OnePlus Nord CE 4 versus Nothing Phone 2a — Every difference that you wanted to know

OnePlus has launched the Nord CE 4 in India at a starting price of Rs 24,999. That’s Rs 2,000 less than what its predecessor – the OnePlus Nord CE 3— cost at launch. It takes no genius to know Nothing “clearly” has something to do with this. The Phone 2a surprised one and all with its Rs 23,999 starting price but OnePlus has –now— beaten Nothing at its own game. While the Phone 2a has its pros, the OnePlus Nord CE 4 gets a lot right especially when you factor in the choice of processor and fast charging. Not only does the Nord charge faster, OnePlus is also giving a compliant charger in the box. The Nord also has a faster chip. Software and cameras are where Nothing pulls ahead. Nothing is also committing to longer support. The Phone 2a has a brighter display, too. Not to mention, its unique take on smartphone design is a big selling point.

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Here’s a quick look at how the OnePlus Nord CE 4 and Nothing Phone 2a stack up against each other:

1. Display: The OnePlus Nord CE 4 has a 6.7-inch AMOLED display with a 1080p resolution and 120Hz refresh rate. The panel can top 1,100 nits and supports HDR10+ playback, OnePlus says. It also gets 2160Hz PWM dimming as well as “aquatouch.” The Phone 2a has a 6.7-inch flexible AMOLED display with a 1080p resolution and 120Hz refresh rate. The panel can peak 1,300 nits and is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 5.
2. Processor: The OnePlus Nord CE 4 has a Qualcomm Snapdragon 7 Gen 3 processor. The Phone 2a has a MediaTek Dimensity 7200 ‘pro’ chip.
3. RAM/Storage: The OnePlus Nord CE 4 comes in a choice of 8GB/128GB and 8GB/256GB. RAM is of the LPDDR4x type while storage is UFS3.1. The Nothing Phone 2a comes in a choice of 8GB/128GB, 8GB/256GB, and 12GB/256GB with UFS2.2 storage type.
4. Software: The Phone 2a runs Nothing OS 2.5 based on Android 14. Nothing is assuring three years of major OS and four years of security updates. The Nord CE 4 runs OxygenOS 14 based on Android 14. OnePlus is promising two years of major OS and three years of security updates.
5. Battery/Charging: The Phone 2a has a 5,000mAh battery and supports 45W fast charging. The Nord CE 4 has a 5,500mAh battery with 100W fast wired charging.
6. Rear cameras: The OnePlus Nord CE 4 has a dual camera setup on the rear with a 50-megapixel Sony Lyt-600 primary sensor (f/1.8, OIS) and an 8-megapixel Sony IMX355 sensor paired to an f/2.2 fixed-focus ultrawide. Video recording up to 4K@30fps is supported. The Phone 2a has a dual camera setup on the rear with a 50MP wide (f/1.8, OIS) and another 50MP ultrawide (without autofocus). The main camera can shoot 4K@30fps.
7. Front camera: The Phone 2a has a 32-megapixel front camera while the Nord CE 4 has a 16-megapixel selfie camera.
8. Connectivity: The Nord CE 4 has 5G, Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.4, and IR emitter. The Phone 2a has NFC and Bluetooth 5.3 (plus 5G and Wi-Fi 6).
9. Miscellaneous: Both phones are IP54 rated. The Nord CE 4 additionally has aquatouch on the display.
10. Prices: The base variant of the OnePlus Nord CE 4 with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage costs Rs 24,999. A version with double the storage will set you back by Rs 26,999. The Nothing Phone 2a comes in a choice of 8GB/128GB, 8GB/256GB, and 12GB/256GB at a price of Rs 23,999, Rs 25,999, and Rs 27,999, respectively.