OnePlus Nord 5 overview: selfie-centric midranger

The OnePlus Nord 5 does precisely what the corporate’s Nord telephones have all the time performed: ship robust specs at a comparatively low worth. It’s one of many extra highly effective telephones at this worth level and may simply outstrip Samsung and Google’s dearer alternate options.

This can be a function-over-form telephone, one the place the important thing promoting factors are a strong processor and lengthy battery life, that are the boring mainstays that are inclined to matter probably the most in midrange fashions like this. The issue for the Nord 5 is that different midrange telephones within the markets the place it’s out there — together with Europe and India, however not the US — provide even quicker chipsets and greater batteries, leaving the brand new OnePlus telephone a little bit stranded and reliant on an above-average selfie digicam to assist it stand out.

Efficiency sits on the coronary heart of the Nord 5 gross sales pitch. The Qualcomm Snapdragon 8S Gen 3 chipset was designed for dearer telephones than this, albeit when it launched a little bit over a yr in the past. Mixed with 8GB RAM and 256GB storage within the base £399 / €449 (round $530) mannequin, and 12GB RAM and 512GB storage for £100 / €100 (round $125) extra, it provides potent specs for the value.

That lends itself effectively to gaming, which explains why OnePlus has opted for a show that’s huge, vivid, and quick: a 6.81-inch OLED panel with a 144Hz refresh price. I’m nonetheless skeptical about such excessive refresh charges in telephones — few video games are ever going to interrupt previous 120fps anyway. OnePlus says it’s repositioned the antennae to carry out higher when the telephone’s held in panorama mode for gaming, although producers have been touting that form of work for years.

Battery is the opposite half of the efficiency equation, and the 5,200mAh capability right here is nice, too. I spent my first week with the telephone touring (which is how I found one annoyance: there’s no eSIM assist), which is all the time demanding on energy, and by no means felt a lot battery anxiousness. It’ll final a day comfortably, and about midway right into a second, however I believe you’d battle to make a full two days with no top-up. The 80W wired charging delivers a full cost in 45 minutes, together with bypass charging that powers the telephone immediately, with out overcharging the battery, if you happen to needed to maintain it plugged in throughout lengthy gaming periods. The key concession to cost is that there’s no wi-fi charging.

The issue is that for all that energy, this isn’t probably the most succesful telephone at this worth level. The Poco F7 is barely cheaper than the Nord 5 and comes with a greater chipset, greater battery, and quicker charging. The OnePlus telephone wins on refresh price, however that’s hardly sufficient to make up for being comfortably much less highly effective elsewhere, which means the F7 continues to be more likely to hit increased body charges throughout demanding video games. Anybody searching for gaming efficiency initially will possible be drawn to the F7, so what can the Nord 5 provide elsewhere to make up the distinction?

Essentially the most distinctive ingredient of the {hardware} is the Plus Key, a brand new button that replaces OnePlus’ conventional Alert Slider. This can be a customizable key that, by default, does the identical factor the Alert Slider did — it permits you to cycle between ring, vibrate, and silent modes. Nevertheless it may also be set to open the digicam, activate the flashlight, take a screenshot, and extra. It’s not absolutely customizable, although, so you’ll be able to’t set it to open any app or set off customized features.

The Plus Key may also be used to take a screenshot and add it to Mind Space, an AI device that analyzes photos to summarize them, create reminders, or generate calendar occasions. It’s remarkably much like Nothing’s Essential Space, which does nearly the identical factor — additionally utilizing a devoted {hardware} key — however not like Nothing’s model, you’ll be able to’t add voice notes to present the AI extra info, get summaries of longer audio recordings, and even open Thoughts House itself utilizing the Plus Key, so OnePlus’ tackle the software program is extra fundamental.

There’s little else to complain about on the software program aspect. The Nord 5 ships operating OxygenOS 15, based mostly on Android 15, and can get a decent (however definitely not category-leading) 4 years of main OS updates and 6 years of safety assist. One additional bonus is straightforward wi-fi file-sharing between the telephone and a Home windows PC, Mac, iPad, or iPhone, although you’ll want to put in the O Plus Join software program on the opposite machine — and sadly, there’s no assist for the total Mac remote control found on the OnePlus Pad 3.

OnePlus has made an uncommon alternative by prioritizing the telephone’s selfie digicam, which encompasses a 50-megapixel sensor that’s bigger than the typical selfie cam. I’m not a pure selfie-taker, however the outcomes are good and full of element. They’re not markedly higher than rivals in regular lighting, however that’s as a result of most telephone cameras now deal with daylight comfortably. The portrait mode is the one small weak level, struggling to separate the strands of my hair more often than not. However this digicam comes into its personal at evening: the big sensor and quick f/2.0 aperture serving to the Nord 5 to seize spectacular element at the hours of darkness, when most different selfie cameras crumble. When you want a telephone to seize you and your crew on nights out and at dimly lit dinners, this could be the one.

The primary 50-megapixel rear digicam is nice however not nice. It struggles with fast-moving topics like pets and children, and also you’ll want a gentle hand to get nice photographs at evening, however that’s all typical for telephones at this worth. Colours are typically a little bit oversaturated and synthetic from this lens; the 8-megapixel ultrawide is extra subdued however loses far more element in shadowy spots.

The Nord 5 faces stiff competitors on each side. You would spend much less for extra energy with the Poco F7 or spend £100 / €100 (round $125) extra for Google’s Pixel 9A for comfortably higher cameras, more durable water resistance, and extra years of software program assist.

The Nord 5 isn’t a nasty telephone. Nevertheless it’s unclear what its distinctive promoting level is. OnePlus has leaned into energy and efficiency, but it surely has been outplayed by Poco. The Pixel 9A, whereas dearer, beats it on digicam and design. Even its devoted AI button is completed higher elsewhere, for much less, within the Nothing Telephone 3A. The Nord 5’s finest hope for locating an viewers is its selfie digicam, which is healthier than every other telephone round it, at the very least in low mild. However as promoting factors go, that looks like a minor one.

Images by Dominic Preston / The Verge