Extremely long battery life in our review - How a smartphone surprised us

The OnePlus Nord 6 impresses in the long-term test with a remarkable battery life of over 23 hours in Wi-Fi mode, although a smaller 7,500 mAh battery was installed compared to the Chinese version. This is a real surprise and clearly sets the device apart from many of its competitors.

Unusual efficiency despite compromise

The European model of the OnePlus Nord 6 has a 7,500 mAh battery, which is a significant reduction compared to its Chinese counterpart (OnePlus Turbo 6) with 9,000 mAh. Nevertheless, the device achieved a runtime of exactly 23 hours and 7 minutes in the WLAN web surfing test.

This is not only impressive in itself, but also significantly outperforms similarly priced models, such as the Nothing Phone (4a) with 5,080 mAh, which only achieves 18 hours.

Heat development as a critical factor

However, a serious weakness becomes apparent during longer load tests: The casing heats up considerably under high load, which we classify as problematic in the test. After a few minutes of intensive use, the system noticeably throttles the performance to prevent overheating.

In an everyday scenario, where a user runs video streams in high resolution for several hours or plays demanding games, this could lead to a noticeable drop in performance.

Practical relevance for the average user

For the typical user who mainly uses the smartphone for social media, messaging and occasional video streaming, the battery performance is more than sufficient.

A commuter who is on the move for two hours a day can easily use the device for several days without having to reach for the charging cable. Even with intensive use, such as taking photos and editing images, the battery lasts for a full working day.

The combination of an efficient processor and good energy management ensures that the theoretical values are actually noticeable in everyday use.

Conclusion: Energy efficiency as a strength

The OnePlus Nord 6 proves that an outstanding runtime is also possible with a reduced battery. The 23 hours in the Wi-Fi test are a strong argument for anyone who values long operating times.

However, you should be aware of the thermal limits, which can lead to performance losses in intensive applications.

For the average user, however, the device is an excellent choice that offers a good balance between energy efficiency and performance.

We explain what other aspects make the OnePlus Nord 6 a good choice in our eyes in our detailed test.