OnePlus came out with its new Nord 5 Series earlier this month. The two midrange smartphones in this series, Nord 5 and Nord CE5, crossed our desks soon after launch. We tested the Nord 5 first, and were delighted with its rock-solid performance and charming aesthetics. Now, we turn our attention to the CE model in the series. As things stand, the Nord CE5 is OnePlus’s entry-level smartphone in India, priced at Rs 24,999. We used the smartphone for a week to check its performance under different conditions. Here is our review of the OnePlus Nord CE5.
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In This Article
OnePlus Nord CE5 Review: Design and Display
Here’s what you get inside the OnePlus Nord CE5’s retail box:
- Smartphone
- 80W power adapter
- USB Type-A to Type-C cable
- Silicone cover
- SIM ejector
- Quick guide
The OnePlus Nord CE5’s design language doesn’t stray too far from the higher-spec Nord 5 model. The plastic back panel has a smooth matte finish. It has an excellent in-hand feel, and the quality of plastic used here is top-notch. The OnePlus logo is embossed at the centre of the panel. The vertical pill-shaped camera cutout houses the primary shooter, IR blaster, and the ultrawide lens. The LED flash is placed next to the cutout, unlike the Nord 5, where it is a part of the array.
The plastic frame houses the volume keys and the side button on its right edge. At the bottom lie the hybrid SIM tray (with microSD card support), USB Type-C port, and speaker grille. The noise-cancelling microphone is positioned on the top edge. The left edge is completely buttonless. Being the entry-level smartphone in OnePlus’s catalogue, the Nord CE5 does not get the Alert Slider/Plus Key. There’s no secondary speaker to be seen either.
OnePlus Nord CE5’s 6.77-inch Fluid AMOLED display has a 120Hz refresh rate. It can reach 1,300 nits in High Brightness Mode and hit a peak brightness of 1,430 nits while playing HDR content. In outdoor daylight conditions, this display does a good job of maintaining legibility. The smooth touch response makes the general browsing experience highly enjoyable. The bezels around the display are uniform, and the optical fingerprint scanner under the lower section is snappy.
During the review period, we used the OnePlus Nord CE5 as our primary media streaming device. The AMOLED display supports HDR10+ content and does a splendid job of relaying crisp and vivid visuals. The colour accuracy is on point and the HDR tuning is very tasteful. The lack of a dual speaker setup is a very visible drawback. The audio output produced by the lone bottom-firing speaker is a tad boxy.
The Nord CE5 is rated IP65 for protection against dust and water. It can survive low-pressure water jets without any damage to the internals. While there are other midrange smartphones with better water resistance, the CE5 passes our baseline demand in this aspect.
OnePlus Nord CE5 Review: Performance and Cameras
Powering the OnePlus Nord CE5 is the MediaTek Dimensity 8350 Apex chipset. It comes in 3 RAM (LPDDR5X) and storage (UFS 3.1) configurations:
- 8GB + 128GB: Rs 24,999
- 8GB + 256GB: Rs 26,999
- 12GB + 256GB: Rs 28,999
Here’s how the smartphone performed in Geekbench 6 and AnTuTu benchmarks:
- Geekbench 6: 1,321 (single-core) | 4,047 (multi-core)
- AnTuTu: 1,345,508
During the week-long review period, we found the OnePlus Nord CE5 to be reliable for everyday use. The smartphone was able to handle basic tasks like calling, instant messaging, media streaming, navigation, and social media browsing quite effortlessly. Juggling among different apps was not an issue either. The UFS 3.1 configuration for internal storage isn’t the fastest one out there, and it shows. The apps on this phone take slightly longer to load, compared to a flagship or an upper midrange device. However, it is very easy to adapt to this pace, and it’s not a dealbreaker at all.
The gaming performance of the Nord CE5 is pretty decent for its price bracket. You can push the frame rate to 120fps in BGMI and Call of Duty Mobile. The gameplay is free of pesky stutters and frame drops. The 7,041mm² CryoVelocity graphene cooling chamber isn’t as big as the 7,300mm² layer on the Nord 5, but it does a decent job of managing the heat generated by the device. We noticed that the back panel started to warm up after 40 seconds of continuous gameplay.
The Nord CE5 runs the Android 15-based OxygenOS 15 out of the box. OnePlus has promised 4 major OS upgrades and 6 years of security patches for this smartphone. The bloatware on the device is minimal and easily removable. The software feels light and airy. There is a good range of customisation options for the lock screen, home page, app icons, AOD face, fingerprint animation, and other elements. The ‘Shelf’ panel next to the home screen contains all the widgets and is a nice aesthetic upgrade over the Google Discover page.
The Nord CE5 packs all the AI features available on the Nord 5. Even though it does not have a dedicated Plus Key, you can swipe up with three fingers to add the on-screen content as a memory to Mind Space. This feature, along with AI Search, isn’t available out of the box. You will need to update the device to the latest software version to get it. The native OnePlus dialer has an AI Call Assistant, which can translate and record your cellular calls. The AI VoiceScribe tool can translate, transcribe, and generate captions and subtitles for voice and video calls across major third-party apps. You also get handy tools like AI Writer, AI Reply, and AI Editor on this device.
The massive 7,100mAh battery pack on the Nord CE5 puts up an excellent performance. With moderate use, it is impossible to drain its battery in a single day. We were able to coast through a day and a half on standard use. You can push the battery life to 2 days if you’re more conservative with your usage. The 80W power adapter provided in the box takes an hour to fully charge the phone.
The rear camera panel of the OnePlus Nord CE5 houses a 50MP Sony LYT-600 main sensor and an 8MP ultrawide lens. The 16MP front-facing camera is housed in a punch-hole cutout in the display.
The 50MP primary shooter takes good images in outdoor daylight conditions. The pictures showcase punchy colours and pack a lot of details. We like OnePlus’s natural way of processing the images. The pictures taken in overcast conditions are not processed to look unnaturally vibrant. Overall, the camera does justice to the scene. In limited lighting, the Night Mode kicks in and lights up the shot while removing the noise.
The 8MP ultrawide camera takes decent images in outdoor daylight conditions. The pictures are unsurprisingly softer than the ones taken with the main sensor. However, the colours showcased by these images are quite tasteful. The images taken in limited lighting conditions are grainy and dimly lit.
Portraits taken with the OnePlus Nord CE5 are vibrant and well-focused. The smartphone does a good job of detecting the edges and separating the subject from the background. However, the background blur effect leaves more to be desired. The front-facing 16MP camera takes decent selfies. It doesn’t overcorrect the skin tone, but bumps up the contrast. This camera can shoot 1,080p videos at 30 and 60fps. The main camera can record 4K footage at 30 and 60fps. Meanwhile, the video recording chops of the ultrawide camera are limited to a 1,080p resolution at 30fps.
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Final Thoughts
The OnePlus Nord CE5 is a safe and reliable choice in the sub-Rs 30,000 price bracket. Its bright and smooth display is a treat to use, and the Dimensity 8350 Apex chipset doesn’t fall short of power while handling routine tasks. OxygenOS 15 continues to be one of the better Android 15 skins this year, offering a good set of AI features on this midrange offering. However, the standout feature for us is the giant 7,100mAh battery pack. If you’re conservative with your usage, you can use this device for up to 2 days without plugging in the charger.
OnePlus Nord CE5: Pros
- Smooth display
- AI features
- Amazing battery life
- Expandable storage
- Good software support
OnePlus Nord CE5: Cons
- Lacks a secondary speaker
- Ultrawide camera is unimpressive in limited lighting conditions
