OnePlus Nord CE4 Lite vs OnePlus Nord CE3 Lite: What’s new this time?

OnePlus launched the new OnePlus Nord CE4 Lite earlier this week, adding another entry to the Nord 4 series, and succeeding last year’s Nord CE 3 Lite. Interestingly, however, the new OnePlus Nord CE 4 Lite actually packs the same chipset as its predecessor from 2023. With both phones now being powered by the Snapdragon 695, you may wonder what’s actually changed?

Here’s a detailed comparison between both phones to show you just that.

OnePlus Nord CE4 Lite vs Nord CE3 Lite: Design and display

Let’s start with what most people will notice first. The new OnePlus Nord CE4 Lite comes with a slightly tweaked design. The camera island is now more defined, and the dual-flash modules are now aligned vertically below the cameras on the back. There are new colour options too.

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However, these changes aren’t as big as the new display. Instead of a 6.7-inch 120Hz LCD panel, you now get a 6.7-inch 120Hz AMOLED display on the Nord CE4 Lite, which offers better colours and contrast levels. The new display is also much brighter (2100 nits vs 680 nits peak brightness).

You also get an under-display fingerprint sensor on the Nord CE4 Lite, a first in the series. The Nord CE3 Lite features a side-mounted capacitive fingerprint scanner.

OnePlus Nord CE4 Lite vs Nord CE3 Lite: Cameras

The cameras are where we see the next big change. While the Nord CE3 Lite came with triple rear cameras (108MP + 2MP + 2MP), the Nord CE4 Lite comes with two cameras (50MP + 2MP). However, the new 50MP Sony LYT sensor is a newer, more advanced sensor that should help you take better photographs. Sadly, both phones still have no ultrawide camera.

The 16MP front camera is left unchanged, and still lies in the centre-aligned punch-hole cutout. Both smartphones are also capped at 1080p/30fps for video recording, since the processor powering the devices is the same.

OnePlus Nord CE4 Lite vs Nord CE3 Lite: Battery and charging

The new OnePlus Nord CE4 Lite comes with a 5,500mAh battery, which is larger than the 5,000mAh battery on the OnePlus Nord CE3 Lite. Moreover, the new phone also packs faster charging, offering 80W wired charging speeds, compared to the 67W wired charging on the Nord CE3 Lite.

OnePlus Nord CE4 Lite vs Nord CE3 Lite: Performance

Both the OnePlus Nord CE4 Lite and OnePlus Nord CE3 Lite are powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 695 5G. The three-year-old chip isn’t the newest, but is decent enough for day-to-day use, and supports 5G networks. You also get 8GB RAM and UFS 2.2 storage on both the Android phones, so expect similar performance on both devices.

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One point to note however, is that the OnePlus Nord CE4 Lite now packs an IP54 water and dust resistance rating, something the OnePlus Nord CE3 Lite simply lacked. Being a newer phone, the OnePlus Nord CE4 Lite also comes with Android 14, and will likely receive an additional year of software support compared to the Nord CE3 Lite.

Should you go for the new OnePlus Nord CE4 Lite?

The OnePlus Nord CE4 Lite comes with the same chipset as last year, but offers a better display, better cameras, a bigger battery and faster charging, all for the same price. If you’re looking for a new phone under Rs 20,000 that has all the above-mentioned specs, you should go for the new Nord CE4 Lite.

However, if better raw performance is something you’re looking forward to (even if it’s at the expense of better display and camera specs), then you may want to look at other options like the Redmi Note 13 or the Realme 12 series.