21 Oct 2025
This comprehensive review delves into the OnePlus Nord 5, a phone valued at 50 million, examining its design, performance, and features to determine its purchase worth. The analysis covers its unique glass and plastic design, impressive display, robust battery, advanced camera capabilities, powerful processor, and highly customizable OxygenOS 15.
OnePlus, once a favorite brand, experienced a shift with its CEO departing and the company becoming a subsidiary of a larger group that includes Vivo and Oppo. The user interface, OxygenOS, has undergone changes but maintains its identity on OnePlus devices.
The OnePlus Nord 5 features Gorilla Glass Vectus 7i on both the front and back, with a unique matte stone-like design on the rear that resists fingerprints. While the camera module is neatly arranged with minimal protrusion, the phone's frame is plastic, a departure from the Nord 4's aluminum frame, and it possesses an IP65 certificate. Its physical features include a Type-C port, SIM card tray, speaker, microphone, power and volume buttons, an IR blaster, and an iPhone-like action button for toggling vibrate, silent, and ring modes. The device is relatively large with a 6.823-inch screen, achieving an impressive 90% screen-to-body ratio with a small punch-hole selfie camera.
The phone boasts a 6.83-inch Swift AMOLED display with a 144Hz refresh rate, HR Ten Plus support, and the capability to render 1 billion vivid colors. This display offers good brightness, high quality, and fast performance, ensuring an enjoyable viewing experience with its extremely narrow bezels.
Equipped with a 6800 mAh battery, the OnePlus Nord 5 provides approximately a day and a half of usage under normal conditions. Heavy use, such as prolonged gaming, will reduce its duration, but it can still last for half a day. An hour of calls reduces the charge by 8%, while an hour of Instagram with VPN and WiFi active reduces it by 7%. Although the adapter is not included, the phone supports 80W fast charging, fully charging the device in 50-55 minutes. This model has a higher battery capacity than its predecessor, the Nord 4, which contributes to its slightly heavier build, but it has a slower charging speed compared to the Nord 4's 100W.
The under-display fingerprint sensor offers fast and effective performance, despite its slightly low placement on the screen.
The device features two camera sensors: a 50-megapixel main sensor and an 8-megapixel wide-angle sensor. The main sensor captures good quality photos, comparable to mid-range Samsung phones like the A56 and S24, but may lose details in challenging lighting or with shaky hands. It also experiences photometry issues with excessive light, impacting dynamic range. Portrait photos are generally unique, with 70-80% accurate subject separation, natural background blur, and good subject detail. Zoom capabilities are limited due to the absence of a telephoto lens, though 2x zoom is achievable without significant quality degradation from the main sensor. The 8-megapixel wide-angle sensor is functional but not exceptional.
The main sensor supports video recording at 60 frames per second, delivering average performance with normal stabilization, good sharpness, detail, colors, and lighting that are acceptable for its price point.
The 50-megapixel selfie sensor is a standout feature, capturing truly unique and attractive selfies with excellent detail, sharpness, and dynamic range, even in challenging lighting. It also supports 4K video recording at 60 frames per second, making it exceptional for selfie videography and outperforming many phones in higher price ranges.
Powered by a Snapdragon 8th generation processor, a generation newer than the Nord 4, the phone offers good processing performance and a smooth user interface. While heavy games like Genshin Impact and Call of Duty may experience minor frame drops after extended play (40-50 minutes), the overall gaming experience is clean, efficient, and the phone does not overheat, ensuring reliable performance.
Running on Android 15 with OxygenOS 15, the interface is clean, tidy, and highly customizable, allowing changes to icons, text, and overall appearance. It includes innovative features like 'Shelf,' which provides personalized suggestions and control center functionalities based on daily usage, and 'Shorts,' for app shortcuts. AI features are also integrated, such as 'Mindspace,' which analyzes screenshots, provides summaries, and categorizes content with hashtags. Other AI tools include auto-framing for photos and basic subject removal from images. The phone also features a 'Game Boost' mode to enhance gaming by increasing resolution, enabling ray tracing, recording gameplay, and offering bypass charging to protect the battery during play. It is supported with four years of software updates, considered a logical duration for Android phones.
The stereo speakers deliver good volume, though the sound can be muffled, and quality may distort at very high volumes, making it acceptable for its segment.
The OnePlus Nord 5 is praised for its nearly perfect design (barring the plastic frame), unique screen, fast charging (despite needing a separate adapter), capable main camera, and exceptional selfie camera. Its hardware, driven by a powerful processor, integrates seamlessly with the user interface, offering a smooth and reliable experience for years. Compared to phones like the Samsung S24E and S25 FE, the Nord 5 is presented as a strong alternative for those seeking a fresh experience, offering a superior battery, processor, and screen, with its selfie camera being a particular highlight, though the S24 FE might have a slightly better main camera.
The selfies captured by this phone are truly unique, outperforming devices in higher price ranges within its category.
| Feature | Key Insight | Evaluation |
|---|---|---|
| Design & Build | Premium Gorilla Glass front/back with unique matte stone finish on rear, but features a plastic frame which is a downgrade from the Nord 4's metal frame. IP65 rated for durability. | Stylish and unique aesthetic, but plastic frame is a notable compromise. |
| Display Quality | 6.83-inch Swift AMOLED, 144Hz refresh rate, 1 billion vivid colors. Extremely narrow bezels provide an immersive viewing experience. | Exceptional display for vivid colors, high refresh rate, and overall visual enjoyment. |
| Battery & Charging | 6800 mAh capacity provides 1.5 days of normal use, supports 80W fast charging (50-55 mins for full charge). Higher capacity than Nord 4 but slower charging (80W vs 100W). | Excellent battery life; fast charging but requires separate adapter and is slower than predecessor. |
| Selfie Camera (Front) | 50-megapixel sensor capable of 4K 60fps video. Delivers unique, highly detailed selfies with excellent dynamic range, outperforming phones in higher price brackets. | Major highlight, a 'trump card' for selfie enthusiasts and content creators. |
| Main Camera (Rear) | 50-megapixel main sensor provides good photos comparable to Samsung mid-range, but can lose detail in poor conditions or exhibit photometry issues. Limited zoom (no telephoto). | Acceptable for its price, performs well in optimal conditions but has some limitations. |
| Performance & Processor | Snapdragon 8th Gen processor offers smooth UI and efficient performance, with minor frame drops only in very heavy games after prolonged play. Does not overheat. | Strong and reliable performance for daily tasks and gaming, maintains efficiency. |
| Software & UI (OxygenOS 15) | Clean, highly customizable Android 15-based OxygenOS 15. Includes AI features like 'Mindspace' for screenshot analysis and 'Game Boost' mode. Guaranteed 4 years of updates. | User-friendly, feature-rich, and future-proof with robust customization and gaming enhancements. |
