OnePlus Nord CE 5 Review: Does It Outweigh Its Rivals?

The OnePlus Nord CE series has always been about delivering a solid experience at a budget-friendly price, and the new OnePlus Nord CE 5 continues that mission. It succeeds the Nord CE 4, and on paper, it’s a big leap forward with a much larger battery, the Dimensity 8350 Apex chipset, and a healthy dose of AI features trickling down from the OnePlus 13.

But, OnePlus has also made some questionable trade-offs this year. I used the Nord CE 5 as my primary phone for over a week and the Nord CE 5 stood out as one of 2025's more interesting mid-rangers. So, let's talk about my experience in this OnePlus Nord CE review.

OnePlus Nord CE 5 Unboxing

OnePlus maintains a familiar aesthetic for its Nord lineup, with its tall blue box and black accents. Inside, you’ll find:

This year, however, no Nord stickers or a Red Cable Club membership card. Small omission, but it used to add a bit of fan flair. The bundled case is a nice touch for protection, but it scratches easily. Out of the box, the Nord CE 5 feels reassuringly solid, but a little heavier in the hand than its predecessor, for good reason.

Moreover, before we move ahead with our experience, let's look at the specifications of the Nord CE 5:

OnePlus Nord CE 5 Design and Build

The Nord CE 5 made a strong impression the moment I picked it up. The matte back and frame, although made out of plastic, felt good to the touch and was instantly pleasing in the hand. Thanks to this texture, the phone kept fingerprints and smudges at bay. Even in Delhi's sticky, humid weather, I've barely seen any greasy streaks despite using it with sweaty hands. 

However, in case you have dry hands, it can be a bit of a eel and slip right out if you are not too careful. There have been some near-drop instances, which made my heart skip multiple beats. While the CE 5 has gained some weight over the Nord CE 4 (186 grams) at 199 grams, the heft is justified by that huge battery. Surprisingly enough, it doesn’t feel chunky in the hand at all, thanks to a slim profile and well-balanced weight distribution.

I have the Nexus Blue colour variant and it’s a personal favourite in comparison to the Marble Mist and Black Infinity variants. Compared to last year’s more marble-like design, the Nord CE 5 is understated and minimalist, which is something I personally prefer. OnePlus has redesigned the camera island and while the vertical layout remains, the flash is now outside the island.

The module also has a sleeker ringed finish with less wobble when placed on a table, letting me do some lazy typing in peace. The IR blaster has been cleverly shifted into the camera cutout this time around instead of keeping it at the top, thereby tidying things up by quite a bit.

Ports and buttons are where you expect, with the volume rocker and power button on the right, the SIM tray and USB-C 2.0 port at the bottom and a secondary microphone on top. The buttons feel tactile and responsive to the touch, and I never found myself tapping them more times than needed. Overall, the Nord CE 5 doesn’t scream “premium” but feels very durable and practical.

OnePlus Nord CE 5 Display Quality

The Nord CE 5’s slightly bigger 6.77-inch display (6.7-inch on the CE 4) is definitely a cool bonus to have. Bezels are also slightly slimmer this year, offering more real estate with an 89.7% screen-to-body ratio (88.3% on the CE 4).

Brightness is where things get interesting. While OnePlus claims 1,430 nits of peak brightness, my tests saw the screen hit 2,103 nits in HDR and 1,935 nits in HBM, making this one of the brightest panels in the segment. Sunlight visibility is excellent, and I didn’t find myself squinting or shading the screen outdoors, even on a harsh summer afternoon.

This proved to be quite the binge-watching companion, thanks to how well the AMOLED panel handles contrast and blacks. Watching darker shows like House of the Dragon or The Batman was an absolute treat. The deep shadows stay truly black instead of turning into washed-out greys, while highlights pop without overwhelming the scene.

Meanwhile, while binge-watching shows like F1 Drive to Survive, colours seemed quite lively but never tipped into that oversaturated, artificial zone. It’s the kind of tuning that makes binge-watching easier on the eyes. HDR10+ content on YouTube and Prime Video looks fantastic, although Netflix frustratingly stops at standard HDR for now.

The panel also feels great for gaming (more on this later), thanks to the 120 Hz refresh rate, keeping everything fluid. I had a gala time playing not just casual titles like Clash Royale on this, but fast-paced shooters like CoD Mobile as well. Touch response is snappy and paired with the brightness levels; it barely leaves any room for complaint.

Well, where the experience stumbles is the audio department. OnePlus has oddly gone back to a single bottom-firing speaker. It’s serviceable for doomscrolling through Instagram or watching the occasional YouTube clip. However, when I flipped the phone into landscape mode, my palm annoyingly muffled the sound, and I found myself putting on headphones. Movies and games lose out on immersion without the stereo separation, and dialogues feel flat.

Competing devices in the segment like the iQOO Neo 10R and Poco X7 Pro offer stereo speakers and this feels like a noticeable step back for OnePlus.

Since I have big hands, I also found the in-display fingerprint sensor’s placement near the very bottom of the screen slightly difficult to reach, especially when holding the phone one-handed. However, it’s quick and reliable, as I have also been able to use it under some mild downpour without any issues.

OnePlus Nord CE 5 Performance Tested

Next, I was curious to see if the Nord CE 5 could keep up in the performance segment. It didn’t disappoint me in daily usage as OxygenOS feels quick and responsive, the animations are fluid, and apps launch without hesitation.

Multitasking is also handled very well, and switching between my go-to apps like Instagram, WhatsApp and Chrome felt seamless. Split-screen multitasking felt surprisingly fluid as well. I often had YouTube running on top while replying to WhatsApp or scrolling X below, and the Nord CE 5 held up without major stutters. It's not the multitasking monster that Snapdragon 8-series phones are, but for this segment, it's very dependable.

There are just some possible software optimisation issues, which cause aggressive RAM management, which I’ve explained in the Software and Updates section later in this review.

Anyway, the real test was how the phone held up under severe load. That’s where the Dimensity 8350 Apex showed its strengths and weaknesses. On paper, it’s a big leap over last year’s Snapdragon 7 Gen 3 and in benchmarks, the gains are super clear. In fact, while it's behind the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, it's super close to the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2.

Here’s a look at the Nord CE 5’s Geekbench, 3DMark, and AnTuTu benchmark scores:

Initially, under prolonged stress, stability took a hit and the phone heated up quite a bit. This was evident in the AnTuTu and 3DMark tests, where the Nord CE 5 went up to 49°C in an AC room. However, after a couple of updates, the phone doesn’t heat up as much and even offers better stability in benchmarks.

Gaming is another area where the OnePlus Nord CE 5 holds its own. BGMI and COD Mobile run at high frame rates without any hiccups. Furthermore, demanding titles like Genshin Impact and Wuthering Waves do show some minor frame drops and stutters, but it’s nothing serious.

To sweeten the deal, I also used the Pro Gamer Mode, which overlays FPS and temperatures. This also brings a bunch of bonus features like performance modes, Bypass Charging, Call Blocker, Voice Changer and a lot more.

With that said, here’s a quick rundown of how the device handled the games I tested:

Apart from this, network stability on the Nord CE 5 really surprised me. My room is usually a dead zone for Jio users, yet this phone mostly held on to full bars. I didn't face any call drops, and neither was the internet ever too sluggish. In fact, when I pitted it against my personal iQOO 12 and OnePlus 11R using the same Jio SIM, the Nord CE 5 topped them both with the fastest average speeds in the Ookla Speed Test.

OnePlus Nord CE 5 Software and Updates

The Nord CE 5 feels as clean and fluid as you'd expect from OnePlus. Out of the box, there isn't much bloat to deal with and you see the usual suspects like Facebook, LinkedIn, Netflix and PhonePe. There's also Candy Crush but at least there are no "Hot Apps" or spammy store downloads that we've seen elsewhere. 

Daily usage is mostly smooth, with apps opening quickly and OxygenOS animations staying slick. However, with four or five apps open and left running in the background, older apps sometimes reload when you switch back. That was slightly frustrating when I was in the middle of something and had to shuffle between apps. For instance, I had Spotify, Chrome, WhatsApp, and Feedly open while drafting a reply in Instagram, and when I jumped back, WhatsApp fully reloaded, wiping out my text.

Where things get interesting is in the AI features trickling down from OnePlus flagships. They're not headline gimmicks per se and actually help in subtle ways. AI Mind Space and AI Search, for example, can be quite the problem solvers.

As a journalist, I take too many screenshots in a day to keep up with smartphone launches and other important revelations in the industry. Using these two features in tandem, I didn't have to plough through screenshots to find something and a simple search returned the result as well as an AI summary of it, making things extra convenient. 

While it doesn't have a dedicated Plus Key like the OnePlus 13s, users can simply use a three-finger swipe up gesture to save important details on the screen to the Mind Space.

Meanwhile, VoiceScribe came in handy after a quick work call, spitting out a transcript and pulling to-dos into a neat list. Even in the gallery, the eraser tool rescued a weekend shot by removing a strange who wandered into the frame. 

But what gives the OnePlus Nord CE 5 extra weight is the long-term software support, which means you're not buying something that'll be outdated a year down the line. Not to mention that it's a big step-up from the 2 + 3 years software update policy on the CE 4. 

That said, not every experience hits the same high. The haptics are a step down, with OnePlus opting for a cheaper rotor motor instead of retaining the CE 4's X-axis motor. Typing feels mushy and vibrations across the UI lack that sharp and premium hit that OnePlus is known for. It doesn't ruin the experience, but it's certainly one of those subtle things you notice on a daily basis.

OnePlus Nord CE 5 Camera Tested

After using the OnePlus Nord CE 5 for the time that I did, it's clear that the phone is not trying to compete with camera phones. Instead, this camera setup is all about delivering reliable results for everyday use. From capturing quick selfies to capturing a bright sunny day on a weekend outing, I did it all with this setup and here’s what I think.

The primary 50 MP sensor is undoubtedly the star here, capturing sharp and vibrant photos in good lighting. Colours are slightly boosted, especially those everyday greens and yellows. So, plants, trees and even roadside signs tend to look more lively than they do in reality. It’s not overdone though, but just enough to make photos pop on screen.

HDR kicks in smartly on the Nord CE 5 and I didn’t get blown-out skies or overly dark shadows. A decently balanced dynamic range, in other words. Zooming in on trees and buildings showcases decent textures and is overall good enough for casual photography.

When it comes to human subjects, the device can really capture some natural and true-to-life looking skin tones. You also don't see that plasticky smoothening effect that some mid-range phones tend to overdo. Faces retain good details and even in softer lighting conditions, there's enough sharpness to make portrait shots look great. The edge detection is also fairly reliable, with the subject cleanly separated from the background.

However, there’s a bit of a colour shift when moving from the primary to the ultrawide. While it’s subtle, skies look cooler on the ultrawide and warmer on the primary. I’m picky about colour consistency, but this seems minor and not that big a problem.

At night, thankfully, you still get usable shots, thanks to the presence of Optical Image Stabilisation (OIS). This helps reduce blur from shaky hands like mine. From street lights to indoor scenes and even dimly lit rooms come out okay. However, don’t expect crisp details here and fine textures of hair or fabric tend to get soft and smudgy.

The ultra-wide is where things take a serious dip. It’s fine for fitting more into the frame, but there’s only so much you can do with an 8 MP lens. It struggles heavily with details and there’s a decent bit of grain and softness in photos captured after sunset.

Moving to the front, the selfie camera is decent but leans towards warmer colours. That means your skin might look a bit redder than it actually is, especially under indoor lighting. It’s also widely inconsistent and doesn’t maintain the skin tones.

However, portrait mode is quite good and edge detection works well. It’s not perfect and can sometimes miss strands of hair. However, for social media posting, that’s probably more than enough.

Video recording capabilities of the OnePlus Nord CE 5 is also quite impressive for the price. You get 4K @ 60 FPS, which means smooth and sharp footage. Whether you’re walking or panning, the OIS handles it well and it doesn’t look like a bumpy ride.

The ultra-wide camera is limited to 1080p @ 30 FPS, which feels obsolete. The selfie camera supports 1080p @ 60 FPS, which is good for vlogging or video calls with clear audio pickup.

OnePlus Nord CE 5 Battery & Charging

This is the biggest battery OnePlus has ever put in a phone and understandably, my expectations were high going in. Thankfully, I was not let down.

In my daily routine of scrolling through Instagram, watching YouTube, listening to music and throwing some light gaming in, I consistently got around 7.5 hours of screen-on-time and an incredible amount of screen-off time. The idle drain was a little over 1% per hour. Still, the phone easily lasted me a full day and night, with the standby drain also being quite minimal, which I always appreciate.

As for charging, it took the OnePlus Nord CE 5 roughly 66 minutes to go from 14% to 100%. Additionally, 50% was reached within 25 minutes. Given the sheer capacity of the battery, I was more than happy with the charging speeds.

Another thing to note is that there have been cases where I’ve had to use the phone while charging and it never got uncomfortably hot.

Bottom Line: Should You Buy the OnePlus Nord CE 5?

The Nord CE 5 is undoubtedly the best “Core Edition” smartphone we’ve had from the brand yet. It brings meaningful upgrades over the CE 4, including a massive battery, a much more powerful chipset, longer update support and flagship-level AI features.

That said, it does come with some puzzling compromises, such as weaker haptics and single-speaker audio. If you're okay with a not-that-great OS, the Poco X7 Pro is a solid contender. On the other hand, if you want the best possible cameras in the segment, the Redmi Note 14 Pro Plus with its 50 MP telephoto sensor is quite enticing.

However, when you look past the Nord CE 5's minor inconveniences, it’s one of the best phone under Rs 25,000 that you can get at the moment.