The irresistibly priced OnePlus Nord CE 4 Lite is officially official with a big battery and more
Following an unusually detailed pre-announcement last week and a ton of other important stuff prematurely revealed by everyone from leakers to retailers and the handset maker itself, the officially official launch of the OnePlus Nord CE 4 Lite could have easily gone unnoticed.
Luckily for OnePlus, the hot new 5G-enabled Android mid-ranger is unquestionably affordable enough to sell like hotcakes in many major European markets and India while making a lot of budget-focused users elsewhere envious of what some people can get at such killer prices.
These are all of the key Nord CE 4 Lite 5G specs and features
- 6.67-inch AMOLED display with 120Hz refresh rate technology, 2400 x 1080 pixel resolution, and 2100 nits peak brightness;
- Qualcomm Snapdragon 695 5G processor;
- 128 and 256GB storage options;
- 8GB RAM;
- 50MP primary rear-facing camera with optical image stabilization and f/1.8 aperture;
- 2MP secondary depth sensor with f/2.4 aperture;
- 16MP front-facing camera with f/2.4 aperture;
- 5,500mAh battery with 80W SuperVOOC charging capabilities;
- Android 14-based OxygenOS 14 software;
- 162.9 x 75.6 x 8.1mm dimensions;
- 191 grams weight;
- USB 2.0 Type-C connectivity;
- 3.5mm headphone jack;
- microSD card slot;
- Dual stereo speakers with noise cancellation support;
- Mega Blue, Super Silver, and Ultra Orange color options.
And these are the main OnePlus Nord CE 4 Lite pricing details
- Rs. 19,999 with 128GB storage; Rs. 22,999 in a 256GB configuration in India.
- €279 (free OnePlus Nord Buds 2 included) for a single 256GB storage variant in Europe.
Having trouble putting those numbers into context? Allow us to help by pointing out that 20,000 Indian rupees currently converts to roughly $240, while €279 means almost $300.
What can you get in the US for three Benjamins or less right now? Unfortunately, nothing that comes close to the 5G-capable Nord CE 4 Lite in the crucial charging support department, for instance.
Motorola's $300 Moto G Power 5G (2024) is restricted to a top charging speed of 30W, while Samsung's $400 Galaxy A35 5G barely comes equipped with 25W charging technology.
Granted, the OnePlus Nord CE 4 Lite is not (technically) superior to its rivals for the title of best budget 5G phone out there in all departments, failing to impress, for example, with a somewhat outdated Snapdragon 695 SoC that powers the likes of the Moto G34, Moto G62, and yes, last year's Nord CE 3 Lite as well.
Bizarrely enough, that 5,500mAh battery that looks like the new phone's number one selling point in India is downgraded to 5,110mAh capacity on the old continent... with no resulting change on the product dimensions or weight front. Both figures are higher than the 5,000mAh juice offered by the aforementioned Moto G Power 5G (2024) and Galaxy A35 5G, making the Nord CE 4 Lite 5G look like an absolute endurance heavyweight and overall value champion on paper.
Will the Nord CE 4 Lite come to the US?
Sadly, the very simple and direct answer to that question is "no." We obviously don't know that from OnePlus, but all signs, recent history, and common sense suggests official US availability is out of the question.
The Nord CE 4 Lite certainly looks pretty in Mega Blue for an ultra-affordable mid-ranger. | Image Credit -- OnePlus
What's definitely possible is for the company to unveil a regional sequel to last year's Nord N30 5G inspired by the "international" CE 4 Lite. The N30 and Nord CE 3 Lite are also pretty similar, sharing (among others) a 6.72-inch IPS LCD screen with 120Hz refresh rate capabilities, Snapdragon 695 processing power, a 5,000mAh battery, and a triple rear-facing camera system consisting of a primary 108MP snapper and two (largely useless) 2MP sensors.
For the time being, there aren't a lot of credible Nord N40 rumors or reports we can rely on, but that could definitely change in the coming weeks, as the Nord N30 5G is already more than a year old.
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