OnePlus Nord 5

The OnePlus Nord 5 features a 6.83-inch flat display, one of the biggest in its segment, likely due to its height, width, and slim bezels. It is a 1.5K Swift AMOLED display with up to 144Hz refresh rate and Ultra HDR support. The display also supports 10-bit colours, 100% DCI-P3 colour gamut, and up to 1800 nits peak brightness. It is protected by Gorilla Glass 7i, much like the Edge 60 Pro.The display specifications, on paper, are top-notch, and they translate well in real life as well. The screen is bright, vibrant, and sharp for all kinds of content one consumes. The brightness levels are also adequate for viewing under harsh sunlight.As I mentioned earlier, this is a big screen, which is great for watching shows and movies. The large screen real estate also helps in gaming. And the 144Hz refresh rate means you can play games like BGMI at up to 144 fps, which is extremely smooth. I did achieve around 144 fps on BGMI on Smooth + Extreme+ graphics settings once, but the device largely stuck to 120 fps during most of my gameplay sessions. Additionally, ensure that Pro Gamer and Adaptive Frame Booster modes are enabled to maximise the FPS.It's also worth knowing that the 144Hz refresh rate is largely limited to games, and you won't be able to 

The dual camera system on the Nord 5 includes a 50MP Sony LYT-700 main sensor and an 8MP ultra-wide lens. The primary sensor is the same one used on the OnePlus 13R, and it comes equipped with triple-axis OIS on the Nord 5. When I reviewed the OnePlus 13R back in January, I thought the main camera "captured respectable photos" and even outdid the Xiaomi 14 Civi in some cases at the time.I have similar thoughts about the Nord 5's main camera: the photos look respectable. In fact, they look quite good on their own. It captures bright and colourful images in daylight that are very social media-ready. The phone handles portraits well, delivering good skin tones and details. The ultrawide lens also manages to retain the colour science of the primary camera. I also managed to capture some good-looking close-up shots, as you can see in the samples below.

At Rs 31,999, the OnePlus Nord 5 is in the company of some really powerful phones like the POCO F7 and iQOO Neo 10 that are powered by the Snapdragon 8s Gen 4. The Nord 5 uses a generation-old Snapdragon 8s Gen 3. So, it won't score as well in benchmarks compared to rivals, that's for sure. In the AnTuTu benchmark test, the Nord 5 scored just under 15 million, much lower than what the POCO F7 and iQOO Neo 10 managed.However, its real-world performance will leave you quite satisfied. The chipset, paired with up to 12GB of LPDDR5X RAM, delivers an excellent experience in daily use, multitasking, and especially gaming.The Nord 5 can maintain consistent performance even during prolonged usage thanks to a huge 7,300mm² vapour chamber cooling system. I didn't notice any major heating issues during my sessions with Call of Duty: Mobile and BGMI. Even after about 30 minutes of gameplay at an average of 120 fps, the phone remained cool enough to be comfortably held.Gaming is clearly a focus here. The Nord 5 supports 144 fps gaming in titles like BGMI, and I was able to hit these frame rates with Pro Gamer Mode and Adaptive Frame Booster enabled. Hardware-accelerated ray tracing and support for features like Adreno Frame Motion Engine 2.0 mean smoother graphics and better battery efficiency while gaming. All of this makes the Nord 5 a serious performer and arguably one of the best gaming phones you can get for the price.

The Nord 5 runs on OxygenOS 15.0 based on Android 15. OxygenOS continues to offer a fast interface. That said, the Motorola Edge 60 Pro has significantly fewer pre-installed apps, making it a better choice if you prefer a cleaner interface. OnePlus has promised three years of major Android updates and six years of security updates, which is great to see.The Nord 5 boasts significantly more AI features than its predecessor. You get tools like AI Plus Mind, which lets you save and retrieve content from across apps with a single swipe or button press, and AI Search, which understands natural language queries across system content. The new Circle to Search feature is also handy for quick lookups without leaving the app you're in.Other AI features like real-time call translation, AI photo editing (AI Eraser, Reframe), and Google Gemini are built in and work surprisingly well. I've explained these features at length in my review of the OnePlus 13s. These AI features might not be the main reason to buy the Nord 5, but they are useful extras that enhance the experience. On the whole, OxygenOS 15 feels snappy, reliable, and just a little bit smarter now.

The OnePlus Nord 5 boasts a massive 6,800mAh battery, which is slightly smaller than the POCO F7 and iQOO Neo 10's 7,000mAh battery. That said, I comfortably got through two days on a single charge with light to moderate usage, and even with extended gaming and media streaming, the phone had plenty left in the tank at the end of the day.In real-world testing, the phone gave me over 6 hours of screen-on time on average with my use case being messaging on WhatsApp, checking and replying to emails, some light social media browsing, and using Google Maps while driving. In our PCMark battery test, however, the Nord 5 fared poorly compared to the POCO F7 and iQOO Neo 10.Charging is handled by 80W SUPERVOOC fast charging, which takes the phone from 1 to 100% in about 49 minutes. There's no wireless charging, but you do get thoughtful features like Bypass Charging to reduce heat while gaming and Battery Health Engine to slow battery ageing. All in all, this is one of the most dependable phones for battery life in this category.