The new OnePlus Nord CE4 Lite carries over some features from the Nord CE4, which is mostly good news when compared to the previous model, the Nord CE 3 Lite. There are a few choices that might confuse you too, but let’s start with the positive aspects.
OnePlus Nord CE4 Lite
This phone ditches the LCD of its predecessor and adopts an OLED panel. It’s a good panel, too, with the same emissive material used in the OnePlus 11. It’s a 6.67” display with a 1,080 x 2,400px resolution (20:9) and a 120Hz refresh rate. It has a maximum brightness of 1,200 nits (for the entire display, local brightness can reach 2,100 nits), which is a huge upgrade over last year’s model’s 680 nits. As an added bonus, the fingerprint reader is now underneath the display instead of being mounted on the side.
The Nord CE4 Lite is equipped with a 10% more capacious battery, 5,500mAh. This is the capacity of the Indian model. The global variant has a 5,110mAh battery (110mAh more than the CE 3 Lite). Either way, charging has been slightly increased to 80W, so a full 100% charge still takes a reasonable amount of time – 52 minutes on the 5,500mAh variant. That big battery can run YouTube marathons for up to 20 hours without interruption. Charging is done via a USB-C (USB 2.0) port, with an 80W adapter and USB A-to-C cable provided.
OnePlus Nord CE4 Lite has a big battery with 80W fast charging
Despite the increased battery capacity, the new model is thinner and lighter than its predecessor – 8.1mm and 191 grams versus the Nord CE3 Lite at 8.3mm and 195 grams. Even better, the Lite has IP54 dust and water resistance like the regular CE4. This is a first for a CE Lite model.
This is a very versatile phone. It has a microSD slot for extra storage, a 3.5mm headphone jack, and stereo speakers with a 300% ultra volume mode. And you can share some of that big battery with the 5W reverse charging mode.
For whatever reason, the phone is powered by the Snapdragon 695. Yes, the Nord CE 3 Lite and Nord CE 2 Lite have the same chipset. It is paired with 8GB of RAM (LPDDR4X) and 128/256GB of storage (UFS 2.2), so there is no improvement on this front either.
We mentioned that the Lite has some of the features of the CE4. The OLED display and water resistance, but also the Sony LYT-600 camera sensor – that’s a 50MP 1/1.95” sensor. On the positive side, it now has optical image stabilization (another first for the CE Lite series). On the downside, it’s a big downgrade from the CE 3 Lite’s 108MP 1/1.67” camera.
This is the only camera of interest on the back – there’s a 2MP depth sensor, but not much can be said about it. The LYT-600 has an in-sensor 2x zoom, but the previous phone’s 108MP sensor advertised 3x zoom (however, the results were pretty poor). You can check out our Nord CE4 hands-on review to get a look at how this camera module performs.
The front-facing camera is a 16MP unit, the same as on the other Nords. Video recording hasn’t been upgraded, so you get 1080p @ 30fps.
The phone is available in three colours – Super Silver and Mega Blue, apart from an India-exclusive colour called Ultra Orange.
OnePlus Nord CE4 Lite Colourways
Pre-orders for the OnePlus Nord CE4 Lite begin today in Europe. The phone is available in one configuration (8/256GB) and costs €330. Get it for €280 if you grab the early bird deal, which also includes a free pair of OnePlus Nord Buds 2 (worth €70). The open sale starts on July 1, so you have a week to get the early bird offer.
OnePlus Nord CE4 Lite price and deals for Europe and India
The situation is slightly different in India and the Nord CE4 Lite will go on sale straight away from June 27 (Thursday). The base 8/128GB model has an MSRP of ₹21,000 and the 8/256GB upgrade costs ₹24,000. However, for a limited time these models will be available with instant discounts from ICICI Bank and OneCard credit cards at ₹20,000 and ₹23,000 respectively. Note that the Ultra Orange colourway (exclusive to India) will be available at a later date.
