Review OnePlus Nord 4 with aluminum casing and longer updates

OnePlus introduces the OnePlus Nord 4 5G in Milan, where I am at their invitation. At the same time, the OnePlus Watch 2R, the OnePlus Pad 2 and the OnePlus Nord Buds 3 are also presented here.
Smartphones can be divided into budget devices, mid range and top models or flagship-devices. The new OnePlus Nord 4 falls into the category with a price of 499 and 599 euros mid range. What does this device offer for this price and is it close to the flagship models?

Design Nord 4
When I first held this smartphone in my hands, it felt nice and smooth without a cover (which is not included). It looks nice, partly thanks to the rounded corners. On the right side are the familiar on/off button and the volume button, while on the left is a slider that is set to ringtone by default, but which you can also set to vibrate or silent, very handy. On the back, a large part seems to be ribbed, but it is not. At the top near the two cameras with two ‘flashes’ next to it, there is no ‘ribbed’ surface. That also applies to my review samplethe matte silver variant made with a 2D laser-etched design, which is called Mercurial Silver. Then there is the classic design of brushed bronze called Obsidian Midnight and finally a version in Oasis Green,
What is striking is that the housing is made of aluminum, which is special because many housings are made of ‘glass’ these days. This is because with the arrival of 5G, more antennas were needed to allow a good signal to ‘pass through’ the phone, which is why ‘glass’ was chosen. OnePlus has done a lot of work to ensure that this device has a metal body: for example, the antennas have been placed in a U-shape. Moreover, according to OnePlus, the metal housing works as an amplifier for better signals. In any case, the result is impressive, because 5G works perfectly.
Furthermore, this device is 16.26 cm high, 7.50 cm wide, 8 mm ‘thick’ and weighs just under 200 grams at 199.5 grams.

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Screen
Besides the price, cameras, speed and so many years of updates, the screen is an important reason for choosing a smartphone. The Nord 4 is 17.12 cm (6.74 inches) with a resolution of 2772 × 1240 pixels (ratio 20.1 : 9) a nice 450 ppi (pixels per inch). Incidentally, the screen resolution is set to 2414 x 1080 pixels by default for a longer battery life.
Tip. The following probably also applies to your current smartphone: if you really want the sharpest image that your smartphone offers, then you adjust that via Institutionsthereafter Display and brightnessthen Screen resolution and then choose High (or search for screen resolution on your smartphone). This does mean that the battery will not last as long.
The Super Fluid Amoled screen supports Ultra HDR and the refresh rate of 1 to 120 Hz ensures that all images appear nice and smooth on your screen. And just as important: the image is also good with beautiful colors.

Processor and memory
It is equipped with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 7 Plus Gen 3 Mobile Platform with a GPU Qualcomm Adreno 732 which compared to the Snapdragon 7 Gen 3 chip has a 65% faster CPU and a 130% faster GPU. A mouthful, but together with the working memory (RAM) of 12 GB or 16 GB (LPDDR5X) the Nord 4 does its job well and nice and smooth. In terms of storage memory, there is 256 GB or 512 GB available, depending on which model you choose.

Battery: nice and fast charging, but no plug
OnePlus users have been spoiled for years with their devices charging incredibly fast thanks to the SUPERVOOC Fast Charging system. The large 5500 mAh battery can also be charged very quickly. According to OnePlus, a study showed that the battery could be charged more than 1600 times over a period of 4 years at 80% of its original capacity. This was thanks to the Battery Health Engine technology, which uses AI to analyze your battery usage and charging habits. This smartphone can easily last a day, as it should.
Although a USB-C cable is included, you will unfortunately not find a plug in the box. OnePlus thinks that users already have a plug and it is more sustainable. And it saves on costs, both for not including it and for taking up less space in the packaging. Incidentally, it is almost common nowadays that there are no plugs in the box of the smartphone. If you still want to buy the accompanying Oneplus Supervooc 100w dual-ports power adapter, you can read how much it costs under price and availability.

Cameras
On the back are two cameras. The main camera is a 50MP Sony LYTIA Camera (OIS supported EIS supported)
The Ultra-Wide camera is an 8MP Sony camera with a 112-degree Field of View. It shoots video in 4K, 1080p, and 720p at 60/30 fps, EIS/OIS video at 1080p video at 60 fps, slo-mo video at 1080p at 120 fps, 720p at 240 fps, time-lapse at 4K and 1080p, and dual-view video at 1080p at 30 fps. Finally, it shoots video at 3840×1644 at 30 fps.
The front camera or selfie camera is a 16MP that shoots videos at 1080p and 720p at 30 fps.
At first glance, both the photos and videos are of good quality. I have already taken several photos and videos and will soon come with an update of this review that includes both the photos, videos and the AI ​​tools.

More specifications
The device is also very complete with dual sim, Wi-Fi6 (802.11 ax), Bluetooth 5.4 and Bluetooth audio codecs: SBC, AAC, aptX-HD, LDAC, and LHDC (if you use the OnePlus Buds Pro). Furthermore NFC, usb-c, gesture control, facial recognition to ‘unlock’ it and speakers that produce a good sound.

Software with AI tools
The Nord 4 5G is equipped with Android 14 and OnePlus’ own skin OxygenOS 14.1. Very nice is that OnePlus now offers many more years of software support. For example, 4 years of Android updates are promised and 6 years of security updates. OnePlus has also collaborated with the inspection institute TÜV SÜD for a test that must prove that a smartphone does not slow down after six years of intensive use. This is called fluency testing and the Nord 4 5G has received the TÜV SÜD Fluency 72 Month A rating for this, in other words, mission accomplished.
Furthermore, this smartphone has various AI tools, no smartphone can do without it seems. In an update of this review I will discuss these AI tools further.

OnePlus Nord 4 5G Price and Availability
The OnePlus Nord 4 5G will be available in the Netherlands and Belgium from August 8. The recommended retail price for the version with 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage capacity is 499 euros and for the version with 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage capacity is 599 euros. That is a higher recommended retail price than its predecessor(s). OnePlus indicates that many factors influence the price of their devices: “Compared to its predecessor, the OnePlus Nord 4 has a groundbreaking design, our longest software support ever, a much more powerful chipset and much more. We strongly believe that this device offers great value to our community.”
If you want to purchase the dual-ports power adapter 100W (with USB-C cable), the recommended retail price is €59.99: https://www.oneplus.com/nl/product/oneplus-supervooc-100w-dual-ports-power-adapter

Conclusion
The OnePlus Nord 4 5G is a beautiful device with good specifications. This is also reflected in daily use, everything runs as it should, nice and smooth, no hiccups and a beautiful image. Too bad that a plug is no longer included, but many manufacturers no longer do that. In themselves, those longer updates are of course very nice, but Samsung and Google offer longer updates. But all in all, this smartphone is a good choice if you are looking for a new smartphone in this price range.

OnePlus Nord 4 5G

Suggested retail price: 499 euros for 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage; 599 euros for 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage

+ beautiful design with aluminum housing

+ longer support with Android updates and security updates

+ good price-quality ratio

– no plug

– updates may take longer