Looking for a good mid-range smartphone? Then the brand new OnePlus Nord 4 is an interesting option. But what are the differences with its predecessor? We list them in this OnePlus Nord 4 vs OnePlus Nord 3 comparison.
OnePlus Nord 4 vs OnePlus Nord 3
In its successful Nord series, OnePlus has been releasing smartphones with an excellent price-quality ratio for years. These are mid-range devices that compete with, for example, the Samsung Galaxy A55 and Google Pixel 8a.
The newest member of this family is the OnePlus Nord 4. The Chinese manufacturer has improved this device on several points compared to its predecessor. But what are they? And are they important to you? Read it in our OnePlus Nord 4 vs OnePlus Nord 3 comparison!
1. New design of metal
Manufacturers often cut corners on the casing of cheaper smartphones. This is usually made of glass or plastic, while high-end devices sometimes opt for metal. OnePlus is quite proud of the fact that the affordable Nord 4 is also made of metal. This ensures a luxurious look, while you don’t pay the main price.
That’s not the only innovation compared to the OnePlus Nord 3. All variants of the Nord 4 have two different surfaces on the back. The housing is shiny around the cameras, which are next to each other and no longer underneath each other. The rest is matte.
The cameras themselves don’t change much. You have a 50 megapixel main camera and an 8 megapixel wide-angle lens again. The 2 megapixel macro lens has been removed, but we’re not sad about that.
2. Faster hardware
The MediaTek Dimensity 9000 in the OnePlus Nord 3 was already a fine processor, but with the Nord 4, OnePlus has gone one better. The Snapdragon 7 Plus Gen 3 chip is close to the high-end segment. It is only slightly slower than the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, which was found in many flagships last year. In addition, there is now a minimum of 12GB of RAM instead of 8GB and 256GB of storage instead of 128GB.
That means the OnePlus Nord 4 will be fast enough for almost any user. Especially for gamers, the difference with the Nord 3 is quite big. Heavy games simply run a lot smoother on the new Nord. This chip completely wipes the floor with the Exynos 1480 in the Samsung Galaxy A55. In some tests, the Nord 4 is more than twice as fast.
3. Brighter screen
With the OnePlus Nord 4 you get a big smartphone in your home. The screen measures 6.74 inches, has a resolution of 2772 by 1240 pixels and a refresh rate of 120Hz for smooth-looking images. These specifications are the same as the Nord 3.
The Nord 4 screen does achieve a higher peak brightness of 2150 nits. Last year it was 1450 nits. Whether this also makes the screen easier to read in the sun is something we will of course test for our review.
4. Bigger battery, faster charging, but no more charger
OnePlus is known for charging its smartphones very quickly. This certainly applies to the Nord 4, which reaches 100 watts. That is 20 watts faster than the OnePlus Nord 3. The battery itself grows from 5000 to 5500 mAh. This means that the new Nord has an even larger battery than the flagship of the manufacturer, the OnePlus 12.
What does this mean in practice? We will of course test it for you, but the Nord 4 will probably easily last a day and a half before it needs to be charged. You then need less than half an hour for that.
Wireless battery juice filling is not possible, but we don’t mind that. We don’t like the fact that there is no charger in the box anymore. So you will have to buy that separately.
5. Langer updates
The OnePlus Nord 4 has a much better update policy. The device runs Android 14 out of the box and gets four upgrades to Android 15, 16, 17 and 18. In addition, OnePlus rolls out security patches for the device for no less than six years. You will receive them until the summer of 2030.
For comparison, the OnePlus Nord 3 is “only” getting three new versions of Android and will be stuck on Android 16. Security patches will be rolled out for four years from their release last year: until the summer of 2027.
Conclusion OnePlus Nord 4 vs OnePlus Nord 3 comparison
The OnePlus Nord 4 is faster than the Nord 3, has a more luxurious design and a brighter screen, charges faster and gets updates for longer. That’s quite a list. At the same time, the recommended retail price is also slightly higher: the cheapest version costs 499 euros instead of 449 euros.
In addition, the Nord 3 has dropped considerably in price. You can buy it now for around 330 euros. Whether you think the Nord 4 is worth that price difference is of course up to you.
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Source: www.androidplanet.nl
