OnePlus Nord 5 review: gaming beast with a few misses

• By Sanket Vijayasarathy
Published On: 11 July 2025 | 11:47 IST Last Updated On: 12 August 2025 | 16:05 IST

There’s no denying the popularity of OnePlus’ Nord series in India. Over the years, the brand has launched several Nord smartphones that offer impressive features, reliable software, and competitive pricing. I’ve personally recommended Nord phones, such as the Nord 3 and Nord CE 4, to friends and family looking for options in the Rs 20,000 to Rs 30,000 range. The OnePlus Nord 5 aims to continue that legacy.

Last year, the OnePlus Nord 4 (review) turned heads by bringing back a metal back design. With the Nord 5, OnePlus switches back to glass but upgrades the internals to make it a more performance-driven device, especially for mobile gamers. It is priced just upwards of Rs 30,000 and is among some serious competition like the POCO F7 (review) and iQOO Neo 10 (review). Does the Nord 5 hold its own?

Verdict

The OnePlus Nord 5 has a singular purpose: to be the best gaming phone in its segment. It largely succeeds by upgrading the hardware to deliver top-tier mobile gaming performance, featuring a high 144Hz display, a snappy Snapdragon 8-series chipset, and a large battery, among other things. This phone is made for performance junkies who love to game, but even they should know that the design and cameras are not best-in-class.

A return to glass with some trade-offs

OnePlus isn’t breaking any new ground with the design of the Nord 5. After bringing back the metal body design on the Nord 4, one assumed that the Nord 5 would walk the same path, but that’s not the case. The Nord 5 switches back to a glass back design, with a matte finish and an in-glass pattern (on the Marble Sands colour variant) that resembles a crumpled silk sheet. Both Dry Ice (Blue) and Phantom Grey (Black) are solid colours for those who want a cleaner, simpler look.

The matte back glass is extremely soft to the touch, except for when you’re running your finger across the glossy OnePlus logo in the middle, which has a nice sticky feel to it. The pill-shaped camera module is a new design element, as OnePlus has typically used standalone circular cameras on its Nord phones.

The OnePlus Nord 5 is a big phone. I switched to the Nord 5 right after reviewing the compact OnePlus 13s (review), so the size of the Nord 5 hit me more than it would usually. At around 163mm x 77mm, it’s about the same height and width as the POCO F7 and iQOO Neo 10. Its thickness is also about the same as the iQOO phone at 8.10mm.

Due to its massive battery, the OnePlus Nord 5 is also heavier than most rivals in its segment, weighing in at around 211 grams. Phones like the Vivo T4 Ultra and iQOO Neo 10 weigh under 200 grams and feel lighter in your hand. Lastly, the Nord 5 is IP65-rated, which isn’t bad but not as well protected from dust and water as the POCO F7, which comes with an IP66 + IP68 + IP69 rating.

Display is large, smooth and great for gaming

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

Capable shooters that fall short of the best

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.

The Nord 5 captures daylight scenes with ample brightness and sharpness that lean towards a warmer tone. In comparison, the Edge 60 Pro had a cooler hue, with more natural, true-to-life colours (the building’s colour is more accurate in Edge 60 Pro) and balanced dynamic range.

OnePlus Nord 5 daylight

Motorola Edge 60 Pro daylight

Portrait

In portraits again, the Nord 5 captures brighter photos that look visually pleasing with accurate skin tones. But it’s the Motorola Edge 60 Pro’s portrait that has more sharpness and clarity when you zoom in, and also offers better edge detection along with a uniform background blur effect.

OnePlus Nord 5 portrait

Motorola Edge 60 Pro portrait

Selfie

In selfies, the Motorola Edge 60 Pro edges out the Nord 5 by capturing slightly sharper photos. Facial features and hair look crisper on the Edge 60 Pro, and the phone also does well in capturing natural skin tones. While the Nord 5’s selfie also looks sharp, the overall photo is brighter and warmer and messes with the colour profile of the shirt and environment.

OnePlus Nord 5 selfie

Motorola Edge 60 Pro selfie

Low-light

Here, too, the Edge 60 Pro manages to capture tricky low-light shots slightly better than the Nord 5. In the images below, you can see a slight halo effect around the light in the Nord 5’s sample, while the Edge 60 Pro not only handles the light better, but also retains the green-ness of the leaves around.

OnePlus Nord 5 low-light

Motorola Edge 60 Pro low-light

Strong everyday performance with a gaming edge

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.

Feature-rice OxygenOS, but with extra baggage

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.

Dependable battery life, fast top-ups

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.

Verdict: A solid choice if performance comes first

With the Nord 5, OnePlus has gone all in on performance. This phone is built for speed, from the flagship-grade Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 chipset to the massive 6,800mAh battery and super-smooth 144Hz AMOLED display. If your priority is gaming or simply a phone that won’t slow down even under pressure, the Nord 5 delivers in spades.

That said, it’s not a perfect all-rounder. The cameras are decent but don’t match up to the Motorola Edge 60 Pro, especially in low light and selfies. The return to a glass back from last year’s metal design might disappoint some. And while OxygenOS has a decent update cycle and useful AI features, Motorola’s software is cleaner with fewer pre-installed apps.

But if you’re looking for a phone that prioritises power, endurance, and fluidity, and you’re not too fussed about having the best camera, the OnePlus Nord 5 is one of the best phones you can buy under Rs 30,000 right now.

Editor’s rating: 8/10

Reasons to buy OnePlus Nord 5:

• Excellent performance with Snapdragon 8s Gen 3
• Big 6.83-inch AMOLED display with 144Hz refresh rate
• Massive 6,800mAh battery with 80W fast charging
• Great for gaming with sustained high fps and good thermal control

Reasons not to buy OnePlus Nord 5:

• Cameras aren’t the best in the segment
• Heavier and bulkier than rivals
• Return to a less distinctive glass design from last year’s metal