OnePlus Nord CE 4 Lite buying guide — 3 things we liked, 4 things we didn’t

It’s hard to justify the OnePlus Nord CE 4 Lite even though OnePlus has done its best to not stray far from the script these phones have usually stuck with since inception. The price, too, is consistent with last year which is easier said than done. But something is off. OnePlus is getting a lot of heat for its choice of putting a three-year-old processor in the new Nord, when rivals have moved to faster, more modern chips. It doesn’t help that the Qualcomm Snapdragon 695 has become so mainstream, it’s currently available on phones as low as Rs 10,999. But that is only one half of the problem. The Nord CE 4 Lite is riddled with such small, small questionable decisions, that when you factor them in totality, makes you wonder, what was OnePlus thinking.

OnePlus has put all its focus on two aspects in the Nord CE 4 Lite—display and battery. And indeed, the new Nord brings significant upgrades over the last Nord in these areas. Right out of the gate, you get a superior AMOLED display in place of LCD. It can get nice and bright, too, and there is aqua touch which lets you avoid ghost touches if your hands are wet or you’re stuck in a drizzle. These are quality of life improvements that you learn to appreciate once you start using the device.

Not that the Nord CE 3 Lite had bad battery life, but OnePlus went ahead and put an even bigger battery inside the Nord CE 4 Lite just in case. You may find 6,000 mAh battery phones in this price range now, but OnePlus’s 5,500 mAh battery hits the sweet spot when it comes to capacity and keeping the phone somewhat slim and light alongside. Plus, the Nord CE 4 Lite supports faster charging at up to 80W. So, no corners have been cut at least as far battery tech is concerned.

OnePlus’s decision to keep the headphone jack and also give stereo speakers is highly appreciated as well.

OnePlus Nord CE 4 Lite—3 things we liked

1. Display: The OnePlus Nord CE 4 Lite’s 6.67-inch 120Hz AMOLED display with aqua touch is a significant upgrade to last year’s model. The advantages of AMOLED can’t be overstated. You get deep blacks, punchy colours making multimedia consumption a treat.
2. Battery: The phone’s 5,500 mAh battery means the Nord CE 4 Lite will have absolutely no trouble lasting a full work day and maybe more depending on usage patterns. The phone supports 80W fast charging as well as 5W reverse wireless charging which is to say that it can double as a power-bank to charge other devices on the fly.
3. Dual speakers and headphone jack: The headphone jack is on route to become a relic of the past and so every time a brand retains it, you’re bound to sit back and notice. Nothing beats the sound and convenience of a good pair of wired earphones and so, credit where it’s due, hats off to OnePlus for keeping the good-old jack alive, at least in some of its phones. As for dual speakers, they are always nice to have, in fact, at this point they’ve become a must-have for a lot of buyers when they are out making a purchase.
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OnePlus Nord CE 4 Lite—4 things we didn’t like

1. No HDR support: OnePlus makes a big deal about the phone’s peak brightness—2,100 nits— which on paper is an impressive figure, but what good is that when there is no official HDR support to make use of it.
2. Snapdragon 695: The biggest con however is the underlying chip. The Snapdragon 695 is a three-year-old chip that OnePlus also used in the Nord CE 3 Lite and Nord CE 2 Lite before it.
3. 1080p@30fps: The choice of chip means that the Nord CE 4 Lite can’t do 4K recording, but the bigger problem is that it can’t even do 1080p@60fps. The OnePlus Nord CE 4 Lite is capped at 1080p@30fps. Moreover, the 50-megapixel Sony LYT-700 sensor pales next to competitors like the Realme Narzo 70 Pro which uses the more powerful Sony IMX890.
4. Price: Looking at the overall package, the OnePlus Nord CE 4 Lite with a starting price of Rs 19,999 becomes a pricy proposition. The top-end model can go up to Rs 22,999. The Realme Narzo 70 Pro offers much more value at Rs 19,999 while at around Rs 22,999, the Poco X6 gives it serious run for money.

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