[Gadgets] OnePlus Nord 5 Review: Nord Just Another Midrange Phone

[-CosmiNNe]

The OnePlus Nord 5, the company's latest mid-range smartphone, has arrived as the successor to the OnePlus Nord 4, which was introduced a year ago. This handset brings some notable improvements over its predecessor, including a more capable Snapdragon 8 series chipset and slightly better cameras. However, the mid-range segment is extremely competitive, especially around the Rs. 30,000 mark, with noteworthy rivals like the Poco F7, Motorola Edge 60 Pro, Samsung Galaxy A36 5G, iQOO Neo 10R, and the Nothing Phone 3a Pro.

Priced at Rs. 31,999 for the base model with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage, the OnePlus Nord 5 is also available with 12GB of RAM in 256GB and 512GB storage variants, which cost Rs. 34,999 and Rs. 37,999, respectively. In this review, let's look at whether the handset is worth its asking price or whether it falls short of my expectations.

OnePlus Nord 5 Design: Goodbye Alert Slider, Hello Plus Key
Dimensions - 163.4 x 77 x 8.1 mm
Weight - 211g
Colours - Dry Ice, Marble Sands (Featured in this review), Phantom Grey
The OnePlus 13s that arrived last month is no longer the only handset from the company to feature the new Plus Key. This new button, located on the left edge of the phone, replaces OnePlus' alert slider, and it has its own advantages and disadvantages. You can remap it to perform various functions, including launching the Plus Mind feature, which we covered in our OnePlus 13s review. However, it's also easy to invoke the Plus Key, if it's facing downwards while you're playing games.

While its predecessor featured an aluminium chassis (that we really liked), the OnePlus Nord 5 has a glass rear panel with plastic edges, and the Marble Sands finish that the company sent us for this review looks rather nice. It's a little slippery to hold, so I used the TPU cover that ships with the phone to keep it protected. The phone has a 6.83-inch screen, and it occasionally requires both hands to use (I have considerably large hands).

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The OnePlus Nord 5 features a 6,800mAh battery, but you wouldn't be able to tell by looking at the phone, which doesn't feel too heavy. Both the power and volume rocker were easy to reach with my thumb, but the Plus Key is out of reach when using the phone with one hand. The top of the phone has an infrared transmitter that can control various.

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