iQOO Neo 10R vs OnePlus Nord 4: Which mid-ranger should you buy?

The mid-range smartphone segment is buzzing with competition, and we’ve got a new contender in the race. The iQOO Neo 10R has landed in this cutthroat segment priced starting at Rs 26,999 for its base variant.

One of its fiercest competitors comes from the house of OnePlus. Packing impressive specifications, the OnePlus Nord 4 challenges the iQOO Neo 10R in this segment. Both phones can be purchased at Rs 26,999, but the question remains – which one provides better bang for your buck?

At Unboxed by Croma, we are obsessed with helping buyers make the right purchase decision, so let’s delve right into answering that pressing question.

iQOO Neo 10R vs OnePlus Nord 4: Design and Display

The iQOO Neo 10R sports a plastic frame and rear panel, while the Nord 4 takes things up a notch with its premium aluminium body and frame. Both phones come with the same IP65 dust and water resistance. As for display protection, the iQOO Neo 10R provides Schott Xensation Up glass while the OnePlus Nord 4 has Panda Glass, which isn’t as robust as Schott Xensation.

Both phones are about 8mm thick but the Nord 4 is about 3.5g heavier than the Neo 10R. iQOO’s new phone is available in two colourways – Raging Blue and Moonknight Titanium while the OnePlus Nord 4 has three colour options – Obsidian Midnight, Oasis Green, and Mercurial Silver.

Aesthetically, we prefer the look of the OnePlus Nord 4, it has a far classier look. The camera module on the Nord 4 looks neater and the aluminium build gives it a premium feel.

iQOO Neo 10R vs OnePlus Nord 4: Performance and Software

The iQOO Neo 10R is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8s Gen 3, a powerful 4nm chipset with a maximum clock speed of 3.0 GHz. Meanwhile, the Nord 4 houses the Snapdragon 7+ Gen 3 chipset, which has a maximum clock speed of 2.8GHz. Both are powerhouses in the mid-range segment, but the Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 is slightly faster and has a more powerful NPU for AI tasks.

The iQOO Neo 10R is available in three configurations: 8 + 128GB, 8 + 256GB and 12 + 256GB. It features UFS 4.1 storage (128 GB comes with UFS 3.1) with fast data transfer speeds. The OnePlus Nord 4 is available with the same RAM + storage configuration options, but it only has UFS 4.0 storage speeds (once again, 128 GB has UFS 3.1).

The iQOO Neo 10R is targeted towards gamers, so, naturally, it comes packing a slew of gaming-specific features like a built-in FPS meter, a VC cooling system, a dedicated e-sports mode, bypass charging, 2000 Hz instant touch sampling rate, and Monster Mode (which boosts performance).

While the OnePlus Nord 4 doesn’t feature quite as many gaming-centric features it does come with a robust cooling system, which should help during long gaming sessions.

ALSO READ: OnePlus Nord 4 5G launched in India with metal unibody design, 4 years of software updates

As for software, the Nord 4 comes with Android 14 out of the box with OxygenOS 15 on top, while the iQOO Neo 10R has the latest Android 15 out of the box with Funtouch OS 15 over it. The Neo 10R gets three years of software updates and four years of security updates while the Nord 4 comes out ahead with four years of OS updates and a whopping six years of security updates.

iQOO Neo 10R vs OnePlus Nord 4: Cameras

Moving on to optics, the iQOO Neo 10R features a 50 MP primary shooter with OIS and an 8 MP ultrawide lens. The Nord 4 houses a Sony LYTIA 50 MP main shooter with an 8 MP ultrawide camera, so the rear camera setup is quite similar. Both phones offer 4K video recording at up to 60 fps with gyro-EIS for stability.

The difference lies in the front camera. The iQOO Neo 10R features a 32MP selfie shooter while the OnePlus Nord 4 only has a 16MP shooter. Additionally, the Neo 10R supports 4K video recording on the front camera too, which OnePlus doesn’t.

iQOO Neo 10R vs OnePlus Nord 4: Battery

The OnePlus Nord 4 has a large 5,500mAh battery with 100W fast charging, which charges the phone from 0-100 per cent in just 28 minutes. But, the iQOO Neo 10R one ups the Nord 4 here with a massive 6,400 mAh Silicone Carbon battery.

The charging speeds on the iQOO Neo 10R are slightly slower though at 80W. The phone can charge to 100 per cent in 55 minutes, which is double the time the Nord 4 takes.

iQOO Neo 10R vs OnePlus Nord 4: Price

Both the iQOO Neo 10R are priced starting at Rs 26,999 for their respective 8 GB + 128 GB models. The 8 GB + 256 GB variants of both phones can be purchased online for Rs 28,999.

However, the iQOO Neo 10R’s 12 GB + 256 GB variant is priced at Rs 30,999, which is Rs 1,000 cheaper than the same storage configuration of the OnePlus Nord 4, priced at Rs 31,999.

iQOO Neo 10R vs OnePlus Nord 4: Which one is better for you?

If your priority is mobile gaming, the iQOO Neo 10R is probably the best choice for you. It houses a faster Snapdragon 8 series processor, a wider array of gaming features, and faster UFS 4.1 storage. The battery capacity is also better, which is a big plus point for gamers. Additionally, it also comes with a higher-resolution 32MP selfie shooter with 4K front video recording capabilities.

However, if you are looking for a more premium device with longer software support and a cleaner interface, the OnePlus Nord 4 may be the better choice. The aluminium build, four years of OS updates, and faster charging speeds are all things that work in the Nord 4’s favour. Additionally, the 50MP primary camera on the Nord 4 has a larger aperture which could mean the low-light shots come out better.

For more comparisons like this one, stay tuned to Unboxed by Croma.