The OnePlus Nord series brings some features seen on the company’s higher-end smartphones to the midrange segment, along with incremental hardware upgrades over last year’s models. This year, the OnePlus Nord CE 5 has arrived with a more powerful processor and a much larger battery than last year’s Nord CE 4 model. The handset is also equipped with some OnePlus AI software features. It competes with phones like the iQOO Z10, Motorola Edge 60 Fusion, Infinix GT 30 Pro, and Vivo T4 in India.
The new OnePlus Nord CE 5 is priced at Rs. 24,999, for the base model with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. There’s a 256GB storage variant that costs Rs. 26,999. However, if you want a variant with more RAM, there’s a 12GB+256GB model that is priced at Rs. 28,999. These prices are on par with other midrange smartphones with similar specifications, but how does the OnePlus Nord CE 5 fare against the competition? Read our OnePlus Nord CE 5 review to find out.
OnePlus Nord CE 5 Design: Looks Good, Easy to Grip
- Dimensions – 163.58 x 76 x 8.2 mm
- Weight – 199g
- Colours – Black Infinity, Marble Mist, Nexus Blue (Featured in this review)
The OnePlus Nord CE 5 review unit that the company sent us is bluish, and it looks good at various angles. The rear panel and edges are made of plastic. Like its predecessor, the handset has a dual rear camera island located in the top left corner of the rear panel, but the LED flash is now located to the right of the camera module.
The OnePlus Nord CE 5 has a rear-mounted infrared (IR) transmitter
OnePlus has equipped this handset with a single speaker, which is at the bottom edge of the phone, next to the USB Type-C port and the SIM tray. There’s a selfie camera located in the top centre of the 6.77-inch screen on the OnePlus Nord CE 5, which has very slim bezels.
The volume rocker and power button are located on the right edge of the handset. There’s no alert slider or Plus Key on the left edge. While the OnePlus Nord 5 has an infrared transmitter on the top edge, it is located between the two rear cameras on the Nord CE 5, so the rear panel must face the appliance you want to control. The phone ships with a matching TPU cover, a charger, and a SIM ejector tool.
OnePlus Nord CE 5 Software: Smooth, Some AI Features
- Software – OxygenOS 15
- Version – Android 15
- Latest security patch – June 1, 2025
Like its more capable sibling, the OnePlus Nord CE 5 runs on Android 15, and it has the company’s OxygenOS 15 skin running on top. The phone will receive operating system upgrades for four years and security updates for six years, according to OnePlus. This is pretty good for a handset in this price segment. The Nord CE 5 also offers support for some AI features available on both the Nord 5 and the OnePlus 13s.
OxygenOS 15 on the OnePlus Nord CE 5
The version of OxygenOS 15 on the OnePlus Nord CE 5 is smooth and responsive, and it didn’t have issues with more than six apps running in the background. Switching between apps is smooth, and the only time I noticed a bit of stuttering was while using the phone outside on a hot day, while using GPS navigation on Google Maps.
I saw a prompt to install Amazon, Cred, and Candy Crush Saga during the setup process. If you forgot to deselect those boxes, you can uninstall these apps after setting up the phone. I didn’t notice any other unwanted apps or bloatware on the phone. It offers the same software experience as the more expensive OnePlus Nord 5.
The Nord CE 5 offers support for new OnePlus AI features
You can also access new OnePlus AI features on the Nord CE 5. Unlike the OnePlus 13s and the new Nord 5, there’s no Plus Key to invoke the AI-powered quick save feature. Instead, you must swipe up using three fingers to trigger the same action. The phone also offers a VoiceScribe feature that gives you a summary of recorded calls, and a screen-scanning translate feature that is mostly reliable (I’ve included a sample screenshot).
OnePlus Nord CE 5 Performance: Notable Performance Upgrades
- Processor – MediaTek Dimensity 8350 Apex
- Memory – Up to 12GB LPDDR5x
- Storage – 256GB UFS 3.1
The Dimensity 8350 Apex SoC on the OnePlus Nord CE 5 is a rebadged version of the same chip that was launched by MediaTek last November, and it offers a notable jump in performance over the Snapdragon 7 Gen 3 on the Nord CE 4. If Geekbench scores are any indication, the Nord CE 5 offers 9 percent and 25 percent better single-core and multi-core CPU performance, respectively.
Left to right: AnTuTu v10, PCMark Work 3.0, Geekbench 6 (tap to expand)
While you won’t see these performance improvements if you use both phones for day-to-day tasks, the faster chip on the Nord CE 5 should offer better long-term performance as apps demand more resources in the future. The phone can handle almost everything you throw at it, from editing 4K videos to running a variety of popular apps, and it feels as reliable as its more expensive sibling, the OnePlus Nord 5.
I tested Call of Duty: Mobile, BGMI (with the graphics set to HD, Ultra), and Asphalt Legends Unite on the OnePlus Nord CE 5, and gameplay was smooth and lag-free, even after about 40 minutes of uninterrupted gaming. Like the Nord 5, you can also use bypass charging without pausing your game when the battery runs low.
Left to right: PCMark Work 3.0 Battery, GFXBench 5.1, 3DMark (tap to expand)
Here’s how the OnePlus Nord CE 5 fared on benchmark tests like Geekbench, 3DMark, AnTuTu, PCMark, and GFXBench. You can also see how the phone fares against the Vivo T4, Nothing Phone 3a, and Motorola Edge 60 Fusion.
| Benchmarks | OnePlus Nord CE 5 | Motorola Edge 60 Fusion | Vivo T4 | Nothing Phone 3a |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chipset | MediaTek Dimensity 8350 (4nm) | MediaTek Dimensity 7400 SoC (4nm) | Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 (4nm) | Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 (4nm) |
| AnTuTu v10 | 14,12,373 | 6,49,652 | 7,80,665 | 8,04,179 |
| PCMark Work 3.0 | 13,435 | 16,841 | 11,328 | 13,554 |
| Geekbench 6 Single | 1,317 | 1,087 | 1,120 | 1,158 |
| Geekbench 6 Multi | 3,989 | 3,049 | 3,043 | 3,255 |
| GFXB T-rex | 60 | 92 | 109 | 60 |
| GFXB Manhattan 3.1 | 60 | 46 | 51 | 55 |
| GFXB Car Chase | 60 | 26 | 28 | 28 |
| 3DM Slingshot Extreme OpenGL | Maxed out | 5,742 | 5,307 | 5,485 |
| 3DM Slingshot | Maxed out | 7,155 | 6,767 | 6,954 |
| 3DM Wild Life | Maxed out | 3,630 | 3,924 | 3,988 |
| 3DM Wild Life Unlimited | 11,038 | 3,675 | 4,090 | 4,175 |
OnePlus has equipped the Nord CE 5 with a 6.77-inch (1,080×2,392 pixels) OLED screen with a refresh rate that switches between 60Hz and 120Hz, and up to 300Hz touch sampling rate. It is Widevine L1 certified, which means that you can watch HD and HDR content on Netflix and Prime Video.
I chose the Cinematic display colour mode when setting up the OnePlus Nord CE 5, but you can also select the Standard or Vivid colour modes for more muted and saturated alternatives, respectively. The OnePlus Nord CE 5 can be used even in bright outdoor conditions, and the display is very responsive, even when I used the phone with wet hands.
OnePlus has equipped the Nord CE 5 with a 6.77-inch display
It’s best to turn off the ProXDR setting in the Photos app, though, as it tends to apply additional effects while viewing images stored on your phone. If you keep this feature enabled, you will see a different result (the original image) when viewing the same photos on another device, like your computer.
OnePlus Nord CE 5 Cameras: A Decent Primary Camera
- Main camera – 50-megapixel (f/1.8), OIS, up to 4K/ 30fps video
- Ultrawide camera – 8-megapixel (f/2.2)
- Selfie camera – 16-megapixel, EIS, (f/2.4), up to 1080p/ 60fps video
The primary camera features the same Sony IMX600 as last year’s Nord CE 4, capturing sharp images during the day. I didn’t notice any extra saturation or exposure issues in most scenarios. Images with a lot of blue do tend to be a little more vibrant than the original subjects, but I quite like how the images turned out in general. Photos taken at night are also quite decent, but you will need to ensure that your subject stays still until the image is captured.
Top to bottom: Rear camera samples at 1x (primary), 2x (in-sensor crop) zoom (Tap to expand)
It also supports a 2x zoom mode (in-sensor crop), allowing you to zoom in on subjects that are slightly further away. When capturing portraits, the 1x mode lets you switch between 26mm and 35mm focal lengths, while the 2x zoom mode is locked to 51mm. In low-light scenarios, this phone’s built-in night mode offers performance that is on par with the more advanced sensor on the OnePlus Nord 5, for subjects that aren’t moving quickly.
You also get an ultrawide camera with an OV08D10 sensor, and it captures sharp 8-megapixel images during the day, albeit with some warping at the edges in some shots. Colours are mostly consistent with the ones captured using the primary camera. At night, images captured with this camera lack detail, leaving the handset’s camera algorithms to deal with noise and poor colour reproduction. It is also considerably slower than the primary camera at capturing images, so it’s best to switch to the primary camera for night shots.
Top to bottom: Ultrawide camera samples, a selfie and a portrait shot (Tap to expand)
The selfie camera (Sony IMX480) on the OnePlus Nord CE 5 delivers high-quality selfies, and it doesn’t apply any “beauty” features by default. During the day, it captures images with a lot of detail, while there’s some smoothening on selfies in low-light scenarios, as well as on portrait images (2x) taken with the primary camera.
The man camera supports optical image stabilisation (OIS) at up to 1080p/30fps. If you don’t want to use the Ultra Steady mode, you can record video at 4K/ 60fps. The ultrawide camera supports up to 1080p/ 30fps video recording, but there’s no OIS. The selfie camera can capture up to 1080p/60fps video, which is limited to 1080p/30fps in Ultra Steady mode.
OnePlus Nord CE 5 Battery: Two Days of Usage, One Hour to Charge
- Battery Capacity – 7,100mAh
- Wired Charging – 80W SuperVOOC (USB Type-C)
Smartphone batteries continue to increase in size, and the Nord CE 5 boasts a notably large 7,100mAh battery. This is one of the largest batteries to debut in a smartphone in 2025. In combination with the efficient Dimensity 8350 chipset, the handset consistently delivered at least two days of battery life on a single charge during my testing period.
The OnePlus Nord CE 5 lacks dual stereo speakers
It took just over an hour (between 65 and 68 minutes) to fully charge the OnePlus Nord CE 5 using the included 80W SuperVOOC charger. The handset lasted for 27 hours and 10 minutes during our HD video battery loop test, and 17 hours and 44 minutes during the PCMark Work 3.0 battery test. As we regularly point out in our reviews, these are synthetic tests performed in controlled conditions, and real-world battery life will vary based on your usage.
OnePlus Nord CE 5: Verdict
The OnePlus Nord CE 5 offers improved performance and better battery life than its predecessor, while also providing a mostly reliable set of cameras. The phone is also slated to receive four years of OS upgrades and five years of security updates. Additionally, it offers useful AI features, although it lacks the Plus Key available on the OnePlus Nord 5.
The slightly lacklustre ultrawide camera and the lack of stereo speakers are slightly disappointing to see in this price segment. The biggest rivals of the OnePlus Nord 5 in the same price segment include the Motorola Edge 60 Fusion (Review), Nothing Phone 3a (Review), Infinix GT 30 Pro 5G, and Vivo T4 5G (Review), and it’s worth reading our reviews of these handsets before purchasing your next smartphone.
Disclosure: OnePlus sponsored the correspondent’s flights and hotel for an event in Vietnam.
