OnePlus Nord 4 review: A good cheap phone but is it worth your time?

The OnePlus Ace 3V, previously only available in China, has been released globally as the mid-range OnePlus Nord 4. The phone boasts an all-metal body and a 50MP main camera. But is it a compelling budget option for photographers in a market that already has some great alternatives?

Amateur Photographer verdict

The OnePlus Nord 4 is a good cheap phone but ultimately doesn’t stand out in a sea of good cheap phones.

Pros

Excellent main camera
Great value for money
All-metal body is quite lightweight

Cons

Struggles in low light and with close-ups
No telephoto camera
Poor ultra-wide camera and mediocre selfie camera
Not available everywhere

Key Features at a glance:

50MP main camera, f/1.8, with OIS
8MP ultrawide camera, f/2.2
16MP f/2.4 selfie camera
6.74-inch screen, AMOLED, 120Hz with 2150nit peak brightness
5500mAh battery
12GB+256GB and 16GB+512GB storage options
Android 14 with OxygenOS 14.1
162 x 75 x 7.99 mm
199.5 g

We review smartphones from the perspective of choosing one for its photography and camera performance. We look at what the OnePlus Nord 4 offers, and the features included for photography and video, paying particular attention to the cameras on the phone, photo editing capabilities, as well as the output from each different lens.

Hardware design and features

The OnePlus Nord 4 notably features an all-metal aluminum body and at just under 8mm thick, it is the slimmest OnePlus Nord phone yet. It’s by no means heavy, but it feels weighty in hand when compared to other smartphones.

Powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 7 Plus Gen 3 chip and a large 5,500mAh battery, it offers up to 512GB in RAM storage. The Nord 4 also comes with four major Android updates and six years of security updates, which is the longest support package OnePlus has put in place.

OnePlus Nord 4 rear cameras close up — The OnePlus Nord 4’s rear cameras up close. Photo: Isabella Ruffatti.

It is available in three colour options including Obsidian Midnight, Mercurial Silver and Oasis Green. I received the Oasis Green option to review.

Camera-wise, the headline is the Nord 4’s 50MP main camera with a Sony LYT-600 sensor and Optical Image Stabilisation (OIS). It is accompanied by a 112-degree 8MP ultra-wide camera and a 16MP Sony selfie camera.

The Nord 4’s camera app includes a Pro mode (where you can adjust settings like the ISO, shutter speed and white balance), Portrait mode, Night mode, and Long Exposure mode.

OnePlus Nord 4 front view, camera app — The OnePlus Nord 4’s camera app. Photo: Isabella Ruffatti.

There is also a Film mode, which is similar to a Pro mode but for shooting video. This mode looks similar to the Blackmagic Design camera app and allows you to change settings such as the ISO, shutter speed and white balance. The Nord 4 can shoot up to 4K video at 60fps.

For editing your photos, the smartphone also has a number of AI tools like AI Eraser, which removes unwanted people and items from images. To access some of these tools you do need a OnePlus account.

Performance

The OnePlus Nord 4’s main camera gave me the best results across a variety of lighting conditions.

The main camera’s bright aperture can be a double-edged sword at times. It’s great for low light situations (with a little help from the OIS) and does a decent job of it. However, in extremely bright light, it can result in photos with very little contrast. Fortunately, though, I did not see any flares in my images. While the Nord 4 is an okay low light performer, blurriness is more evident than in photos taken in brighter conditions.

People watch the Paris 2024 Olympic Games outside Battersea Power Station in London, UK — People watch the Paris 2024 Olympic Games outside Battersea Power Station in London. Image taken with the OnePlus Nord 4’s main camera. Credit: Isabella Ruffatti.

It is worth noting that this phone does not have a macro mode and extreme close-ups were a problem. For shooting macro subjects with this smartphone, a little distance went a long way.

Close-up photo of cat taken with OnePlus Nord 4 — As long as your subject is bigger than an insect or small flower and isn’t too close too camera, the Nord 4 will give you decent macro shots. Credit: Isabella Ruffatti.

This phone also has no telephoto camera. Fortunately, using the zoom does not automatically equal blurry images and photos taken with the zoom slightly over the 2x option showed a nice amount of detail. I would not recommend going above that, especially in low light. Colour rendering was sometimes inconsistent and tended to be warmer and more vibrant when the zoom was used.

Out of all three cameras on the Nord 4, the ultra-wide camera has the lowest mega-pixel count. There is a drop in quality when compared to the photos taken with the main camera, with details being less sharp.

Photo London skyline taken with OnePlus Nord 4 main camera, no zoom — Photo of the London skyline taken with the OnePlus Nord 4 with no zoom (left) and with zoom (right).

Photo London skyline taken with OnePlus Nord 4 main camera, with zoom — Photo of the London skyline taken with the OnePlus Nord 4 with no zoom (left) and with zoom (right).

The selfie camera did relatively well. It’s not a 50MP selfie camera, but on the other hand, you can use Portrait mode when using the selfie camera. Portrait mode lets you adjust your depth of field and includes beauty options and access to filters.

The Nord 4 can shoot up to 4K video at 60fps and 1080p at 60 fps when the Ultra Steady option is turned on. The flash can be turned on while recording for extra lighting. When using the selfie camera, the smartphone can record at up to 1080p at 30fps.

Photo taken with OnePlus Nord 4's ultrawide camera — Photo taken with the OnePlus Nord 4’s ultra-wide camera. Credit: Isabella Ruffatti.

I’ve used several phones like my usual Google Pixel 7a and the Motorola Edge 50 Pro to film content for AP’s social media. I filmed my experience at the OnePlus Nord 4’s launch with a Nord 4 (except one clip of me holding said Nord 4).

I shot most of that footage indoors and without a tripod. The smartphone’s stabilization worked well. The footage wasn’t as detailed as other smartphones I’ve used, like the Edge 50 Pro but the Nord 4 does well for its price range.

Value for money

At £429, the OnePlus Nord 4 is on par with other smartphones with similar price points and camera specs like the Samsung Galaxy A55, Google Pixel 8a, Google Pixel 7a, Motorola Edge 40 Neo, Oppo Reno10 and Nothing Phone 1. Some differences include higher mega-pixel counts on selfie and ultra-wide cameras as well as including a telephoto or macro camera.

Selfie taken with OnePlus Nord 4 using Portrait Mode — Photo taken using the OnePlus Nord’s selfie camera with Portrait Mode. Credit: Isabella Ruffatti.

A main point where the OnePlus Nord 4 may lose on is that it’s not available in markets like the US, whereas the Samsung, Motorola and Google phones are.

Really it depends on where you live, what you’re looking for and what brand you prefer, as most of these other phones aren’t much more expensive than the Nord 4. Some of these budget phones, such as the Pixel 7a and Samsung Galaxy A55, can sometimes be found on sale for even less than their usual prices. If the price drops, then the Nord 4 could be worth looking at.

Photo taken with the OnePlus Nord 4's long exposure mode — The Nord 4 has a long exposure mode that enables you to select one of three options: light painting, moving vehicles and water & clouds. I selected light painting, this is a photo of the Instax Pal on top of my Google Pixel 7a (with the flashlight turned on) aboard a portable dance spin board. Credit: Isabella Ruffatti.

Verdict

The Nord 4 is probably not the best for low light images and getting macro shots and it is a bit disappointing that its other two cameras don’t quite measure up to the main camera. However, it is a pretty good budget smartphone based on its value for money and main camera alone.