The OnePlus Nord CE 5 was recently launched as OnePlus’ most affordable and entry-level phone money can buy. Positioned as part of the OnePlus Nord series, the Nord CE 5 tries to offer a good balance of everything a buyer in the affordable midrange section desires – a great battery life, fast performance, nice display, good cameras and a slick software experience. With a starting price of Rs 24,999, the OnePlus Nord CE 5 ends up being a tempting choice for buyers who are usually accustomed to the subpar offering from Xiaomi and Oppo in this price bracket.
But is it any good? To find out, we used the OnePlus Nord CE 5 for a couple of days and put it through its paces under various scenarios. We took it outdoors for photography sessions, used it for texting and calling purposes, browsing social media timelines and playing casual video games on it for almost two weeks.
However, instead of going ahead with a usual review, we decided to focus on the core points on whether the Nord CE 5 is worth buying. We have circled a few major reasons to buy the OnePlus Nord CE 5.
3 Reasons to buy the OnePlus Nord CE 5:
1. Battery life: The OnePlus Nord CE 5 stands out with its robust 7,100mAh battery, which consistently delivered at least two full days of usage during testing. This impressive longevity is complemented by the efficient MediaTek Dimensity 8350 Apex chipset, optimising power consumption. Furthermore, the included 80W SuperVOOC charger is another huge convenience, capable of fully recharging the large battery in just over an hour. Hence, you will spend less time at the charging station and get to use the phone more.
2. Performance king: Powered by the MediaTek Dimensity 8350 Apex chipset, the Nord CE 5 offers a substantial leap in processing power compared to its predecessor. This translates into a consistently smooth and responsive user experience, allowing the phone to effortlessly handle demanding tasks such as photo and video editing, intensive gaming, and multitasking across various popular apps.
3. Smooth user experience: OnePlus has committed to providing four years of major operating system upgrades and six years of security updates for the Nord CE 5. This kind of software support ensures that the device remains up-to-date with the latest Android features and robust security protections, thus offering excellent long-term value. Running on Android 15 with OxygenOS 15, the software experience itself excels in fluidity and responsiveness, even when multiple apps are running in the background.
4. Good cameras: The OnePlus Nord CE 5 improves a lot in the camera department over its predecessor. With a 50MP main sensor, you can have complete faith in this optical system to take vibrant and sharp photos in all sorts of lighting conditions. It’s not going to challenge the supremacy of the iPhone 16 any day but if you take the critical pixel-by-pixel analysis out of the equation, the Nord CE 5 takes pleasing photos most of the time. We feel that the front camera could have been tuned better for selfies but OnePlus can fix it always with a future OS update.
Is OnePlus Nord CE 5 the best phone in its class?
Based on our short stint with the Nord CE 5, we can comfortably say that OnePlus has delivered a good all-rounder in this category. While rivals like Xiaomi and Motorola continue to compromise in one aspect or the other, OnePlus has managed to strike all the right boxes that an average midrange user seeks from a modern-day smartphone. Coupled with pretty colourways and that attention-grabbing 7,100mAh battery, it is tough to recommend a phone that beats the Nord CE 5 in its segment. Good job OnePlus.
