The OnePlus Nord 5 does exactly what the company’s Nord phones have always done: deliver strong specs at a relatively low price. It’s one of the more powerful phones at this price point and should easily outstrip Samsung and Google’s more expensive alternatives.
This is a function-over-form phone, one where the key selling points are a powerful processor and long battery life, which are the boring mainstays that tend to matter the most in midrange models like this. The problem for the Nord 5 is that other midrange phones in the markets where it’s available — including Europe and India, but not the US — offer even faster chipsets and bigger batteries, leaving the new OnePlus phone a little stranded and reliant on an above-average selfie camera to help it stand out.
7
Verge Score
OnePlus Nord 5
The Good
- Impressive selfies — especially in low light
- Strong specs for the price
- 144Hz display
The Bad
- Other cameras are so-so
- Plus Mind AI feature feels half-baked
- Poco F7 offers even more bang for your buck
Performance sits at the heart of the Nord 5 sales pitch. The Qualcomm Snapdragon 8S Gen 3 chipset was designed for more expensive phones than this, albeit when it launched a little over a year ago. Combined with 8GB RAM and 256GB storage in the base £399 / €449 (around $530) model, and 12GB RAM and 512GB storage for £100 / €100 (around $125) more, it offers potent specs for the price.
That lends itself well to gaming, which explains why OnePlus has opted for a display that’s big, bright, and fast: a 6.81-inch
