You wouldn't expect an inexpensive phone like the OnePlus Nord 4 to be a design icon. However, as you can see in the newly arrived photos of this phone sample, the phone makes quite a statement with its all-metal construction.

Instead of using glass with metal on the sides like typical flagship phones, or using the cheap plastic materials that budget phones prefer, OnePlus decided to take a different approach with the Nord 4.

Metal is an unusual choice for phones these days, as the antennas needed for 5G connectivity need to minimize interference. However, OnePlus promises that the Nord 4 will support 5G properly with an ingenious redesign of the antenna.

Holding the phone is a bit odd at first, as it feels more like holding a shrunken MacBook than an Android phone. The unibody design means that there is a seamless curve from the side rails to the back, which is cold to the touch rather than the neutral feel of glass or plastic. This is completely different from any other phone I've handled in my years of testing smartphones.

Fortunately, there are some similarities to more familiar phones that you'll be happy to see: the OnePlus trademark alert slider is on the far left and the power/volume buttons are on the far right, with matching metal surfaces to keep a uniform look The design is designed with a matching metal surface to maintain a unified look. The front has a large flat-edge display that certainly looks spacious. However, we won't know for sure until we do more testing.

Two color options are currently announced for the Nord 4: Obsidian Midnight (the version we got) and Mercurial Silver. Both have different textures, silver with a ridged pattern and black with a matte finish, but both share a mirrored glass top area that houses the two rear-facing cameras. This division helps give the back of the phone personality while maintaining the all-metal vision -- though the glossy areas are bad for picking up fingerprints.

As beautiful as the OnePlus Nord 4 is, I worry about how this will look in a year or two. I know how glass and metal phones age, but they usually look perfectly fine without a case to protect them (unless, of course, you drop them.) The back of the Nord 4 looks like the first iPhone or my beloved iPod Touch's polished, scratch-loving While the back of the Nord 4 is hardly the same as the scuff-loving polished metal back of the original iPhone or my beloved iPod Touch, I will nonetheless be documenting how I deal with scratches and dents from daily use.

I am also curious what unibody means in terms of repairability. Most phones require peeling off the back panel to access the interior, but since the back and sides of the Nord 4 are all fused together, this could be a tricky phone to repair unless you send it to OnePlus itself.

The rest of the OnePlus Nord 4's features and functionality will have to wait until the OnePlus Summer Launch Event, which will be streamed live from Milan on July 16. Here, the OnePlus Pad 2, Nord Buds 3 Pro, and OnePlus Watch 2R, which were also announced, will be shown for the first time.

The previous OnePlus Nord models have proven to be capable budget phones, and we can't wait to see if the latest metal-clad models can compete with phones like the Google Pixel 8a and OnePlus 12R. We expect the Nord 4 to launch in Europe, but fingers crossed that it makes it across the Atlantic this time so that U.S. phone buyers can try it out.