OnePlus Nord 4 review: heavy on the metal, light on the price

The OnePlus Nord 4 is an all-metal mid-ranger with a compelling spec sheet straight out of the gate. It packs loads of storage, a huge battery, impressive screen clarity and brightness, and OnePlus also promises years of software support.

With the excellent Google Pixel 8a on the scene for photographers after the best cheap phones, and the mighty Poco F6 Pro on hand for gamers on a budget, though, is the Nord 4 dead on arrival? Most definitely not.

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The Nord 4's style is the first standout aspect of the phone. Its thin, all-metal body is striking, especially in the Mercurial Silver model on review here. Unlike the bezel-heavy Google Pixel, the Nord's almost all-screen display is striking – and we much prefer OnePlus's take on Android than Poco's too.

After weeks of travelling, working, and gaming using the OnePlus Nord 4, we know it's good, but the question is just how good? Spoiler alert: this could be the best budget phone launch 2024 has revealed so far. 

OnePlus Nord 4: price & availability

The OnePlus Nord 4 is available in two memory configurations: 256GB storage with 12GB RAM, or 512GB storage with 16GB RAM. This is an instant win out of the gate, with the phone starting with double the storage compared to the pricier Pixel 8a.

Starting at £429 (roughly $550 / AU$845 by conversion) for the 256GB version, its entry-level spec takes on the Samsung Galaxy A55, while the pricier 512GB option costs £479 ($615/AU$940), competing more closely with the Poco F6 Pro and Pixel 8a.

OnePlus Nord 4 review: design & display

From the back, the OnePlus Nord 4 is a throwback to metal unibody phones like the HTC One and the Google Pixel 2 from years gone by. Between 2013 and 2017, before wireless charging and 5G took off (both benefiting from glass backs), metal phones were all the rage. This makes the Nord 4 a bit of a tonic to the samey phones of today.

Available in Mercurial Silver, as tested, Obsidian Midnight (black), or Jade Green, each has a different vibe, with the Silver option being the most standout with its striped patterning. Whichever option you go for, the unibody metal back curves seamlessly into the sides for a great feel.

While the Silver Nord 4's back panel looks textured to the touch, it's actually smooth. Micro-engravings can be picked up with a fingernail scratching over it, and the corrugated metal aesthetic certainly looks unique. While not everyone we've spoken to has loved it, after a few weeks with the phone, it's definitely grown on me.

The Nord 4 is also just 8mm slim, and that slender frame matched with its smooth sides means it slips into a pocket very comfortably.

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In the Nord 4's box you don't get a charging brick or a case (just the cable), both staples of past OnePlus phones. The phone does, however, have a pre-fitted screen protector, which, coupled with its IP65 splash resistance rating, makes it relatively durable. The Panda Glass screen has been suggested to be less hardy than the popular Gorilla Glass, so peel off the protector at your peril.

The alert slider, which is typically reserved for OnePlus flagships, gives the Nord 4 quick access to silent and vibrate modes, with other notable elements including a dual-SIM slot and USB-C port at the base, and power and volume buttons on the right side.

If the back of the phone smacks of nostalgia, the front is planted firmly in the present – with the Nord 4's 6.74-inch screen sporting a tiny border. With a bright, crisp picture that's easy to see both indoors and out, great quality thanks to the AMOLED screen technology, and smooth scrolling from the 120Hz refresh rate, we don't have any complaints about the Nord 4's display – especially at its price.

OnePlus has applied its AquaTouch tech to the Nord 4, so you can use it even when wet – which is handy in the rain – and out of the box it supports Netflix HDR at up to Full HD resolution.

OnePlus Nord 4 review: performance & battery life

Powered by the new Qualcomm Snapdragon 7+ Gen 3 chip, while the OnePlus Nord 4 isn't a class-leading powerhouse, its performance hits the mark.

Starting with gaming: while OnePlus doesn't compete with the Poco F6 and F6 Pro with pure power, it does best the Nothing Phone 2a Plus and HMD Skyline, putting it in the good-to-great for its price category.

I've been playing games like Genshin Impact for long bouts at medium graphics settings with no issues or overheating. Less well-optimised games like Wuthering Waves did drop frames after about 15 minutes, which is when the Nord 4 starts to throttle performance to keep its cool.

Available in two storage/RAM options in the UK – 256GB/12GB or 512TB/16GB – OnePlus loads the phone up with plenty of space for files and games. It's also worth noting that the UK gets fast storage and RAM, which helps ensure excellent day-to-day performance.

On the subject of day-to-day performance, OnePlus promises fluent performance for six years. This promise encompasses a combination of elements. First, the phone will get four years of major operating system updates – it launches with Android 14, so Android 18 will likely be the final OS update.

OnePlus also commits to six years of security updates. This is arguably more important than OS updates as it keeps your phone protected. Finally, a third-party certifies the phone to run smoothly after six years of simulated use.

So while OnePlus's OS update commitment falls behind the seven-year software update promise Google offers with the Pixel 8a, OnePlus's promise is arguably more meaningful. After all, the Nord 4 has superior internals and a much higher-capacity battery, so performance and battery degradation will likely be less noticeable – provided OnePlus sticks to its word and continues to optimise it.

Running OnePlus's Oxygen OS interface, the Nord 4 introduces some considered, AI-labelled highlights, including website summarising and text-to-speech reading. These work in the Chrome browser, making them feel less locked-down than Samsung's Galaxy AI tools – which only work in its own browser. 

OnePlus also includes voice recording transcription and summary tools, and you can easily extract text and images from screenshots. These are all nice-to-haves, but the fact the core experience is relatively clean and feels nippy and smooth helps those highlights shine.

While the Nord 4 supports 100W fast charging, which powers up its huge 5500mAh battery in around 30 minutes, the phone doesn't ship with a charger, so to hit those high notes you will need to buy one separately. This is a mark against the phone from a value point of view, but given the reduction in waste as a result, there's a pro to this con too.

The phone's battery life is fantastic. It easily makes it through a full day of regular use with 40% left in the tank, and if you're sparing with your screen time, you could stretch a full charge out to two days.

OnePlus Nord 4 review: cameras

The Nord 4's cameras are its downfall on paper. The primary 50-megapixel camera is a relatively weak spec – yes it's high resolution, but the sensor size is modest. Meanwhile the 8MP ultrawide camera hardware is even worse.

Thankfully for the Nord 4, OnePlus includes its flagship processing which ekes out much better photos than I had expected. This makes the main camera competitive for the price across both photography and video capture.

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The Nord 4 tends to take balanced photos without too much colour-boosting, sharpening or HDR-effect. This relatively mature take on photography is typically reserved for higher-end phones, and is applied to pictures taken on all the Nord 4's cameras.

When possible, you will always want to default to the primary camera. Its photos are sharper, autofocus gives you freedom to capture close-up objects, the superior dynamic range means shadows are detailed and highlights don't tend to be blown out. When shooting at night, it automatically fires up a long exposure for quality low-light results.

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The ultra-wide camera is surprisingly competent, especially in bright environments. However, with its low resolution, its photos can't be cropped, are lower in detail, and can look slightly muddy for shots taken at night. The selfie camera is respectable, though, taking flattering shots – but much like the ultra-wide it really benefits from bright scenes.

As for video capture, the main camera records 4K video at up to 60fps which is impressive considering the phone's asking price, though the ultra-wide and selfie cameras max out at Full HD (1080p) resolution and crumble when the light drops. 

So while the main camera's 4K footage impressed us – as did the main camera in general – as a package, the phone is let down by weak secondary cameras.

OnePlus Nord 4 review: verdict

There's a strong case to make for the OnePlus Nord 4 being the best phone of 2024 at its price. The core experience is fast and smooth, its screen looks great, OnePlus packs plenty of storage, a considered interface and compelling software and security support, and with superb battery life and fast charging, it's a standout affordable phone. Even the Nord 4's weakest area, its cameras, isn't outright bad.

Only time will tell if OnePlus's six-year fluency guarantee holds true, but the fact the Nord 4 has a higher-capacity battery than other phones at its price and nippier storage and RAM means battery degradation and day-to-day smoothness should persist longer than most of the competition. That makes it a champion choice for anyone shopping on a leaner budget.

Also consider

The OnePlus Nord 4's lower-cost competition is the Nothing Phone 2a Plus, a design champ that bests the Nord's camera hardware while falling behind on performance and battery life.

Alternatively, you could opt for the Poco F6 for superior performance in a plastic body with inferior cameras but fantastic gaming power-per-spend. 

If you're not too worried about gaming, the Galaxy A55 packs a familiar Samsung interface, plus IP67 water resistance.

If photography is important to you, however, the Honor 200 and Google Pixel 8a are both great mid-range camera phones – though each costs more.