Ahead of the release of the Nord 4, OnePlus launched two of its affordable alternatives. Previously, we reviewed the OnePlus Nord CE4 and found it to be an efficient midrange smartphone for everyday use. Now, we turn our attention to the company’s most affordable smartphone in India – the OnePlus Nord CE4 Lite (starting at Rs 20,000). The interesting thing about this year’s Nord series is that all three models have different designs. The Nord CE4 Lite may just be our favourite out of the lot on strictly visual terms. We used the smartphone for a week to test if its performance matched its aesthetics. Here is our in-depth review of the OnePlus Nord CE4 Lite.
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In This Article
OnePlus Nord CE4 Lite Review: Design and Display
The Nord CE4 Lite offers the standard OnePlus unboxing experience. Here’s what you get inside the retail box.
- Smartphone
- 80W SuperVOOC Power Adapter
- USB Type-A to Type-C Cable
- Clear Plastic Case
- SIM Ejector
- OnePlus Nord Stickers
- Red Cable Club Membership Card
- Quick Start Guide
- Safety Guide
- Welcome Note
The OnePlus Nord CE4 Lite has an all-plastic build, but its design and finish lend it a premium look. The Super Silver colour variant of the smartphone exudes a metallic look. The glossy back panel can attract a moderate amount of smudges and fingerprints but not to the point that requires wiping the smartphone every time you pick it up.
Our favourite thing about the Nord CE4 Lite has to be its design. OnePlus has reduced the size of the camera cutouts and ditched the macro sensor altogether. The flash is segmented into two small units placed below the depth sensor. The camera array is bordered by a thin oval strip and has a mirror-like finish.
The plastic frame of the smartphone houses the volume rocker keys and side button on its right edge and the hybrid SIM tray on its right edge. Its storage is expandable up to 2TB. At the bottom edge, you’ll find the 3.5mm headphone jack, primary microphone, USB port, and the primary speaker grille. The Nord CE4 Lite is one of the few smartphones in this price range to still rock the headphone jack. The secondary microphone has been placed on the top edge of the smartphone. The earpiece also acts as a secondary speaker. Being the most affordable OnePlus smartphone, the Nord CE4 Lite misses out on the alert slider and the IR blaster.
The smartphone has levelled up when it comes to the display specs. The IPS LCD panel from the Nord CE3 Lite has been replaced with a superior AMOLED display. The screen size remains 6.67 inches but now you get to experience the deep blacks that come with the upgraded AMOLED panel. The colours produced by this display are vibrant and punchy, which makes for a great viewing experience.
This AMOLED display can reach 1,200 nits of brightness in HBM while its peak brightness has been capped at 2,100 nits. Needless to say, the Nord CE4 Lite does not struggle with legibility issues when you pull it out under direct sunlight. Another important addition to the display is the fingerprint scanner. The previous iteration of the smartphone had an outdated side-mounted scanner. It is also nice to see the Aqua Touch tech extended to OnePlus’ cheapest smartphone.
For the uninitiated, Aqua Touch technology allows users to control the phone seamlessly even when the panel is wet. If you need to make a call while it’s raining, you don’t have to worry about misfiring controls anymore. The IP54 rating ensures that minor water splashes won’t damage the device.
OnePlus Nord CE4 Lite Review: Performance and Cameras
Things remain the same under the hood for the OnePlus Nord CE4 Lite as it continues to be powered by the Snapdragon 695 SoC. This chipset has been featured on the last two iterations of the smartphone as well. While it is not a bad processor, it would have been nice to bring the Nord CE4 Lite up to the standards of the best-performing devices in its price segment.
Nevertheless, the smartphone still delivers a consistent performance day in and day out. Tasks like video calling, web browsing, media streaming, and navigation are handled with expertise. The apps do load a fraction of a second later than we’re used to, but it is smooth sailing once the smartphone is firing on all cylinders. On the Geekbench 6 app, the Nord CE4 Lite scored 899 points on the single-core test and 2010 points on the multicore test.
After playing titles like Call of Duty Mobile and Asphalt 9 on the Nord CE4 Lite, we were satisfied with its gaming performance, even though it is not the outright best gaming smartphone in its category. The AMOLED display offers a much superior touch response than the LCD panel on the CE3 Lite. While the gaming experience isn’t completely free of frame drops, they are not a frequent occurrence. The smartphone also does a good job of managing the internal temperature. We were able to feel the back panel slightly warm up after 30 minutes of gameplay.
The OnePlus Nord CE4 Lite runs Android 14-based OxygenOS 14 out of the box. Being the entry-level smartphone in the OnePlus catalogue, the Nord CE4 Lite misses out on some important features. The only AI feature on the smartphone is ‘AI charge acceleration’ which works behind the scenes to improve the battery life. AI tools related to translation, transcription, and photo editing are missing from the smartphone.
Also missing is the ‘System Cloner’ tool which allows users to create a completely different interface, which a specific password for fingerprint can trigger. Interestingly, the regular OnePlus Nord CE4, priced at Rs 25,000, has this feature. To sweeten the deal, it also has an IR blaster.
Coming back to the CE4 Lite’s software experience, the range of customisation options for the lock screen, home screen, app icons, app drawer, and fingerprint scanner is impressive. OnePlus has not held back any of the personalisation settings. You also get an app locker, app hider, and a private safe to keep your data secure.
With a massive 5,500mAh battery unit, the Nord CE4 Lite offers a one-day battery life on heavy usage. On moderate usage, the smartphone’s battery life can be pushed to one and a half days. During the week-long review period, we used the OnePlus Nord CE4 Lite for instant messaging, video calling, media streaming, gaming, and other everyday tasks. We were left with a 15-20% charge at the end of each day with a screen of ~7 hours. The 80W charger provided inside the box can fully charge the smartphone in under an hour.
OnePlus Nord CE4 Lite’s rear camera array now sports a 50MP Sony LYT-600 sensor with OIS. The 108MP Samsung HM6 sensor on the CE3 Lite did not have OIS. Also on offer is a 2MP depth sensor for clearer portraits. The macro sensor has been ditched altogether. While we would have liked an ultrawide lens on this camera array, it is not a dealbreaker for us.
Pictures taken with the 50MP primary shooter in daylight conditions are well composed. They pack in a good amount of detail and display natural and bright colours. The dynamic range and contrast level of the images are satisfactory too. Another great thing about this smartphone is that it doesn’t take too long to process the images.
In limited lighting conditions, the OnePlus Nord CE4 Lite produces decent pictures with the Night Mode turned on. The difference created by OIS is noticeable here. We were happy with the way the smartphone lit up the subject and assigned it the accurate colour. However, the images were not completely free of grain. The portrait shots taken with the Nord CE4 Lite leave more to be desired. While the subject separation is optimum, the smartphone does not apply the necessary amount of blur to the final images.
The 16MP front camera takes decent selfies. We were pleased to see that it didn’t over-brighten the images. The skin smoothening effect was also kept to a minimum. The front and rear sensors can record 1080p videos at 30 fps.
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Verdict
Even with a relatively older Snapdragon 695 chipset, the OnePlus Nord CE4 Lite is one of the best smartphones you can buy under Rs 20,000. Its refined design, AMOLED display, and updated primary camera sensor give it the edge over other devices in this price category. As a daily driver, this smartphone delivers a reliable performance. We would also recommend taking a look at the standard Nord CE4 if you want a better chipset and an ultrawide camera.
OnePlus Nord CE4 Lite: Pros
- Excellent design
- AMOLED display with Aqua Touch tech
- Massive battery
- 80W charging
OnePlus Nord CE4 Lite: Cons
- Carries forward the Snapdragon 695 SoC from Nord CE2 Lite
- Lacks an ultrawide camera
