OnePlus Nord 4 Is Official, Bringing Back The Metal Unibody

The “Only Metal Unibody 5G Phone” In The Market: The OnePlus Nord 4

OnePlus proudly claims that the OnePlus Nord 4 is currently the only 5G phone on the market with a metal unibody, and there’s little to doubt in that claim. Metal was essentially an extinct material when it comes to the back panels of phones — you’ll pretty much only see it on the frame. However, a (partially) metal back and frame in 2024 certainly makes this device stand out. There’s more to a phone than just that though.

The Design

I always start with the design, and for this phone, that’s certainly one of the aspects most people are excited to hear about. The design changes significantly compared to its predecessor, with the adoption of a metal unibody — essentially, the metal back panel and frame are one piece — being the most notable thing. However, the back is not all metal, as there’s a small glass window in the upper part of the back that houses the cameras and flash and gives the device a dual-tone finish. The look reminds me of the earlier Google Pixels.

The OnePlus Nord 4 is available in Mercurial Silver (which has a laser-etched design), Oasis Green, and Obsidian Midnight colors. It is also IP65 weather-resistant, so it will be able to handle you potentially getting stuck in the rain.

The Screen

The Nord 4 has a 6.74-inch 1240 x 2772 AMOLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate. That’s not much different from its predecessor’s screen, but then, its predecessor’s screen was already great, so there’s not much need to change anything.

The Chipset And Memory

Inside the OnePlus Nord 4 is the Snapdragon 7+ Gen 3, which is one of the best midrange processors that a device can be blessed with. It’s certainly a massive leap over the regular Snapdragon 7 chip. Plus, you can get the Nord 4 specced with up to 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage.

It comes with OnePlus’s Trinity Engine (which we also saw in the OnePlus 12 series). Unsurprisingly, this is another one of those AI things. It takes a good look at your phone’s processor, memory, and storage, and makes sure that everything is working at the very best of its abilities at all times. That’s simplifying it, and as much as I want to say it is all marketing talk, the phone’s TUV SUD 72-month Fluency Rating A might show the truth in it.

The Battery And Charging

The biggest battery ever seen in a OnePlus Nord device is in the OnePlus Nord 4, tipping the scales at a hefty 5,500 mAh capacity. And despite how big it is, you don’t need to wait ages for it to charge up since it comes paired with 100W fast wired charging. This means that you can get a full charge in just 28 minutes, according to OnePlus.

Of course, part of the reason why metal fell out of favor was because it simply isn’t compatible with wireless charging. So, it’s not surprising this device skips out on that, especially when you realize its predecessor didn’t have it either. In other news, it comes with the company’s new Battery Health Engine which uses AI to keep your battery healthy for much longer — apparently 80% of your original capacity after over four years of use.

The Cameras

The OnePlus Nord 4 does its best on paper when it comes to the camera modules it has. The main camera is a 50MP unit with a Sony-built sensor behind it and OIS. Right by its side is an 8MP ultrawide with a 112° FOV. Flip the device around and you’ll find a 16MP selfie camera.

(Editor’s Note: The absence of a pesky 2MP sensor to make up the numbers is something we can all appreciate)

The Software

The OnePlus Nord 4 runs on Android 14 skinned with OxygenOS 14.1, and OnePlus made it clear even before the launch that the device will support 4 years of major Android updates and 6 years of security updates, making it the OnePlus phone with the longest support so far.

There’s also a lot of AI stuff going on here (maybe too much). The device is going to come with AI Summary to pull and summarize info from the web, AI Writer to help compose messages from a short prompt, AI Recording Summary that explains itself, AI Eraser for photo editing, and several more “AI” things just so they won’t be left out.

Pricing And Availability

The OnePlus Nord 4 will be available in European markets, starting at €499 (~$545) for the base 12/256GB model and going to €599 (~$655) for the 16/512GB option.