OnePlus Nord 5: In summary
- OnePlus’ new mid-range and budget phones
- Officially launched on 8 July
- Upgrades in some areas, downgrades in others
As promised, OnePlus has fully unveiled the Nord 5 series of mid-range smartphones , giving you more alternatives to the Pixel 9a, Galaxy A36, Poco F7 and others.
This time around, for the UK anyway, there are two devices to choose from, the regular Nord 5 and the even cheaper Nord CE5.
OnePlus’ new phones start at £299 and have a focus on attractive design and AI smarts, as well as offering solid performance, cameras and battery life.
When will the OnePlus Nord 5 be released?
In summary
- Nord 5 and Nord CE5 launched on 8 July
- On sale now, having been released immediately
- No US availability
After trickling some news and details about the Nord 5 series in the lead up, the handsets are now official, announced on 8 July.
The release date is the same, so you can buy both right now from the OnePlus website in the UK.
Sadly, as is usually the case with Nord phones, neither of the new phones will be available in the US.
The Nord 5 arrives almost exactly a year after its predecessors in the Nord 4 and Nord 3 , which launched in July of 2024 and 2023, respectively.
Foundry | Alex Walker-Todd
But unlike the 13 and 13R , even a global launch is unlikely to include the US. While all previous phones in the main Nord series have been available in the UK, OnePlus tends to skip the US with its mid-range devices.
How much will the OnePlus Nord 5 cost?
In summary
- Nord 5 starts at £399
- Nord CE5 is cheaper, starting at £299
- More premium configurations of both available
For 2025, there are four options for you to choose from because there are two phones each in two configurations.
The Nord 5 is plenty cheap enough starting at £399 (£100 less than the Pixel 9a and Galaxy A56 ) but the Nord CE5 is even more budget-friendly, from £299.
So, while the Nord 5 is very much a mid-range phone , the Nord CE5 is just about cheap enough to be considered a budget phone .
Here’s the full pricing for the Nord 5 phones.
Nord CE5
- 8/128GB – £299
- 12/256GB – £349
Nord 5
- 8/256GB – £399
- 12/512GB – £499
What specs and features will the OnePlus Nord 5 have?
In summary
- Nord 5 drops metal unibody design in favour of glass and plastic
- Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 for Nord 5, Dimensity 8350 Apex for Nord CE5
- Four years of OS updates, six years of security patches for both
The OnePlus Nord 5 and Nord CE5 are official, meaning we know all their main specs. Here’s everything you need to know.
Design
The Nord 4 introduced a metal unibody design, offering a premium feel and top-quality durability. However, that’s been ditched on the Nord 5 in favour of a glass back and polycarbonate (plastic) frame. Meanwhile, the Nord CE5 has a polycarbonate frame and composite back.
The Nord 5 (right) has a very different design to last year’s Nord 4 (left)
Foundry | Alex Walker-Todd
That Nord 5 is available in three finishes: a sandy ‘Marble Sands’, light blue ‘Dry Ice’ and more understated ‘Phantom Grey’. Meanwhile, the Nord CE5 is available in ‘Marble Mist’ or ‘Black Infinity’
Whichever model you choose, you’ll benefit from IP65 water and dust resistance, the same as the Nord 4. It’s a small step down from the IP68 found on flagships.
The iconic ‘Alert Slider’ on the side of both phones is gone, replaced with a new customisable Plus Key . Some may view this as a downgrade, but there’s a lot of funtionality here.
Display
The OnePlus Nord 5 features a 6.83-inch, Full HD+ AMOLED display.
That’s slightly bigger than the 6.74-inch panel on its predecessor, while also boosting the maximum refresh rate from 120Hz to 144Hz. In reality, the latter won’t make a big different to the day-to-day experience, but you may notice it on the handful of compatible games.
A slightly higher 1272 x 2800 resolution enables a subtle yet significant improvement to overall clarity and detail, while the peak brightness now sits at 1800 nits. Within the display is an optical fingerprint sensor.
Foundry | Alex Walker-Todd
Meanwhile, the Nord CE5 has a 6.77-inch, 1080 x 2392 AMOLED panel with a 120Hz refresh rate and 1430 nits of peak brightness. It also has an optical under-display fingerprint sensor.
Performance
The Nord 5 is powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8s Gen 3. While still a very capable chipset, it’s been replaced by the 8s Gen 4, which itself is a small step down compared to the flagship Snapdragon 8 Elite. It’s paired with either 8- or 12GB of RAM, depending on the model you choose.
Foundry | Alex Walker-Todd
This is a notable upgrade compared to the Snapdragon 7+ Gen 3 in the Nord 4, though that phone offered an option for even more RAM: up to 16GB. And you can add up to an extra 12GB of virtual RAM to further boost performance.
The Nord CE5 opts for MediaTek – specifically, the Dimensity 8350 Apex. It’s also available with either of 8- or 12GB of RAM.
Cameras
On paper, the Nord 5’s camera system is relatively similar to last year. The main lens is still a 50Mp, f/1.8 sensor, and it’s joined by an 8Mp, f/2.2 ultrawide, meaning there’s still no room for a dedicated telephoto lens.
However, that main camera is a larger 1/1.56 Sony LYT-700 sensor, and it uses the same image processing as the flagship OnePlus 13 . The ultrawide changes are more subtle, but the field of view has increased from 112° to 116°.
Foundry | Alex Walker-Todd
Arguably the biggest upgrade can be found on the front, where the selfie camera has gone from a16Mp, f/2.2 lens to a 50Mp, f/2.0 sensor. OnePlus has specifically advertised its improvements in selfies or group selfies.
Video is also getting a boost, with the ability to capture in 4K 60fps from the front camera as well as the main rear one.
The Nord CE5 isn’t a huge downgrade on paper, with a 50Mp, f/1.8 main sensor, 8Mp, f/2.2 ultrawide with 112° field of view and 16Mp, f/2.4 selfie lens.
Battery & Charging
The Nord 5 features a 5200mAh, which sounds good, until you realise it’s smaller than the 5500mAh cell found on the Nord 4. Interestingly, the Indian version of the phone does get a larger capacity.
Charging sits at an impressive 80W if you have a compatible Supervooc charger (there isn’t one in the box, and it costs £39.99), though that’s also a downgrade compared to 100W last year.
The Nord CE5 has an identical battery capacity and wired charging speed to the Nord 5, though neither feature wireless charging.
Foundry | Alex Walker-Todd
Software
Out of the box, the Nord 5 and Nord CE5 run OnePlus’ OxygenOS 15.02 skin over Android 15. However, it’s unclear when its version of Android 16 will be available.
Looking further ahead, OnePlus will support the phones with four years of OS updates and six years of security patches, the same as the Nord 4. It’s a solid commitment, especially for this price point, though the slightly more expensive Pixel 9a gets seven years of both.
Foundry | Alex Walker-Todd
The biggest new AI functionality comes via the physical ‘Plus Key’ on the side of the phone, which enables a second memory-style experience similar to the ‘Essential Key’ on recent Nothing phones.
Author: Anyron Copeman, Mobile Editor, Tech Advisor
Anyron is Mobile Editor at Tech Advisor, where he’s been a mainstay of the editorial team since 2019. In his current role, Anyron is responsible for all smartphone, tablet and mobile network coverage on the site. A BA Journalism graduate, he has experience with a wide range of consumer tech products and services, including smartphones, tablets, foldables, wearables and more.
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