OnePlus Nord 5 review: selfie-centric midranger

OnePlus Nord 5 does exactly what Nord phones to the company always do: provide strong specifications at a relatively low price. It is one of the most powerful phones at this price point, and it should easily outperform Samsung and Google alternatives.

This is a functional phone, where the main points of sale are a strong processor and a long battery life, which is boring basic supports that tend to be important in medium models like this. The Nord 5 problem is that other medium phones are in the markets where they are available-in Europe and India, but not the United States-it provides faster slides and larger batteries, leaving the new OnePlus phone a little bit and depends on a high-level personal photo camera to help it appear.

Performance sits in the heart of the Nord 5 sales. Qualcomm Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 slices are designed for the most expensive phones of this, albeit when it was launched slightly more than a year ago. Along with 8 GB RAM and storing 256 GB at the basis, 399 pounds / 449 euros (about $ 530), a random access memory of 12 GB and 512 GB storage for 100 pounds / 100 euros (about 125 dollars), and provides strong price specifications.

This allows games, which explains why OnePlus chose a big, bright and fast width: 6.81 -inch OLED panel at the update rate of 144 Hz. I am still skeptical of high update rates in phones – a few games will exceed 120 frames per second anyway. OnePlus says the antennas have been re -placed for a better performance when the phone is kept in the landscape mode of games, although manufacturers have been promoting this type of work for years.

The battery is the other half of the performance equation, 5200 mAh per hour as well. I spent my first week to travel on the phone (which I discovered one annoyance: there is no ESIM support), which is always asking for energy, and I never felt very anxious. It will last a comfortable day, around the middle of the road to a second, but I think you will struggle to make two whole days without leading. Wire charging provides 80w full fees in 45 minutes, including the trial charging that runs the phone directly, without increasing the charging of the battery, if you want to keep it during long gaming sessions. The main privilege of the price is that there is no wireless charging.

The problem is that for all this strength, this is not the most capable phone at this price point. POCO F7 is slightly cheaper than Nord 5 and comes with a better set of slices, larger battery and faster charging. OnePlus wins the update rate, but this is barely enough to compensate for being comfortable comfortably anywhere, which means that F7 is still likely to reach higher frame rates during difficult games. No one looking to perform games will be withdrawn first and foremost to F7, so what can Nord 5 offer anywhere else to make up for this team?

The most distinctive element in the device is the Plus, a new button that replaces the traditional OnePlus pass. This is a customized key, by default, doing the same thing that the alert bar – it allows you to rotate between the conciliatory circles, shaking and silent. But it can also be set to open the camera, run the lamp, take a screenshot, and more. it’s not completely Customize, so you cannot set it to open any application or operate custom jobs.

The Plus key can also be used to capture a screenshot and add it to Mind Space, or Amnesty International tool to analyze images to summarize, create reminders, or create evaluation events. It is significantly similar to a space of nothing essential, which does almost the same thing – using a custom devices key – but unlike nothing, you cannot add audio notes to give more information, or get summaries for the longest audio recordings, or even open the mind space itself using Plus, so OnePlus “is more basic.

There is little complaint on the side of the program. Nord 5 ships that operate Oxygenos 15, based on Android 15, and will get a respectable (but definitely not a pioneer in category) four years of major OS updates and six years of security support. One of the additional rewards is easy to share wireless files between the phone and a Windows computer, Mac, iPad, or iPhone system, although you will need to install the O Plus Connect program on the other device-unfortunately, there is no support for the full Mac remote control on OnePlus Pad 3.

OnePlus chose an unusual choice by giving priority to the Selfie Phone camera, which features a 50 -megapixel sensor larger than a medium personal photo camera. I am not a natural personal photo, but the results are good and full of details. It is not significantly better than competitors in regular lighting, but this is because most phone cameras are now comfortably with daylight. The image mode is the only only weakness, which is struggling to separate the hair strands most of the time. But this camera comes at night: the large sensor and a fast F/2.0 slot helps Nord 5 to capture impressive details in the dark, when most other personal photo cameras collapse. If you need a phone to capture you and your crew on the outside and at a dimmed dinner, this may be the goal.

The main 50 -megapixel rear camera is good but not great. He is struggling with fast -moving topics such as pets and children, and you will need a fixed hand to get great shots at night, but this is all typical for phones at this price. Colors tend to be slightly saturated and artificial from this lens; Ultrawide 8 megapixels dominates more shaky but loses more details in mysterious sites.

Nord faces 5 strong competitions on both sides. It can spend less to get more energy with POCO F7 or spending 100 pounds / 100 euros (about 125 dollars) more than Google Pixel 9A for comfortable better cameras, strict water resistance, and more software support years.

Nord 5 is not a bad phone. But it is not clear what is the unique point of sale. OnePlus bent to power and performance, but it was dusted by POCO. Pixel 9A, despite the most expensive price, outperforms the camera and design. Even the dedicated artificial intelligence button is better elsewhere, for less, in None Phone 3A. The best hope for Nord 5 to find an audience is a Selfie camera, which is better than any other phone around it, at least in low light. But with the progress of the sale, it seems to be a small one.

Photography by Dominic Breston / The Forge