OnePlus Nord 5 review
OnePlus Nord 5 pros and cons
Pros
Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 delivers flagship-grade performance.
Solid, confident design with Gorilla Glass 7i and IP65 protection.
Rich, vivid visuals on a bright, 144 Hz OLED screen.
A device like this for under £400 remains incredible value.
Cons
Camera compromises in no optical zoom lens, serviceable ultra-wide.
Design loses the bold, burnished metal of the Nord 4.
Lacking wireless charging support.
The OnePlus Nord 5 arrives confidently with a change in tack, but maintaining the Nord ethos of a true flagship experience wrapped in an affordable mid-range package...this time coming in at a shade under £400.
With a dazzling 144Hz OLED display, a robust Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 chipset, a sophisticated camera setup and maintaining its extensive software support plan, OnePlus sets lofty expectations.
Have they succeeded in crafting a device worthy of its Nord heritage? Let's take a detailed look.
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Design and build
The Nord 5 reflects OnePlus’s evolved approach to design, where subtle sophistication meets practical ergonomics.
At 211g and a mere 8.1mm thick, it’s comfortable yet substantial enough to reassure users of its durability.
It avoids extravagant visuals, instead opting for clean lines, simple aesthetics and a slight, but left-aligned camera bump which does introduce a wobble when placed on it's rear.
Three attractive hues are offered. Marble Sands shimmers boldly but delicately, reminiscent of sunlit sand dunes, and is the version reviewed here.
Dry Ice offers a calming, frosted-blue tone, while Phantom Grey delivers timeless, understated elegance...all distinctive, but we can't help but mourn the loss of the metallic rear which lent such a luxurious finish to last year's Nord 4
The materials feel premium in hand, and the phone itself conveys quality at every touch.
Protection comes in the form of Gorilla Glass 7i across the front display, with incredibly slim bezels measuring only 1.65 millimetres for maximum immersion.
An IP65 rating provides reassurance against spills, adding some everyday practicality.
A huge change however, comes in the replacement of OnePlus' iconic alert slider with the Plus Key, a customisable button that allows users to quickly launch apps, activate the camera or torch, or engage helpful AI shortcuts.
Familiar to iPhone owners, this is a welcome addition that does drive a lot more of a personalised touch, but once again straying from some of the more familiar design cues which made this range stand out from the flock.
That being said, our favourite was to link it to Mind Space - a repository for notes, content and information which you can add everything from the screen into at the touch of a button.
So still very much a Nord device and cutting an attractive figure, but with some distinct changes.
Display and audio
The display is certainly among the Nord 5’s strongest features, and delivers in spades.
OnePlus introduces its first 144Hz OLED screen in the Nord series, elevating everyday interactions into remarkably fluid experiences. Animations and scrolling feel instantly responsive, enhancing overall usability.
Married to a 6.83-inch panel with a sharp 1.5K resolution of 2800 x 1272 pixels and 450 pixels per inch, and you have a screen which delivers smoothness, crispness and clarity rivalling devices in any price range.
Colours appear vibrant, accurate, and immersive, fully covering the DCI-P3 spectrum for superb media enjoyment.
With maximum brightness reaching an impressive 1800 nits, you have a device delivering excellent visibility both indoors and outdoors in the Nord 5 - it sometimes proves surprising at just how vibrant the Nord 5's display can be, even at standard settings.
OnePlus' latest iteration of Aqua Touch maintains precise touch responsiveness even with wet or oily hands, making it versatile in challenging conditions.
Eye-care measures such as high-frequency PWM dimming ensure comfortable extended viewing.
When it comes to sound, a pair of speakers handle audio duties competently. Audio is clear and surprisingly loud, making it more than enough for multimedia consumption, though it lacks richer bass and advanced audio codec support found in flagships.
The bottom-facing speaker then makes it a little imbalanced in terms of stereo sound, but more than capable.
In summary, audio quality remains more than sufficient for casual gaming, streaming, and calls alike.
Camera capabilities
Photography receives meaningful upgrades, especially with the primary and selfie cameras. The main 50-megapixel lens is an upgraded Sony LYT-700 sensor over the Nord 4, it includes optical image stabilisation and produces impressive results across all conditions.
Daytime photos display natural colours, accurate exposure, and plenty of fine detail. Night mode performs reliably, capturing vibrant images without excessive noise or distortion.
However, the front camera deserves special shout-out. With a 50-megapixel Samsung ISOCELL JN5 sensor and a mechanical autofocus system - a unique addition - it consistently captures selfies with stunning sharpness and clarity, even in challenging lighting.
The focus mechanism dramatically reduces blurry shots, placing this selfie camera among the very best available in this device segment.
The secondary camera - an 8-megapixel ultra-wide-slash-macro lens - is serviceable, but unremarkable.
Ultra-wide shots capture broader scenes effectively but lose sharpness toward image edges.
Macro mode captures usable close-ups but lacks the refinement of dedicated macro modules found in higher-end devices.
Video recording at 4k and 60fps is available from both front and rear cameras, producing smooth footage, though the lack of optical zoom limits versatility for distant subjects.
So this phone proves capable, if not incredible, when it comes to photography - still comfortably delivering for its weight class.
Software
Software support is particularly impressive, making the Nord 5 a secure long-term investment.
OnePlus officially promises four years of major Android OS updates, as well as a healthy six years of security patches.
This commitment surpasses many mid-range competitors, offering users confidence that their Nord 5 will remain secure and up-to-date long into its lifespan,
OxygenOS 15 running on top of Android 15, which brings with it a suite of thoughtful, productivity-enhancing AI tools.
Google’s Gemini AI integration provides contextually relevant insights, simplifies tasks, summarises on-screen content, and offers intelligent search capabilities.
There are the occasional software hiccups, and inconsistency in being able to get a floating window working, have already been ironed out sufficiently ahead of launch, so you can get involved with confidence.
Performance
Performance is the heart of the Nord 5 experience, anchored by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 chipset.
This marks the first appearance of an 8-series chip within a Nord range device, delivering performance comfortably exceeding typical mid-range expectations.
Apps launch rapidly, animations glide smoothly, and multitasking feels consistently seamless, even with numerous demanding applications open simultaneously.
Gaming performance particularly benefits from this enhanced power, effortlessly handling intensive titles at high frame rates, including consistent higher framerates in supported games.
The presence of LPDDR5X RAM and speedy UFS 3.1 storage further reinforces responsiveness, enabling faster data transfers, quicker installs, and more efficient multitasking.
An expansive 7,300 square millimetre vapour-chamber cooling system efficiently manages heat dissipation during extended use, maintaining optimal performance levels without significant throttling, even after hours of intensive gaming or video streaming.
When it comes to storage and RAM configurations, we have both 8GB of RAM with 256 GB storage and 12GB x 512GB variants, a decent compromise given the absence of SD card expansion.
Battery
The Nord 5 houses a robust 5,200mAh battery - down from the 5500mAh effort in last year's model, but consistently delivering more than a full day of heavy use.
Moderate users routinely achieve nearly two full days without charging, whilst my usual commute with music, the odd bit of gaming and reading the news saw it still with 20 - 30% of juice after a day's use.
That being said, activating the upper-end features - from higher brightness, resolution and refresh rates, to running the device at high-performance as opposed to balanced mode - does really eat into that overall battery life, down to barely a day.
So certainly a device to use with a bit of restraint, than one for power users...but it's tough given so many strong features available on the Nord 5.
Screen-on time commonly surpasses seven hours, comfortably managing continuous video streaming, gaming, and heavy messaging usage.
Charging speed impresses equally, courtesy of 80W SUPERVOOC technology...hate to be a broken record, but it's again a minor backwards step against the Nord 4, which boasted 100W support.
However, OnePlus does not include a charging brick in the box, meaning users must purchase it separately - a fair point given the keen price (but there's still a way to get one for free, more on this later).
A full charge takes roughly 45 minutes, dramatically reducing battery anxiety.
The innovative Bypass Charging system allows extended gaming sessions or demanding usage while plugged in without impacting battery health.
Additionally, OnePlus’s Battery Health Engine ensures that the battery retains at least 80 percent of its original capacity even after four years of daily charging.
The lack of wireless charging may disappoint some users, though the exceptional wired charging performance - still more than you get from many a flagship - significantly counterbalances this inconvenience.
OnePlus Nord 5 UK pricing and availability
The Nord 5 is keenly and competitively priced in the UK, with the 8GB RAM + 256 GB storage model costing just £399, and topping out with 12GB of RAM and double the storage at 512GB for £449.
Given the Nord 4 came in from £429 in 2024, we've got to give credit that compromises have also manifested in a lower price point.
Launch incentives offered by OnePlus include up to £20 of trade-in credit, as well as a selection of free gifts worth over £100.
A OnePlus 80W SUPERVOOC charging adapter worth £40 comes for free as standard for early adopters, as well as a choice of either a pair of Nord 3 Buds Pro worth £79.99 or a case valued at £25.
Factor those into a sub-£400 entry point, and the Nord 5 becomes a very interesting option for those looking for performance, but without spending the earth.
Final verdict
OnePlus successfully delivers a compelling - if somewhat less exciting - mid-range smartphone with the Nord 5.
Its outstanding 144Hz OLED display, powerful Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 chipset, premium selfie camera, and remarkable battery life all fit the profile - and the keen entry price makes it one of the best mid-range smartphones available.
Coupled with an impressive software support guarantee, it presents an exceptional long-term value proposition.
Minor shortcomings in secondary camera quality, more conservative design, and the absence of wireless charging are small - but meaningful - reasons to give pause for those slightly more ambitious smartphone users.
It's testament to how much OnePlus got right with the Nord 4 that this device comes with caveats, as despite distinct improvements in the Nord 5's display and camera quality, it loses some of the verve - and battery life - we saw from such a sterling effort this time last year.
Ultimately, the Nord 5 still represents excellent value through an amalgam of flagship-grade performance, a superior display experience, robust battery longevity (with judicious use), and forward-thinking software support, making it a great choice to recommend.
