OnePlus Nord CE4 Lite hands-on review

Software

The Nord CE4 Lite runs on OxygenOS 14.0 based on Android 14. The software is largely identical to what we have seen on previous OnePlus (or Oppo and Realme) phones in the past minus a few features. You can check out our review of the OS.

OnePlus is quick to point out the bloatware in its reviewer's guide, which tends to be a lot more common on its budget phones. While setting up the phone, you are asked if you would like to install from a preset list of five third-party apps, which you can choose not to. Then are six additional third-party partner apps that are already pre-installed, which you are not asked about while setting up. The good thing is you can uninstall these manually, which just leaves the phone with OnePlus and Google apps.

The rest of the software is the same OxygenOS 14.0 that we are all familiar with by now. You get features like split view, floating windows, and smart sidebar to improve multitasking. The smart suggestions app integrates with services like food delivery apps to provide real-time updates on your lockscreen about your orders. The Zen Space app lets you cut back on excessive smartphone usage by essentially locking your device and making it unusable for a period. And if you want to hand the device to someone older or less technically inclined then there is a Simple mode that makes everything bigger and easier to navigate.

A few versions back OnePlus also added a Theme store, where you can buy some free but mostly premium customization content for your device. This includes items like fonts, wallpapers, and themes that change everything including app icons.

On a final note, there is a refreshing lack of almost any forced AI-marketed features. The only mention of AI we found in the reviewer's guide was for the Battery Health Engine feature, which uses AI to learn your usage habits and adapt the charging speed. We suppose the next generation model will feature plenty of AI features tacked on for the sake of it but for now, the Nord CE4 Lite software remains a largely AI-free zone.

Performance

The Nord CE4 Lite is powered by the same Qualcomm Snapdragon 695 chipset as its predecessors, the Nord CE3 Lite from 2023 and also the Nord CE2 Lite from 2022. You also get the same 8GB LPDDR4X memory and a choice of 128GB or 256GB UFS 2.2 storage with microSD expansion as the CE3 Lite.

While things don't look great on paper, in reality, the Nord CE4 Lite remains perfectly usable thanks to impressive software optimization. At no point did the phone feel sluggish or unresponsive and all the animations play out perfectly fine without any jitter. Truth be told, if you weren't informed about the aging mid-range chipset at the heart of it, you wouldn't really find anything to complain about in day-to-day usage.

Where the chipset lacks is in GPU performance, and we don't see this device being used primarily for demanding games, especially since there is also no high refresh rate support. Still, for simpler titles, the performance here is perfectly adequate.

One of the advantages of having a low-power chipset is that the device seldom gets hot. Even when running benchmarks on a loop, the phone gets lukewarm to the touch, and in everyday usage, the phone remains cool to the touch.