OnePlus’ Nord series has often been likened to the brand itself from several years ago, offering strong features at a competitive price point, and the Nord 5 aims to continue that strong legacy. Only this time around, first impressions aren’t quite as impressive as the metal-bodied Nord 4, with the Nord 5 switching to a less distinctive glass rear panel that looks somewhat generic.
It’s a big phone with a 6.83-inch screen, but the size has been put to good use by accommodating a 6,800mAh battery. You do get the Plus key, as was first seen in the OnePlus 13s, to invoke custom functions like taking a screenshot, launching the camera or the flashlight, or summoning the AI Plus Mind app.
It's clear as soon as you start using the Nord 5 that OnePlus has shifted focus to target the gaming crowd, and it shows in the choice of hardware – a Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 chipset paired with up to 12GB of LPDDR5X RAM, and a 1.5K full-HD+ AMOLED screen with up to 144Hz refresh rate. Everyday performance with OxygenOS 15.0 (based on Android 15) is good, but it’s when you game on this phone that it really comes into its own, thanks in large part to the massive vapor cooling system. Running Call of Duty: Mobile or BGMI on the device at full tilt 120fps, the phone remained cool and didn’t skip a beat. Switch to Pro Gamer mode, and you can hit 144fps in certain titles like BGMI. Elsewhere, AI features abound, with the aforementioned AI Plus Mind app allowing you to save contextual information from screenshots, AI Search queries on system content and real-time call translation, AI photo editing and the like.
OnePlus has kitted the Nord 5 with a large single-cell 6,800 mAh battery which, coupled with the power-efficient Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 chip, delivers up to a day and a half of usage, with well over 3 hours of gaming. Charging is handled via 80W fast charging (no charger included, though), which tops up the phone in a little under 50 minutes, plus there are handy features like Bypass Charging to reduce heat while gaming. There was a fair bit of camera use as well, as the Nord 5’s dual camera setup, which includes a 50MP Sony KYT-700 sensor and an 8MP ultrawide capture good (if not segment beating photos.
Even as the phone is surrounded by strong competition like the Poco F7, the Motorola Edge 60 Pro and the iQOO Neo 10R, the Nord 5 holds its own and delivers strong value around the ₹30,000 mark…even if we do sorely miss the step back in design.
Rating: 8/10
Price: ₹31,999 onwards
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