OnePlus Nord 5 vs CE5: Comparing the mid-rangers

Price and Availability

Although both are affordable handsets, the OnePlus Nord 5 is the pricier of the two with a starting RRP of £399 for the 8GB and 256GB model.

Starting at just £299, the OnePlus Nord CE5 is undoubtedly one of the cheaper Android phones currently on the market. 

Design

• Both have an IP65 rating
• Nord 5 replaces the alert slider with the Plus Key
• Nord 5 is slightly larger with an 6.83-inch display

Unlike Google and Samsung, OnePlus is pretty inconsistent with its phone designs and this is especially apparent when you compare the Nord 5 to last year’s Nord 4. While the predecessor sported an eye-catching (although perhaps divisive) two-tone back, both the Nord 5 and Nord CE5 have a safer design approach. 

Sure, they may not be particularly head-turning but they undoubtedly give the impression that they’re more expensive than they really are. 

In fact, as both are budget-friendly handsets it’s perhaps unsurprising that they are fitted with a fairly low IP65 rating. Considering the similarly priced Motorola 60 Fusion boasts a mighty IP69 rating, we know it’s possible for cheap phones to offer more protection and durability.

Otherwise, the Nord 5 now sports the Plus Key which, similar to Apple’s Action button, is a customisable, multi-purpose shortcut button. Similarly, the Nord CE5 has also gotten rid of the slider button too. 

Winner: OnePlus Nord 5

Screen

• Nord 5 has a 1.5K resolution 
• Nord 5 boasts a 144Hz refresh rate, while Nord CE5 reaches 120Hz
• Both perform well outdoors and against direct sunlight

OnePlus generally does a good job at providing brilliant displays with its smartphones and the Nord 5 and CE5 are no exception. Not only does the Nord 5 have a generous 6.83-inch panel with 1.5K resolution, but it boasts a 144Hz refresh rate which ensures everything from scrolling and gaming feels seriously smooth. 

While the CE5 doesn’t quite match the Nord 5’s specs, as it’s slightly smaller at 6.77-inches with a 1080 x 2414 resolution and 120Hz refresh rate, we still found it offers a sharp and vibrant picture. It’s always worth remembering that even the much more expensive iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus don’t boast a 120Hz refresh rate.

We also found both phones worked well outdoors, against direct sunlight. While the CE5 can ramp up to 1300 nits, the Nord 5 boasts up to 1800 nits which made all the difference. 

Winner: OnePlus Nord 5

Cameras

• Nord 5 has a 50MP selfie camera compared to the CE5’s 16MP
• Both are fitted with a 50MP main and 8MP ultrawide dual camera system
• Neither can cope with any more than 2x digital zoom

One of the selling points of the Nord 5 was its selfie camera, which has jumped from 16MP to 50MP and the difference is instantly noticeable. Even so, the 16MP front camera retained by the CE5 is also capable of taking decent selfies with natural skin tones. 

Otherwise, both the Nord 5 and CE5 have a 50MP main lens which performed admirably in most lighting conditions, even at night time. Having said that, the Nord 5’s main lens is slightly larger at 1/1.56” so naturally lets in more light than the CE5’s which is 1/1.95” (the same size as the Nord 4). 

Although 8MP ultrawides unsurprisingly does struggle with capturing detail in some images, considering the CE5 is under £300, we hailed it as feeling “suitably premium” nonetheless. 

Winner: OnePlus Nord 5

Performance

• Nord 5 runs on a Qualcomm chipset, which is the first time for a Nord handset
• Both are promised at least four Android OS and six years of security updates 
• CE5 runs on the capable MediaTek Dimensity 8350 Apex processor

For the first time on a Nord handset, the Nord 5 is powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8s Gen 3. It may not be the mighty Snapdragon 8 Elite but the processor remains perfectly capable, especially when keeping its mid-range price in mind. 

Not only does everyday use feel speedy but even demanding gaming feels lag-free and smooth too. In fact, gaming paired with the 144Hz refresh offers such a brilliant experience that we seriously think this could be one of the best mid-range options for gamers. 

Otherwise, the Nord CE5 runs on the capable MediaTek Dimensity 8350 Apex processor, which may not churn out quite as high benchmarking scores as the Snapdragon alternative, but in everyday use it’s perfectly smooth and plenty powerful, although demanding gaming isn’t quite as impressive as the Nord 5.

Both Nord handsets are promised at least four major Android OS updates plus six years of security patches too, which is pretty generous albeit not quite as impressive as Google or Samsung’s industry-leading seven-year promise. 

Winner: OnePlus Nord 5

Software

• Both run OxygenOS which is a fast and responsive custom Android UI
• Plenty of AI smarts are found in both Nord phones
• We noted some bugs with the Nord 5 during our review

Perhaps unsurprisingly, both the Nord 5 and CE5 ship with Android 15 and OxygenOS 15. Although the OS has seen some changes since its initial release, as it’s now merged with Oppo’s ColorOS, we still hail the skin as being one of the “faster and more responsive” out there.

As has become the norm with smartphones, both include a plethora of AI tools which can be handy in specific instances. There’s AI Summary which provides an overview of articles on screen, Gemini and AI photo editing tools to sharpen details, remove unwanted objects and more from your pictures. 

There’s also Mind Space, an app that’s not dissimilar to Nothing’s Essential Space or Google’s Pixel Screenshots. Mind Space saves content on screen and offers actions depending on what the content is, such as adding dates to your calendar. 

It’s worth noting that during our review of the Nord 5 only, we encountered a few bugs which although didn’t completely hamper our time with the phone, were quite annoying. Hopefully they should be ironed out with any software updates. 

Winner: OnePlus Nord CE5

Battery

• Both have a 5200mAh battery capacity
• Neither support wireless charging
• The two benefit from 80W wired charging speeds

There are lots of similarities between the Nord 5 and CE5’s respective batteries. Both are 5200mAh cells, which is a downgrade from the Nord 4’s 5400mAh cell, have 80W wired charging support and unfortunately no wireless charging option.

Although the specs don’t quite match last year’s Nord 4, we were still impressed with both phones. While neither are two-day offerings, we could get through a busy working day with plenty of screen time hours with some charge remaining by the end of the night. 

Unfortunately, to benefit from 80W charging, you’ll need to purchase a compatible charger separately. Even so, when testing the Nord 5 we used a generic 65W charger and saw decent charging speeds of up to 86 minutes to achieve a full charge.

Similarly, we used a 120W charger to top up the CE5 and saw a full charge took just over an hour. 

Winner: Tie

Verdict

If you’re looking for a seriously affordable Android, that still offers a solid camera quality, processor and even AI tools, then the OnePlus Nord CE5 is an unbeatable option. If, however, you want a slightly bigger handset, intend to play demanding games and a Qualcomm chipset then it’s worth spending an additional £100 to get the OnePlus Nord 5.