OnePlus Nord 5 review

There’s a strange moment when you pick up the OnePlus Nord 5 for the first time – it doesn’t feel like a mid-range phone. There’s no plastic sheen, no timid spec list, no compromise. It feels… elevated. But not in a “trying-too-hard” flagship wannabe way. No; it’s effortlessly chic.

This is not your average Nord. Not the approachable budget-friendly phone you’d recommend to your younger cousin. This is the Nord that grew up, bulked up, and decided it’s done sitting at the kids’ table.

It borrows the best from its flagship siblings – AI smarts, performance muscle, class-leading battery – and blends it with a no-nonsense, vibe-forward design that fits right into your life, not just your pocket. But is it all style and no substance? Or does it live up to the hype? We answer these and more in our OnePlus Nord 5 review.

Let’s unpack it all in our review.

OnePlus Nord 5 review: Build and design

The Nord 5 is all about subtle statements. It comes in three distinct colourways – Marble Sands (which we received for review), Dry Ice, and Phantom Grey. The Marble Sands platinum silver-white colour variant looks breathtaking, but it is a tad too slippery, so you may need to tack on a protective case.

The Nord 5’s flat-edged frame gives it presence. It’s not bulky, but rugged enough for everyday use. And the camera module is accented just enough to be noticed. And at 8.1mm thin and weighing 211g, it balances large-battery bulk with wrist-friendly comfort. Its IP65 rating and Gorilla Glass 7i display protection mean it’s ready to brave both spills and slips.

If there’s one thing we miss, it’s the alert slider. There’s now a tiny switch, but for many long-time OnePlus users, it’s sacred. In contrast, the new Plus button, while functional, feels like a solution in search of a problem. Call it nostalgia, but the Nord series would’ve benefited more from keeping what made OnePlus iconic.

OnePlus Nord 5 review: Display

The 6.83-inch 1.5K OLED panel on the OnePlus Nord 5 is so smooth, it makes 120Hz screens feel dated. 144Hz refresh rate isn’t just a spec on paper, it’s quite the tactile experience. Scrolling through Instagram, flipping between Notes and Gmail, watching Reels, it all feels frictionless.

But do note, Adaptive refresh rate only oscillates between 60Hz, 90Hz and 120Hz. To get 144Hz, you need to manually toggle it in Settings, and since it doesn’t automatically switch, your battery life takes a hit.

Back to the panel, what makes it even more impressive is how it adapts to real life. Under harsh sunlight, the 1,400 nits of peak brightness keep everything visible enough. And for late-night reading? The 3,840Hz PWM dimming and OnePlus’s eye-care tuning make sure you’re not straining your eyes. We binged many a TV series late at night on this phone, and the experience was comfortable.

ALSO READ: OnePlus Nord 5 camera details revealed, check camera samples

And then there’s Aqua Touch 2.0, which sounds like a spa feature but is actually a very cool touch tech that keeps the screen responsive, even if your fingers are sweaty, oily, or fresh from a hand sanitiser overdose.

With 450 PPI, HDR10+ support, 10-bit colour, and flagship-level calibration, this display is unapologetically premium. You are absolutely going to love bingeing Squid Game on this one.

OnePlus Nord 5 review: Performance and UI

The Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 doesn’t belong in a phone this price, and that’s exactly the point. Paired with up to 12GB LPDDR5X RAM and up to 512GB UFS 3.1 storage, this phone delivers snappy, uninterrupted performance across the board.

Editing a 4K video on your phone? No stutters, no crashes. We’ve rendered clips, scrubbed timelines, and multi-tasked with multiple apps running in the background, and the Nord 5 didn’t flinch. It runs shockingly smooth, even under pressure.

For gaming, let’s talk about real-world numbers. We played Call of Duty Mobile at 144Hz, and it ran surprisingly well. While the phone did get warm, it never got hot. When playing COD: Mobile at 60fps, surface temps hovered around 40-degrees Celsius, which is honestly impressive considering the workload.

This is partly thanks to the dual vapour chamber cooling system, and partly because OxygenOS knows how to allocate resources without being annoying. And yes, it’s running Android 15 with OxygenOS 15 out of the box, with four years of OS updates, and six years of security patches. Pretty solid.

ALSO READ: OnePlus 13s review

OxygenOS has a horde of features and customisation options. It supports Open Canvas multitasking, which was wildly popular on the OnePlus Open foldable, but we didn’t find it as useful on a candybar format phone. The Nord 5 also supports seamless sharing between itself and Windows or mac PCs, bridging the gap between ecosystems.

OnePlus Nord 5 review: AI features

If you’re burnt out on AI hype, the Nord 5 might just restore your faith. OnePlus doesn’t treat AI like a gimmick, it feels like a proper assistant here.

The new Plus Key unlocks AI Plus Mind, a smart, searchable space for everything you want to remember including screenshots, notes, quotes, calendar info. Just swipe with three fingers or tap the key, and your content is saved intelligently, with context and quick actions built in. AI Search allows you to search for just about anything on your phone using natural language, and it’s pretty game changing.

You also get AI Eraser for removing unwanted photobombers, AI Unblur which is great for salvaging shaky shots, AI Notes & Call Summaries, and Google’s Gemini and Circle to Search integration.

Honestly, the OnePlus Nord 5 is less about showing off what AI can do, and more about giving you tools you’ll actually use. We hope more brands take this approach with AI.

OnePlus Nord 5 review: Cameras

This is where the OnePlus Nord 5 quietly flexes. It doesn’t boast megapixels for the sake of it, it just shows up with consistent output, especially out of the primary and selfie shooters.

The 50MP Sony LYT-700 primary sensor with OIS delivers genuinely solid results. Skin tones are almost bang-on, and the dynamic range is surprisingly refined for the price. You’ll especially notice the natural highlights and sharp textures in outdoor shots. Whether you’re shooting brunch flatlays or golden hour portraits, the Nord 5 makes sure everything looks Instagram-ready without looking overprocessed.

The 8MP ultrawide is a humble but helpful backup. It’s not going to win any DxOMark awards, but it handles daylight scenes decently. Perfect for tight interior shots, street photography, or big group selfies where elbows don’t get cut off. However, it falls off in low light with discernible distortion.

The 50MP Samsung JN5 selfie camera sounds impressive, and in good daylight, it is. Images are sharp, colours are bright but not artificial, and face detection is snappy. But in lower light, the detail takes a bit of a hit. It’s still decent for video calls and casual reels though.

As for video, the Nord 5’s game is strong. 4K at 60fps looks clean and cinematic, with stable footage and solid focus tracking. During a rickshaw ride, the OIS and EIS combo kept things surprisingly jitter-free. All in all, this is the most mature camera package that a Nord device has ever seen, and we’re here for it.

OnePlus Nord 5 review: Battery life

The 6,800mAh battery on the OnePlus Nord 5 is just… ridiculous! In a good way. We got through two full days with moderate use, and even on intense days where we were shooting videos, gaming, and editing, we never felt battery anxiety creep in.

And if you need juice, the 80W SUPERVOOC charger gets you back to 100 per cent in under an hour. Even better, the Nord 5 supports 18W PD and 33W PPS, meaning you can plug it into your MacBook charger at a café and top up while you work. That’s the versatility we love to see.

Unboxed Take: Who should buy the OnePlus Nord 5?

The OnePlus Nord 5 disrupts and reframes the mid-range smartphone segment. It’s the kind of phone that doesn’t need a flashy campaign to sell; it just makes sense in your hand, in your pocket, and in your life.

Yes, we’d still trade the Plus button for the alert slider in a heartbeat. And yes, the selfie cam could be better. But those are small trade-offs for what is otherwise one of the most complete, compelling phones OnePlus has ever made at this price point.

The Nord 5 is what the modern ‘flagship killer’ should look and feel like; holistic with a bit of style sprinkled in. Of course, there are alternatives, if you are looking for them. The Nothing Phone 3a Pro offers a bloat-free experience with the unique Glyph interface, and the Vivo V50e offers solid cameras with unique USPs like underwater photography.

However, the OnePlus Nord 5 feels the most complete package out of all of these. And for that reason, we rate it a strong 4.5/5. What would you rate it? Let us know in the comments and stay tuned to Unboxed by Croma for more detailed gadget reviews.