OnePlus Nord CE5 Review: A reliable mid-range phone or just average?

1 week ago 5

OnePlus Nord CE 5 Review: Last month, OnePlus has expanded its Nord lineup with the launch of OnePlus Nord CE 5 in India. Available in three variants and three colour options, it packs a 7,100mAh battery - a capacity usually reserved for tablets, the company claimed. But is it the only standout feature in it, or are there more surprises in store? Read on to learn about it.

OnePlus Nord CE 5 Review: Price, Colours, Variants

The smartphone is available in three variants: 8+128GB, 8+256GB, and 12+256GB, priced at Rs 22,999, Rs 24,999, and Rs 26,999, respectively. Apart from this, the OnePlus Nord CE 5 is also available in three colours: Black Infinity, Marble Mist, and Nexus Blue. We used the 8+256 variant of the device in the Nexus Blue shade.

OnePlus Nord CE 5 Review: Design

The Nord CE5 has a slightly retro look. However, that doesn't mean it looks or feels bad. The body feels very sturdy, and there is no flex or hollowness at the back. The back is made of plastic and looks and feels like it. The same goes for the middle frame. The front has a toughened glass cover, although OnePlus hasn't revealed its type.

On the right side, the phone houses the power button and the volume rockers, while the left side frame is totally empty. There are no surprises like Nord 5 in device controls and their layout. At the bottom, you'll find a SIM slot, primary microphone, USB Type-C port, and speaker grille.

OnePlus Nord CE 5 Review: Display

OnePlus Nord CE 5 has a 6.77-inch AMOLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate and 1,430 nits of peak brightness. The selfie punch hole is a bit larger than average, but not excessive. Also, the device comes with an IP65 rating, which indicates decent resistance to dust and mild water splashes.

We tested it with content-heavy apps like YouTube and Amazon Prime, and spent time scrolling through Instagram and Facebook. The experience was consistently top-tier, with vibrant visuals and fluid performance across the board.

OnePlus Nord CE 5 Review: Camera

The OnePlus Nord CE 5 has a 50MP main camera based on the Sony LYT-600 sensor. The second camera on the back of the phone is an 8MP fixed-focus ultrawide. For selfies, it has another 16MP front-facing sensor.

We found the main camera to take decent photos in daylight. The detail is good, but there is also a lot of noise that can't be ignored. The contrast is pretty okayish, and so are the colours. The dynamic range could have been a little higher, but it's still decent.

Portrait shots turn out quite well. While skin texture detail is limited, the skin tones are natural and pleasing. Subject detection and separation are accurate, and the background blur is smooth and visually appealing.

OnePlus Nord CE 5 Review: Battery

As mentioned above, the OnePlus Nord CE 5 is powered by a 7,100mAh battery and comes with an 80 W SUPERVOOC charging adapter.

Initially, the phone's battery showed a security error and took an unusually long time to charge. However, a quick software update fixed the issue. After that, the device took about 1 hour to charge from 1 to 100 per cent. And just like the OnePlus Nord 5, it also has a pretty impressive battery life, or we can say even better.

With moderate usage, including social media scrolling, YouTube watching, etc, it can easily last two full days, and under heavy gaming or extended video streaming, you will still have enough charge left to comfortably last a full day.

OnePlus Nord CE 5 Review: Software and Performance

The OnePlus Nord CE5 is powered by the MediaTek Dimensity 8350 Apex chipset, built on TSMC’s advanced 4nm process and based on the latest Armv9 architecture. For graphics, the chipset includes a 6-core Mali-G615 GPU. During testing, the device did not show any lag while multitasking or using multiple apps in the background. Also, it handles heat very well.