OnePlus Nord CE6: At the core of it

OnePlus Nord CE 6

| Photo Credit:

ashwin rajagopalan

RAM shortages, increased input costs; smartphone manufacturers are being tested in a year where consumers are dealing with sticker shock and holding back on purchases in an uncertain economic climate. The Nord CE line (CE stands for core edition) has remained OnePlus’ entry-level offering and typically features two models each year — the CE and the cheaper CE Lite version. The Nord CE6 has been launched at a significant premium over last year’s CE5. Like most other brands that have effected price increases, OnePlus has aimed to pack more upgrades in this year’s CE device to justify the increase. The big question is whether these enhancements justify the price increase and make the CE6 a compelling option around the ₹30,000 mark where smartphones from brands such as Nothing and Motorola loom large.DesignUnderstated. That’s one way to describe the CE6 that may lack the oomph of some of its rivals but scores with its practical appeal. The device sticks to the same design language we saw with OnePlus’ flagship offerings such as the OnePlus 15. We like the curves (OnePlus calls it Golden-Ratio curves) that make the device easier to grip and add to its visual appeal. The device comes in three colour ways — Pitch Black, Lunar Pearl and the Fresh Blue that we checked out. This colour stands out with its pastel blue appeal, OnePlus has bundled a matching blue silicone case that complements the smartphone.OnePlus goes one up on the competition on durability and day to day protection with an IP66, IP68, IP69 and IP69K rating. The CE6 is ready for your outdoor adventures and the occasional drop. OnePlus keeps the heft to 215 gm and the thickness under 9mm despite a massive battery. The device doesn’t feel clunky in your hand.DisplayOne of the ‘visible’ upgrades over the 2025 CE5 is the display with improvements all around. The 6.78-inch 1.5K AMOLED panel (1272 x 2772 pixels) is a significant bump up over the FHD+ display from last year. This one features a 144Hz refresh rate and hits a peak brightness of 3600 nits. I watched two episodes of The Legends on Netflix and the colours were quite punchy in both outdoor and indoor shots. The device supports HDR playback on Netflix and the improved dual speaker set-up (The CE5 was limited to a single bottom-firing mono speaker.PerformanceIt might be case of a few steps forward and a few steps back when you pit the CE5 versus the CE6. The chipset is a case in the point. On paper, the processing power of the CE6 is a step down vis-à-vis the CE5. At the heart of the CE6 is the Qualcomm Snapdragon Gen 4 chipset. While it’s certainly no slouch, our Geekbench benchmark results revealed that the CE5 with its Dimensity 8350 Apex chipset certainly has the upper hand. The CE6 consistently clocked around 3100 in our Geekbench (multi-core test). The CE6 handled app switching and gaming without a fuss. The device comes in a choice of 8GB/128GB and 8GB/256GB options.The Nord CE6 runs on Oxygen OS 16.0 that’s based on Android 16. It remains one of the more customisable OS options and is easy on the eye. OnePlus offers two years of Android OS updates and six years of Security updates. This is a quite a drastic comedown from the CE5 that offered four years of Android OS updates. I think OnePlus missed a trick here given that most rivals in this price segment offer at least three years of OS updates.BatteryOnePlus has billed the Nord CE6 as a battery heavyweight. This is an area where the CE6 slays its rivals with what might effectively be a two-day battery for most average users. I rarely reached out for my charger until the end of day two despite reasonably extensive usage. The CE6 comes with an 8000 mAh battery under the hood, OnePlus has bundled an 80W SUPERVOOC charger that should power up this device in about an hour and a half. The phone also doubles up as a power bank with a 27W reverse charger that can charge accessories like your wireless earbuds.CameraOnePlus has opted to give the ultra-wide lens a miss. Most of the rear camera duties are handed by the 50MP primary lens with occasional assistance from the 2MP depth sensor. This omission may not be a deal breaker for most average users but does reduce the versatility of this rear shooter. There’s also a 32MP selfie cam. This is certainly not the best option in the segment if camera performance is your primary purchase driver, but it holds in own in optimal lighting conditions and gets a lot of help from in-built AI tools and tricks that result in images that are good enough for your social media feed.VerdictOnePlus seems to have redefined the Core Edition’s priorities for 2026. While the battery and display have been bumped up, OnePlus has reduced the OS update support and tweaked the chipset and camera to balance the costs. The result is a solid all-round smartphone that should please most heavy duty users. The CE6 faces formidable rivals in this segment like the Nothing 4a and Motorola Edge 70 Fusion but holds its own in the battery and display department.SnapshotPrice: ₹31,999 onwardsPros: Massive battery, vibrant display, Ingress protection and durabilityCons: No ultra-wide camera, only two years of Android OS updatesPublished on June 10, 2026