OnePlus Nord CE 5 review: Well-balanced mid-range phone with apt pricing

Last week, OnePlus launched the new line of Nord 5 and Nord Core Edition (CE) 5 along with Buds 4 in India.

While the OnePlus Nord 5 is placed in the premium mid-range segment, the Nord CE 5 caters to consumers who are looking for affordability without compromising on the latest features.

I have been using the Nord CE 5 for a week, and here are my thoughts on the latest Android phone from the house of OnePlus.

Design, build quality and display

The latest Nord CE 5 comes in a minimalistic design language with solid build quality. It is very different from the predecessor, which had a long camera capsule on the back.

The successor looks visually better with a smaller capsule design and flat, smooth frame with a metal-like matte finish.

OnePlus Nord CE 5.

It offers a really good grip for the fingers to hold on to the device firmly. Also, the back panel, which comes with a frosted glass-like finish, does a fantastic job of repelling the fingerprint smudges.

Our review unit is nexus blue colour. It looks amazing in the sunlight. The company also offers the device two different colours--marble mist and black infinity. They, too, are visually pleasing to the eyes.

Further, the device comes with an IP65 dust-and-water-resistant rating, meaning it can sustain low-pressure water splashes. However, the owners are advised to completely dry the device before plugging it into a power point for charging.

The company also offers a free silicone case with the retail box, and additionally, the device's screen comes pre-fitted with a screen guard. It can help prevent the screen from getting scratches when kept with keys and coins in a close confines of a pocket.

The device sports a 6.77-inch full HD+ (2392×1080p) with a pixel density of 387 ppi (pixels per inch) and supports a 120Hz refresh rate and 1430 nits peak brightness. This is good enough to consume multimedia content on social media platforms and binge-watch TV series and movies indoors and even outdoors.

OnePlus Nord CE 5.

Under direct sunlight, like in any other phone in the sub-Rs 30,000 range, there will be a reflection issue. The user has to take the device a little closer to their face to view content on it.

The device also supports Eye Comfort and Night Mode features to control the blue light emission and lessen the strain on the eyes during long e-book reading sessions or binge movie sessions at night.

The in-display fingerprint sensor works fine. Initially, it had issues with correctly recognising the finger impression. However, after the software update, it has worked smoothly without any issues.

It also comes with a Dual SIM slot (type: nano), an infrared sensor, and a Type-C USB port.

Performance

OnePlus Nord CE 5 is powered by a MediaTek Dimensity 8350 octa-core processor with Arm G615 MC6 GPU, 8GB/12GB LPDDR5X RAM, and 128GB/256GB storage (UFS 3.1).

The device works smoothly without any pressing issues to complain about. It also supports all major gaming titles available on Google Platforms.

OnePlus Nord CE 5's CPU and GPU performance benchmark score on Geekbench 6.

It also supports several generative Artificial Intelligence features such as Gemini Live, Circle to Search and even comes with OnePlus AI tools such as AI VoiceScribe, AI Call Assistant, AI Translation, AI Search, AI Reframe and more.

The Nord CE 5 variant supports the AI Plus Mind feature. It can assist the phone owner in remembering content online or an item on an e-commerce app. It will be stored in a dedicated 'Mind Space' storage, and the user can recollect to buy an item or complete a task at a later date.

OnePlus Nord CE 5.

For instance, the Plus Mind feature can extract schedule details from an image or text and add them directly to the user's calendar.

On Nord CE 5, the Plus Mind feature can be summoned by a three-finger swipe up gesture.

The device runs Android 15-based OxygenOS 15. It comes with a few third-party apps, and doesn't eat away storage. There is plenty enough space for users to install several more apps on the device.

OnePlus Nord CE 5.

One of the biggest upgrades we see in the Nord CE 5 is the battery. It houses a massive 7,100mAh cell capacity, almost 30 per cent more than the predecessor. The Nord CE 4 came with a 5,500mAh battery.

The new phone can easily deliver two full days under normal usage with Wi-Fi at home and the office. Even if the device is fully dependent on the cellular network for internet connectivity, Nord CE 5 can still be able to last a full day without any anxiety of running out of battery life.

The device also supports an 80W charger, which, by the way, comes free along with a data cable in the retail box.

It takes a little over an hour to fully charge the device from zero to 100 per cent. Also, the company has incorporated a special Battery Health Magic feature that optimises the charging process to ensure chemical degradation of the battery cells is slowed and holds the power-carrying capacity for several years.

OnePlus Nord CE 5's camera sample.

Photography

The Nord CE 5 houses a dual-camera module-- main 50MP (with 1/1.95-inch Sony LYT-600 sensor, f/1.8, OIS) + 8MP 112-degree ultra-wide camera (f/2.2) with LED flash on the back.

OnePlus Nord CE 5's camera sample.

It takes nice, clear photos in daylight conditions. The pictures are clear and crisp.

OnePlus Nord CE 5's camera sample.

The subjects, such as human faces and flowers, come off vibrant and rich in terms of colour tone.

OnePlus Nord CE 5's camera sample.

At night, it takes pretty nice photos with less noise.

OnePlus Nord CE 5's camera sample.

With ultra-wide angle mode, it can accommodate a large area in the frame with clear details.

OnePlus Nord CE 5's camera sample.

With portrait mode on, it can take sharp photos of the subject and artfully blur the background to get that nice bokeh effect.

OnePlus Nord CE 5's camera sample.

It supports Digital zoom up to 20X. It manages to good quality images up to 10X zoom, but begins gain noise at 15X zoom.

OnePlus Nord CE 5's camera sample.

Even at close-up range, the Nord CE 5 does a fine job of capturing all the minute details pretty well.

OnePlus Nord CE 5's camera sample.

It supports several gen AI tools to enhance the photography experience. Users can make good use of them to remove unwanted objects from the frame without any trace. It can remove reflections of the glass in the picture. This comes in handy while taking pictures of aircraft sitting in the waiting area or capturing photos of the fish in an aquarium.

OnePlus Nord CE 5's camera sample.

The main camera can record videos up to 4K at 60 fps. The video quality is good and on par with others in its class.

OnePlus Nord CE 5's camera sample.

On the front, it features a 16MP (f/2.4) sensor. It takes pretty nice photos in bright sunlight conditions. At night, the photo quality is decent.

OnePlus Nord CE 5's camera sample.

The front camera can record full HD 1080p at 60 fps. It is good enough to attend video calls and conferences with clear details, provided there is a stable internet connection.

OnePlus Nord CE 5's camera sample.

Final thoughts

OnePlus Nord CE 5 is a well-balanced mid-range phone. It has nice build quality, delivers smooth performance and has amazingly long battery life. Even the camera hardware is quite good for its asking price.

OnePlus Nord CE 5.

The Nord CE 5 is available in black infinity, marble mist and nexus blue colour options. It comes in three configurations-- 8GB RAM + 128GB storage, 8GB RAM + 256GB storage and 12GB RAM + 256GB storage-- for Rs 24,999, Rs 26,999 and Rs 28,999, respectively.

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