Oneplus Nord CE4 Lite 5g - The Perfect Budget Phone...but what's the catch?
/Finally, Oneplus has come back to the UK. And if you smell what they've been cooking with Oxygen OS recently, Then you might want to stick because there are some killer features here on their new entry-level phone. The Nord CE4 Lite 5g.
Its launch day price is £299 and €329. If you pre-order, they're also throwing in a set of Nord Buds 2 or an official case or official charger. Also, I believe there is a 50 quid discount if you pre-order before the 2nd of July.
Colour options Are Super Silver and Mega Blue. Which was how I felt after watching Star Wars the Acolyte. The blue colour is actually inspired by the video game character Mega Man. And it does look pretty cool.
The silver one I have looks premium; you could easily mistake it for metal. However, the back is, in fact, plastic. Maybe that's why they called it CE4. And it does have some explosive features….Metaphorically speaking.
Display
For example, the display is a flat 6.67" 120hz Amoled with a peak brightness of up to 2100 nits. For context, that's the same brightness as the regular iPhone 15 display. It is a full HD plus panel with a respectable 395ppi. The display can also be adjusted to 60Hz when needed. And this can help the phone save power.
And Oneplus has thrown in a little deal of sweetener on the display. It's got the OnePlus Aqua touch feature first introduced on the OnePlus 11. So if your hands are wet or if you're a sweaty gamer…
CE4 Lite will have no problem recognising screen touches & eliminating ghost touches. It also has an official IP54 rating, which means it can't be submerged in water but can withstand light splashes and dust.
And first impressions of the display are good. Even though it's an 8-bit panel, the colour tones seem pretty accurate, and the details will undoubtedly be sharp enough for most people.
An optical fingerprint scanner is under the display, and 2D face unlock is also supported by its selfie camera.
And something that stood out to me when watching content on the Nord CE4 Lite is how good the speakers are. Honestly, they sound so impressive for an entry-level phone.
Battery
Power is an area of strength for the CE4 Lite. It's got a 5110mAh battery that supports 80W superfood charging speeds. They say it can go from 1 to 100 in 50mins. You can continuously play YT videos for more than 18 hours when fully charged.
An AI algorithm also learns charging patterns and protects the battery's health. So that'll live longer. And while it doesn't have wireless reverse charging. Wired 5W reverse charging is supported.
Performance
Now, when it comes to processing firepower, it's got a decent chip for the money. It is a Qualcomm Snapdragon; in this case, it's the 695. It's not the newest but it does supports sub 6 5G, which allows download speeds to reach up to 2Gbps… that's fast.
In regards to gaming, it has a gaming mode that boasts performance. And the fact that it is FHD+ certainly helps its performance.
You can run most games quite smoothly…but if you push it to the limits, you may notice it frame skip at times. My best advice for this one is to keep graphics and frame rates on medium settings for the smoothest gameplay.
And because it is a Snapdragon device, you also get Qualcomms AptX adaptive here for lossless audio. And to go one better regarding lossless audio…it does have a headphone jack. Which is something we really see on expensive flagships these days.
SomethingSomething else you'll appreciate about the CE4 Lite is that you get a good amount of RAM. 8GB of LPDDR4X with the option to virtually expand, 256GB storage, and the option to expand using the SD card slot on the SIM tray. This means you can add 2TB of additional storage if you want…which is an insane amount.
Camera
Now, let's talk about the shooters. Normally, entry-level phones suffer in this area. Good camera sensors and optics aren't cheap…and the good news is that OnePlus hasn't gone cheap on the primary camera sensor.
It's a 50MP Sony LYT 600. Which is a decent one. And because it has a large pixel count, you can 2X crop into the sensor for a lossless 2x zoom without needing a telephoto lens.
This primary camera does have OIS and EIS, which means there is less blur caused by camera shake when taking photos and more stable videos. Max video quality is 1080 30fps. And that secondary camera is actually a 2MP monochrome sensor. Its sole purpose is to assist the primary camera with better edge detection and depth sensing.
And if you're wondering what the ASPH on the camera module represents. It's the aspherical lens that is used on the primary. It's similar to the ones Sony uses on their flagship phones.
The selfie camera is displayed and has a 16mp sensor and 24mm equivalent lens. And it's not bad…In my opinion, the camera performance in general and HDR are impressive in terms of the price.
Software Features
Now Oxygen OS 14, if you're not familiar. Oxygen OS is OnePlus's own skin over Android. And it is a fan favourite for a few reasons. You get all the Android features out of the box and some classic OnePlus stuff.
Things like the ability to use gestures on the locked screen to launch into specific tools.You also get the Smart cutout feature in the photo gallery for cutting out subjects and saving them or sharing them.
I particularly like the icon customisation options. With many phones, you can only do this with third-party icon packs and add-ons.
I also like the custom wallpaper feature where you can take a picture of something you like the colour scheme of, and it'll skin the stock wallpapers using those colours. And that's just to mention a few.
So, with all things considered. 120hz Amoled, stereo speakers, headphone jack, 50MP Sony sensor, excellent battery, fast charging, expandable memory, slick UI features and premium-looking design…
This sub £300 device could really lay the smackdown on its entry-level competition. Are you impressed with The OnePlus Nord CE4 Lite based on what you've seen? And Let me know if you have any questions…
And word on the street is that there's another Nord on the Horizon. A more powerful one.
So keep an eye out, subscribe and turn on notifications for when my next Oneplus video drops. See you in the next one, don't be late.
