OnePlus Nord CE 6 vs Motorola Edge 70 Comparison: Which Phone to Buy?

Finding a good smartphone around Rs 30,000 in India can be a tough call, given there are a bunch of options available in the segment. But two phones stand out among the crowd: the newly launched OnePlus Nord CE 6 and the Motorola Edge 70. Both are well-rounded phones, where one features an enormous battery while the other comes in a super-thin design. But which one is better for you? Let me answer that in this OnePlus Nord CE 6 vs Motorola Edge 70 comparison. 

OnePlus Nord CE 6 vs Motorola Edge 70: Design

• The Motorola Edge 70 measures 6mm thin and weighs just 159 grams
• Meanwhile, the OnePlus Nord CE 6 is 8.5mm thick and weighs more at 215 grams
• Both carry IP68 and IP69 ratings, but the Nord CE 6 adds IP66 and IP69K on top

Starting with the design, these two phones feel completely different in hand. The OnePlus Nord CE 6 has a more conventional design, similar to what we have seen in this generation of OnePlus phones. It has flat sides with a soft matte finish at the back, just like the OnePlus 15R. This makes it comfortable enough to hold, but the 215 grams of weight and the 8.5mm thickness make it feel hefty to carry for long. 

The Motorola Edge 70, by comparison, looks and feels genuinely pleasant to hold from the get go. At 6mm and 159 grams, it sits in the palm like almost nothing else at this price, and the textured back with its metallic camera bump gives it a premium vibe. In my Motorola Edge 70 review, I mentioned that it is as thin as the iPhone Air, which costs 4 times more. Still, it feels more durable than that phone. 

OnePlus Nord CE 6 vs Motorola Edge 70: Display

• OnePlus Nord CE 6 has a 6.78-inch 1.5K AMOLED display with a 144 Hz refresh rate
• The Motorola Edge 70 comes with a 6.7-inch 1.5K p-OLED screen with 120 Hz refresh rate
• The Nord CE 6 has Crystal Guard Glass protection, while the Edge 70's display gets Gorilla Glass 7i

Both the Nord CE 6 and the Edge 70 have 1.5K resolution flat screens, but that's the only thing common to the two. The OnePlus Nord CE 6 has a larger 6.78-inch AMOLED display with a higher 144 Hz refresh rate. It doesn't make a huge difference in day-to-day usage, as most apps only support 120 Hz, except for a few games that will feel slightly smoother with the higher refresh rate. 

The Motorola Edge 70 takes a more practical approach with a 6.7-inch p-OLED display that offers good colour output and comes with a traditional 120 Hz screen. It feels just as smooth to use unless you are gaming. Motorola also has an "edge" in brightness, as the brand claims 4,500 nits of peak brightness over the CE 6's 3,600 nits. This means, out in the sun, the Edge 70 offers a brighter display. 

OnePlus Nord CE 6 vs Motorola Edge 70: Hardware

• The Nord CE 6 comes with the Snapdragon 7s Gen 4 chipset with up to 12 GB RAM + 256 GB storage
• Motorola Edge 70 uses a slightly more powerful Snapdragon 7 Gen 4 SoC with up to 12 GB RAM + 512 GB storage
• Both phones come with UFS 3.1 storage, but the Nord CE 6 uses the older generation LPDDR4X RAM

In hardware performance, the Motorola Edge 70 gets a big leap as it uses the Snapdragon 7 Gen 4 processor. This offers up to 15% better scores in Antutu benchmarks in comparison to the Snapdragon 7s Gen 4 used in the Nord CE 6. However, you wouldn't notice much difference in regular everyday use between these two devices. However, gaming is a different case altogether. 

In my testing, I noticed that the Edge 70 can play games like BGMI at 120 FPS and Call of Duty: Mobile at 90 FPS, while heavier games like Wuthering Waves max out at 40 FPS. On the other hand, the Nord CE 6 falls behind, as it only supports 90 FPS in both BGMI and COD, and the Wuthering Waves couldn't push more than 35 FPS on this device.

Neither of them is suitable for the best gaming phone in 30,000, but if I had to choose, the Motorola Edge 70 would be my pick. 

OnePlus Nord CE 6 vs Motorola Edge 70: Software

• The OnePlus Nord CE 6 runs on OxygenOS 16 offering a smooth and snappy software experience
• Motorola Edge 70 has Hello UI based on Android 16, sticking close to the stock Android experience
• OnePlus offers 4 major updates, while Motorola only promises 3 Android software updates

In terms of software, the OnePlus Nord CE 6 is a clear winner in my eyes. It comes with OxygenOS 16 based on the latest Android 16, offering smooth animations, transitions, transparent effects, and lots of neat-looking customisations. I don't think any other software can match the optimised experience. It also promises longer software support up to Android 20 with 6 years of security updates. 

The Hello UI on the Edge 70 has its own advantages, since it looks and feels close to stock Android seen on Google Pixel phones, with its own twist of customisations on top. However, the experience is not as polished as OxygenOS, as I have noticed the phone skipping animations and stuttering in the camera app. It is also known to be slower to push out software updates, something I have mentioned previously in the Motorola Edge 70 Pro vs Nothing Phone (4a) Pro comparison. 

OnePlus Nord CE 6 vs Motorola Edge 70: Camera 

• The Nord CE 6 has a 50 MP OmniVision OV50D40 main sensor and 2 MP secondary camera
• The Edge 70 also has a 50 MP Sony LYT-600 primary camera with another 50 MP ultrawide lens
• Motorola leaps ahead with a 50 MP front camera compared to the 32 MP on the OnePlus

When it comes to the camera, the Motorola Edge 70 comes with a suite of triple 50 MP cameras, just like the Edge 70 Pro. Meanwhile, the OnePlus Nord CE 6 only has a single 50 MP lens at the back and a 32 MP selfie camera. In terms of image quality, the Moto offers more consistently detail-rich photos from all of its cameras as compared to OnePlus. 

The shots from the Nord CE 6 look a little boosted with inconsistent nighttime images. The front camera samples definitely come out better on the Edge 70, as the selfies contain sharper visuals and higher levels of detail. Even in videos, the Motorola can record at 4K 60 FPS, while the OnePlus is stuck at 4K 30 FPS only. 

OnePlus Nord CE 6 vs Motorola Edge 70: Battery 

• OnePlus Nord CE 6 pulls ahead with a massive 8,000 mAh battery capacity
• The Motorola Edge 70 only has a meager 5,000 mAh cell only
• Nord also charges faster at 80W in comparison to Moto's 65W

The battery life is no joke on the OnePlus Nord CE 6, as it dominates with an 8,000 mAh battery that averages around 16.5 hours of screen-on time in our usage. This means that the phone would easily last you over two days without a charger in normal usage. The Edge 70 hides in shame with its 6.5 hours of screen-on time. This is 60% less than what OnePlus has to offer. 

But the smaller battery also means that the Moto charges faster, taking 50 minutes to go from 0-100%. While OnePlus ships with a higher 80W charger, it still takes about 1.5 hours for a complete charge, given its larger capacity. I honestly don't mind the change since you only need to charge the OnePlus once in a while. Motorola also supports wireless charging, which is another plus in its favour. 

OnePlus Nord CE 6 vs Motorola Edge 70: Which is the Best Phone Under Rs 30,000? 

Let's go through the specifications of these two phones one last time before I talk about my final verdict on which phone you should buy. 

Both smartphones are pretty well-rounded in their own department. The OnePlus Nord CE 6 has a larger battery to offer that lasts for days, with an excellent software experience and a good display, while trading off on cameras, performance and form factor. The Motorola Edge 70 is suited for cameras and performance, all while looking sleek and sharp. 

So, if you find yourself taking a lot of pictures and prefer gaming on your phone, then the Motorola Edge 70 is a no-brainer. But if your preference is a reliable smartphone that doesn't run out of battery when you need it most, then the OnePlus Nord CE 6 is the smartphone you should pick between the two.