OnePlus's cheapest phone line gets major display, battery and charging upgrades

OnePlus is known for its impressive flagships and foldables, but it also makes some pretty good budget Android phones. The company is refreshing its budget phone lineup with the launch of the OnePlus Nord CE 4 Lite 5G, packing in an even bigger battery and faster charging than before. Previous devices, like the OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite, have entered the US market as the OnePlus Nord N30. While we don’t know of such rebranding plans for the Nord CE 4 Lite, it’s still a device worth looking at.

The processor on the OnePlus Nord CE 4 Lite is the Qualcomm Snapdragon 695, which was also used on the CE 3 Lite and even the CE 2 Lite. Qualcomm itself has rebranded the Snapdragon 695 into the Snapdragon 6s Gen 3, so there is nothing fundamentally flawed here by OnePlus. A newer SoC (one that is not merely a rebrand) would have been better, but that would have messed around with the pricing and value proposition. Customers looking for more performance can climb higher up OnePlus’s product lineup to devices like the Nord CE 4 and even the main Nord series.

On the Nord CE 4 Lite, you get 8GB of LPDDR4X RAM and options of 128GB and 256GB of UFS 2.2 storage with microSD card expandability.

One of the prime upgrades on the OnePlus Nord CE 4 Lite is the move to an AMOLED display from the previous LCD. The Nord CE 4 Lite comes with a 6.67-inch 120Hz AMOLED FHD+ (2,400 x 1,080) display equipped with Aqua Touch tech. There is also an in-display fingerprint scanner on board.

The Nord CE 4 Lite retains the 3.5mm headphone jack and has a humble IP54 rating for water and dust resistance. In India, the phone has a 5,500mAh battery, while it remains restricted to a 5,100mAh battery in the EU due to shipping rules in the region for single-cell batteries.

OnePlus also says that the Nord CE 4 Lite comes with Battery Health Engine tech that promises to maintain 80% battery capacity after 1,600 charging cycles, which is about four years of use. There is 80W fast charging on board, though units in the EU ship without a charging brick, while those in India get an 80W charging brick in the box. If your accessories run out of juice, you can use the Nord CE 4 Lite’s 5W reverse wired (not wireless) charging ability to charge them, too.

For cameras, the Nord CE 4 Lite comes with the 50MP Sony LYT-600 primary sensor with f/1.8 aperture, a 1/1.95-inch sensor size, 0.8µm pixels, and OIS support. Thanks to in-sensor zoom, you can get 2x zoom shots from the 50MP primary camera. The second camera is a 2MP depth camera with f/2.4, and there’s thankfully no useless spec-filler 2MP macro camera this time. The “ASPH” branding near the camera refers to the Aspherical lens. The front camera is a 16MP shooter with f/2.4 aperture.

The OnePlus Nord CE 4 Lite launches with Oxygen OS 14 based on Android 14. The phone is promised two Android platform updates and three years of security updates.

OnePlus Nord CE 4 Lite pricing and availability

The OnePlus Nord CE 4 Lite starts at Rs. 19,999 (~$240) for the 128GB variant in India, while the 256GB variant costs Rs. 22,999 (~$275) in India, €329 in the EU, and £299 in the UK. The phone is available in Super Silver and Mega Blue globally, while India also gets a third Ultra Orange color.

You can pre-order the device now in the EU, with open sales beginning July 1, 2024. Pre-orders in the EU and UK can choose between a free pair of OnePlus Nord Buds 2, a case, or a charging adapter. Further, all pre-orders and purchases of the Nord CE 4 Lite in the EU and UK until August 2, 2024, will receive a €50/£50 discount.

In India, the phone goes on open sale from June 27, 2024, onwards, though the Ultra Orange color is coming later. You can get ₹1,000 instant discounts with certain banking partners.