OnePlus has finally launched its Nord 4 in India, but there’s a twist. After the OnePlus 5T, the brand is going back to its metal roots with the Nord 4. The design is also very different from its Chinese counterpart. However, the specifications and pricing of the phone make it directly go against the Realme GT 6T in the segment. So, if you’re in the market for a powerful mid-ranger, should you get the GT 6T or settle for the latest Nord? I spent almost a week with the two, and here’s my detailed comparison of the OnePlus Nord 4 and Realme GT 6T.
OnePlus Nord 4 vs Realme GT 6T Specs
| Specs | OnePlus Nord 4 | Realme GT 6T |
|---|---|---|
| Dimensions | 162.6 x 75 x 8 mm | 162 x 75.1 x 8.7 mm |
| Weight | 199.5 grams | 191 grams |
| Processor | Qualcomm Snapdragon 7+ Gen 3 (TSMC 4nm) | Qualcomm Snapdragon 7+ Gen 3 (TSMC 4nm) |
| RAM/Storage | 12GB LPDDR5X/ 256GB UFS 4.0 | 12GB LPDDR5X/ 512GB UFS 4.0 |
| Display | 6.74-inch 1.5K + 120Hz LTPO AMOLED, 2772 x 1240 pixels, 450 ppi, 2150 nits peak brightness | 6.78-inch 1.5K + 120Hz LTPO AMOLED, 2780 x 1264 pixels, 450 ppi, 6000 nits peak brightness |
| Rear Camera | 50MP Main + 8MP Ultra-wide | 50MP Main + 8MP Ultra-wide |
| Front Camera | 16MP | 32MP |
| Video | Up to 4K at 60FPS | Up to 4K at 60FPS |
| Dual SIM | Yes; Does not support eSIM | Yes; Does not support eSIM |
| Connectivity | 9 5G bands, Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.4, NFC, IR Blaster | 9 5G bands, Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.4, NFC, IR Blaster |
| Port | USB Type-C | USB Type-C |
| Battery | 5,500mAh | 5,500mAh |
| Charging | 100W fast charging | 120W fast charging |
| IP Rating | IP65 | IP65 |
| Software | Android 14, OxygenOS 4 years of OS updates | Android 14, Realme UI 3 years of OS updates |
OnePlus Nord 4 vs Realme GT 6T Box Contents
When it comes to box contents, both the Nord 4 and GT 6T keep you heavily sorted on that front. Alongside the units themselves, you get the following things in the retail box of the two phones:
- Compatible charging adapter
- Type-C cable
- Silicone case
- SIM ejector
- Paperwork
Talking about the phones, I have with me the Nord 4’s Obsidian Midnight and GT 6T’s Fluid Silver color variants. Now, I was a bit disappointed to see the Nord 4 arrive with a transparent case in the box. I wish it had a color-matching case instead, like other OnePlus phones.
OnePlus Nord 4 vs Realme GT 6T Design and Build
I have always had a soft spot for phones with an all-metal build. So, the Nord 4’s clever mixture of glass and metal certainly and instantly stands out in comparison to the GT 6T. The metal frame extends into the back panel in a more durable unibody fashion. Meanwhile, the individual camera sensors are placed on a super-reflective glass that doubles down as a mini mirror.
On the other hand, the Realme GT 6T instantly felt slightly lighter and sleeker in hand. It’s gripper too, thanks to the curvier design. However, the in-hand feel takes a hit due to the all-plastic build. I don’t like the dual-tone design of the 6T. At least the Realme GT 6 (Review) had better build quality going for it, thereby negating this design choice by a bit.
Thanks to the metal body of the Nord 4, the back panel is not a fingerprint magnet. But, the GT 6T’s glass-mimicking plastic panel certainly is, and since I was using it without a case, I found myself constantly wiping off the smudges.
I was particularly impressed by the overall weight balance and smart design choices of the Nord 4. Despite being a glass and metal phone, it didn’t feel all that hefty in comparison. Moreover, when placed flat on a desk, it doesn’t wobble from any angle. A very aggressive tapping test concluded it.
Whereas, the GT 6T has poor weight balance, with the camera module side pulling it down a bit. There’s also terrible wobbling. I’m not fond of the one-sided button placement on the two phones either. However, the Nord 4’s metal buttons certainly felt more durable with no rattling whatsoever. The GT 6T’s buttons felt cheaper to the touch, although tactile enough.
The Nord 4 also has the alert slider advantage, retaining the OG left-side placement of it. The silver variant also has this orange accent on it, like iPhones do, which I’m sad the other variants don’t sport.
OnePlus Nord 4 vs Realme GT 6T Display and Speakers
Moving on to the display, I instantly noticed that the Realme GT 6T’s 6.78-inch display is significantly brighter than the Nord 4’s 6.74-inch panel. So, I had to do a quick test using the Lux Meter at the office, and the GT 6T reached 2,700 nits of its local 6,000 nits peak brightness. On the other hand, the Nord 4 hit around 2,000 nits of its claimed 2,150 nits peak brightness.
Overall, both indoors and outdoors, the GT 6T appears way brighter. However, the Nord 4 is plenty bright and while it fades away in comparison, it doesn’t cause any visibility issues. While the viewing angles are good on both, the extra brightness on the GT 6T does help. The GT 6T also softens incoming light sources, thereby appearing less reflective than the Nord 4.
While both the panels are 120Hz AMOLED panels, the GT 6T is backed by LTPO tech. That is certainly a big advantage, especially in terms of power efficiency, which we’ll talk about later. In terms of color reproduction, the blacks look deeper too on the GT 6T. While both panels are backed by 100% DCI-P3, there is a certain richness in the GT 6T’s colors, making the Nord look paler in comparison.
Most importantly, the GT 6T’s curved display makes viewing content an absolute pleasure. Bezels are sleeker on the GT 6T as well. There’s also Gorilla Glass Victus 2 protection on top of the GT 6T, while the Nord 4 uses Panda Glass. I’d definitely not lose sleep over dropping the GT 6T a couple of times.
However, the speakers are where the Nord 4 takes the crown. While both are stereo speakers with a dedicated grille for the second speaker, the Nord 4’s audio output is louder and richer. Meanwhile, the GT 6T’s speakers are loud enough but flat, with scrambled mids and lows.
OnePlus Nord 4 vs Realme GT 6T Performance
When it comes to performance, both phones are powered by the 4nm Snapdragon 7+ Gen 3. The processor is paired with up to 12GB of LPDDR5X RAM and 256GB UFS 4.0 storage on the Nord 4, while the GT 6T offers a 512GB variant as well with the same RAM and storage types. With that out of the way, here’s a quick rundown of how the phones fared in daily usage, benchmarks, and gaming performance:
Day-to-day Usage
Snapdragon 7+ Gen 3 coupled with top-of-the-line RAM and storage type basically means that you will barely see any lag on either of the devices. On top of that, both Realme UI and OxygenOS are seamless and often top-tier software experiences as well (more on this later).
From having 30 different apps running in the background to who knows how many tabs open in Chrome, I tried pushing the devices to their limits. However, they didn’t break and consistently performed well throughout. RAM management is also stellar on the two, with most apps conveniently resuming from where I had left them.
Benchmarks
Next up, I ran a series of tests, from AnTuTu and Geekbench to CPU throttling and 3DMark. Take a look:
The best thing is that neither of the two phones went over 38 degrees when running these benchmarks in an AC environment, which is very impressive.
I was particularly impressed with the Nord 4 since it sports an all-metal body and I sure did expect it to get warmer. The heat dissipation is also rather quick on the Nord 4, while the GT 6T takes its sweet time to cool down.
Gaming
Don’t let the lower benchmark scores of the Nord 4 throw you off, as it doesn’t falter in games. From BGMI and CoD Mobile to the more graphic-intensive Genshin Impact and Warzone Mobile, I ran a wide variety of titles on both phones. Here’s a quick rundown of the settings in games you get out of them:
Games FPS and Settings Genshin Impact Highest + 60FPS (Got around 59 FPS and 55FPS in high action scenarios) CoD Mobile Max Graphics = Very High + Max
Max Framerate = Low + 90FPSBGMI Max Graphics: Ultra HDR + Ultra
Max Framerate: Smooth + Extreme+ (90FPS)Warzone Mobile Medium + Uncapped + High (Stable 60FPS)
OnePlus Nord 4 vs Realme GT 6T Software Experience
In terms of software, the Nord 4’s Android 14-based OxygenOS is very similar to that of the GT 6T’s Realme UI running on the same Android version. From the app icons to the settings panel, everything looks and feels the same. But….
There’s a big problem with the Nord 4 – it has a lot of bloatware. We are talking about 11 preloaded apps to be specific. This is more than even the OnePlus Nord CE 4 Lite’s (Review) 9 bloatware apps. I don’t understand why OnePlus went ahead and finalized this choice. On the other hand, the Realme GT 6T has just 4 bloatware apps.
But, OnePlus gets a major one-up by providing a whopping 6 years of software update support (4 years of OS updates, and 6 years of security patches). On the other hand, the Realme GT 6T provides you with 3 years of major OS updates and 4 years of security patches.
The Nord 4 also brings a good number of useful AI features like AI Note Summary, AI Audio Summary, AI Writer, AI Linkboost, and AI Best Face (much like Google’s Best Take). All of these features are not available on the GT 6T as of now. However, you do get the AI Eraser on both phones.
The haptic feedback on the two phones is also similar, and I could barely tell them apart. UI animations looked slightly better on the Nord 4 though, thanks to the latest OxygenOS 14.1 changes. And, that wraps up the software department, pretty much!
OnePlus Nord 4 vs Realme GT 6T Cameras
The camera setup of the two phones is also very similar. Both mid-rangers sport a 50MP Sony LYT 600 at the helm, coupled with an 8MP ultra-wide sensor. At the front, however, the GT 6T features a 32MP sensor, while the Nord 4 brings a 16MP shooter. Keeping these on-paper details aside, I took the two setups out on a real-world test, and here’s a rundown:
Day Time
During the day, there’s an odd yellow tinge in the GT 6T’s shots, while the Nord 4 captures more natural colors. The GT 6T also has some trouble handling light sources well, causing pictures to turn up darker in comparison to the Nord 4’s shots. The dynamic range is okay on both phones, although not the best. There’s also not much of a color disparity between the primary sensor and the ultra-wide of the two phones.
Night Time
At night as well, the Nord 4 captures slightly better photos, thanks to its good lighting control. The GT 6T doesn’t just boost the colors, but also overly brightens light sources at night, making shots look unnaturally bright.
While it may appeal to some aesthetically, I like the more earthy tones of the Nord 4. Shadows are also better captured by the Nord 4. Details are maintained well by both phones though, and there’s very little noise.
Selfies
Both the Nord 4 and GT 6T capture good selfies, but again, the Nord 4 captures more natural skin tones. And, yet again, the GT 6T can be seen boosting each and every color unnecessarily. Detail retention is more or less the same on both phones.
Videos
As for videos, both phones let you capture at up to 4K 60FPS through the primary setup. Meanwhile, the front sensor is limited to 4K 30FPS. I liked the Nord 4’s video quality better, thanks to slightly more stabilization and natural colors.
OnePlus Nord 4 vs Realme GT 6T Battery and Charging
Lately, we’ve been seeing a lot of 5,500mAh battery units in phones, and both the Nord 4 and GT 6T pack the same capacity as well. The Nord 4 is backed by 100W fast charging support, while the GT 6T offers 120W.
As for SoT (Screen-on-Time), while the Nord 4 delivers around 6 hours of battery backup, the GT 6T offers around 7 hours of battery backup. The LTPO panel certainly does extend the screen-on-time by quite a bit.
Now, the GT 6T takes around 26 minutes to charge fully from 1% to 100%, while the Nord 4 took around 35 minutes to do the same.
OnePlus Nord 4 vs Realme GT 6T: Which Is the Better Flagship Mid-Ranger
While both are excellent choices in the Rs 30,000 to Rs 35,000 segment, I would personally choose the Nord 4. The all-metal body’s premium look and feel stand out in a sea of plastic phones. The alert slider makes things very convenient as well. What impressed me more is that, despite the metal body, there is no throttling or overheating of sorts, keeping me from nitpicking.
If you want a better multimedia experience, the Realme GT 6T’s stunning display makes it the more practical option. The battery life is also better, thanks to the LTPO tech this display brings. But, keep those things aside and the Nord 4 just feels like a better phone throughout.
Besides, with the phones carrying the same processor under the hood, you get identical performance. The software experience is also pretty much the same, minus the additional bloatware you get on the Nord 4. However, the Nord 4’s 6 years of software updates is a big advantage, making it more future-proof.
The Nord 4’s better camera performance makes it an ideal phone for budding shutterbugs as well. All things considered, the Nord 4 is emerging victorious as the more well-balanced device. Check out our complete review of the OnePlus Nord 4 for in-depth information about the latest mid-ranger.
Now, if you have any other queries, do take to the comments down below and I’ll get back to you in a jiffy!
