Lite Review: Verdict
The OnePlus Nord CE 4 Lite brings upgrades to the display and primary camera compared to its predecessor. However, it faces fierce competition in the sub-₹20,000 segment, not just from other brands but also from its own lineup. For instance, the OnePlus Nord CE 3 packs a more powerful processor and frequently drops below ₹20,000 on platforms like Amazon.
Based on this, it’s challenging to wholeheartedly recommend the Nord CE 4 Lite unless you have a specific preference for OnePlus in the budget segment. There are compelling alternatives at the same price point. The Poco X6 5G and Realme 12+ offer faster chips and more versatile camera systems. Other contenders include the iQoo Z9, Realme P1 Pro 5G, Vivo T3, and Tecno Pova 6 Pro.
The OnePlus Nord CE 4 Lite is a solid option for budget-minded OnePlus fans, but its features fall short of the remarkable advancements we see from competitors in the same price range. Choosing a device in this highly competitive market ultimately comes down to individual preferences and specific priorities.
