All language subtitles for [English] ❄️ Review OnePlus Nord 5; Primul Nord cu Snapdragon 8 și AI Eraser puternic pentru fotografii [DownSub.com]

OnePlus continues to push the

Nord series, a series of midrange

to high midrange phones that always became

tempting when people were hunting for

good deals on phones under 3000 or

even 2000 RON. Borrowing components

from the flagship, especially the camera. But

also boasting a bold design, the Nord series was

once doing so well that it was rumored to be

outsourced from the

OnePlus company. Now here we have a OnePlus Note

5 with a Snapdragon 8 series processor with

LPDDR 5X RAM, 80W bypass charging,

and a 144Hz screen

for gaming. Plus the most

powerful selfie camera on a

OnePlus ever and a plus button that

helps with AI tasks. Yes, I was forgetting

more AI features than a

OnePlus flagship. Regarding the price, the Nord 5 costs

2899 RON for the model

and 512 GB of storage, and between

July 8 and August 7 you have an extra 250 RON discount

using the code Nord 5. Therefore, the

final price is 2649

RON.

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In terms of design, the OnePlus Nor 5 continues

the philosophy that is based on simplicity

and refinement. Here we really have a

fresh reinterpretation of what

minimalism means these days. I

received the Marble Sands version, which has a

glass back with a matte finish and a

sheen or glitter specified by sand

struck by the sun's rays. We also have

beautiful ripples that, according to OnePlus,

emphasize the changing rays of the sun

and thus capture the beauty of

natural movements. The phone looks

really good, feels solidly built, and

I like that there are a lot of matte finishes,

and that primarily helps with

grip, being a large smartphone. Those who

want something different have the

Dry Ice model in light blue that

suggests reflections on the

ocean surface. For maximum minimalism

there is Phantom Grey, the matte grey version

all around. The OnePlus Nor 5 measures 8.1

mm in thickness and weighs 211 g, making it

slightly heavier than its predecessor. The

IP65 certification for

water and dust resistance is retained here. The

screen used on the Note 5 is a Swift

AMOLED that brings ultra HDR support, and the

diagonal increases to 6.83 inches, where

on the Note 4 we had a 6.74-inch fluid AMOLED

. We get Full HD Plus resolution

here and a 10-bit panel, and gamers

enjoy a 144 Hz refresh rate.

As for brightness, OnePlus promises 1400

nitz in high brightness mode in the sun. With

luxury for us, inside we reached

1263 luxury, which sounds excellent for

a midrange and thus reserves

22nd place in the Mobilissimo ranking. We beat the

Honor Magic 6 Pro, Honor 400 Pro, and

Xiaomi 14T Pro, plus hundreds of other

midrange and flagship phones. The

brightness jump is significant

compared to the OnePlus Nord 4 which delivered

829 lux. For the sake of comparison, find out

that NOR 3 had a luxury 830 livery. So, a

welcome upgrade. The ego is tasty,

vibrant, and clearly helped by those

very narrow edges. If there was any

doubt, the panel used here is a

flat one. From the settings you can switch to a

light or dark mode and here is the

comfort and sleep section with a bed time mode

that adjusts colors to

improve sleep quality.

We've reached the performance section, where

as a reminder we're working here with a Snapdragon

8S Gen 3, a high midrange chip

also seen on the Honor 200 Pro and engine on the

H50 Ultra last year. We received the

version with 8 GB of RAM and 256 GB of

flash storage, although

only the higher configuration

with 12 GB of RAM and 512 GB of storage is available locally.

Regarding the tests, we start as

always with AnTutu 10, where the Snapdragon 8 Sen

3 does a very good job with a score

of 145320

points. The variant with 12 GB of RAM would

definitely have passed 1.5 million

or maybe even close to 1.6 million.

We surpass the H60 Pro, Honor 200

Pro and Huawei Pura 70 Ultra here. I see that the

Note 4 was about 300,000 points

lower. OnePlus also promises us

top-notch heat dissipation through a Vapor

Chamber Cry Velocity system. This system occupies

7300 mm² and is the largest in the

midrange, where the average is 56000

mm². The coverage also extends to the

camera module and battery area. In the

CPU throttling test we have a

34% loss of performance, not exactly ideal,

but in line with

current flagships that reduce performance

to keep thermals under

control. We are at 39°C after 15

minutes of running this benchmark and it's an

acceptable score. What I noticed is that then

the temperature drops very quickly. That's pretty much how

things are in gaming.

Let's see how we are doing with the battery. At

first glance, we would say that we are at a

disadvantage compared to the Indian public

who receives the phone with a

6800 mAh battery. We have 5200 mAhh and it must be

said that the Nord 4 had 5500. I

put it to the classic continuous video playback test

, and here the score is

impressive and I would attribute it to the

efficiency delivered by the

Snapdragon processor. We thus reached 31 hours and 55

minutes of playback and climbed to

7th place in the ranking of 600 plus

phones. We surpass hundreds of models in the

ranking and the Nord 4 delivers less,

i.e. 30 hours and 40 minutes.

Continuous use doesn't look that

impressive since we get 11 hours

and 47 minutes in the PC Mark benchmark.

However, the upgrade is there compared to its

predecessor, in that the Nord 4

offered 9 hours 31 minutes. As for

charging, we don't have an adapter in the package,

but you should take advantage

of the pre-order offers these days that come with a

charger as a gift. We used a

100W Baseus Gali Nitre and it

took us 57 minutes to

fully charge. In fact, the phone

supports wired charging at 80 W and

reverse wired charging at 5 W, meaning it

becomes a kind of powerbank. A new feature

is bypass charging, and you can play

without draining the battery, receiving power

directly from the outlet. In 5 minutes of

charging you will have 14%, in a quarter of an

hour 38%, and in half an hour 67%. There

are also different modes in settings such as

high performance, balanced power saving

or power saving.

Let's talk a little about acoustics too. OnePlus

brings a hybrid stereo speaker setup to the Note 5

with the main speaker at the

base and the Ipace at the top transformed into a speaker

for music playback. The

main speaker feels more powerful and you'll

easily notice this if you cover it with the

top speaker while streaming audio

. The sound is of good quality and

I like that there are no

cabinet vibrations or distortions,

even at high volume. I've listened to

different genres and appreciate the richness

delivered. The bass is felt in turn,

and the voices are clear. In the

audio sample test, I reached 81.6 dB on the

top speaker and 89.9 on the bottom one. These

are not very impressive numbers, but

clearly above the Nord 4. For multimedia, it goes up

to 95.2 dB and you will have no complaints about the

sound when playing games

or watching TikTok. Overall, they are

above average speakers, but the bottom speaker

does the heavy lifting. It's very good as a

hybrid setup, and the Nord 4

only had 93.5 dB in the multimedia section.

On the connectivity side, the OnePlus Note

5 offers us 5G, dual band Wi-Fi 6, Wi-Fi

Direct, Bluetooth 5.4, NFC, infrared, and

a USB C 2.0 port. We didn't forget about GPS and the

entire suite has global positioning standards

. By the way, we have a

redesigned antenna layout for gaming without

limitations. We put 5G on the

Orange network to work and we came very close

to the 1 GB per second threshold. I

reached 983 M/s download, and the upload

was slower at around 145 m/s.

Excellent speeds achieved near

Cșmiciu Park in Bucharest. Through the

settings we also have VPN, NFC,

Private DNS options, but also Android Auto,

Multiscreen Connect, remote PC control,

Link to Windows, Screencast, Quick

Connect and we also found Share with iPhone

or PC.

Here we come to software. And the

OnePlus Note 5 comes with Oxygen OS 15.0

based on Android 15. It also has the promise

of four major operating system updates

and 6 years of security software updates

. The interface is close to the

stock one with the OnePlus signature on top and

from the start you will notice how

fluid everything runs. An

important detail is that NOR 5 has received

TUV SUD Fluency 72 months certification.

For those who find it too complicated, it's

about the fact that we have a promise that for

six years in a row, owners will enjoy

a smooth experience. Thus,

the phone remains as fluid and

fast as the first day you took it out

of the box, and German certifications are not

easy to obtain. This newcomer

also has an extra physical button, the so-called

plus key, on the left side, replacing the

mute slider. You can associate different

actions to it in the settings. It's about

Mindspace, sound and vibration, Do not

disturb, camera, flashlight, recording,

translation, screenshot. It's a

bit reminiscent of the action button on the iPhone.

Otherwise, we benefit from Split View Live

Alerts with that top capsule for

alerts like on the iPhone, but also a

smart sidebar, plus floating

window, one-handed use through

oneed mode,

gloves mode, and various

control gestures. Multitasking also features the

Open Canvas function borrowed from

OnePlus Open, where you can have two

applications open in Split View and two other

applications open as

floating windows, which you can dock on the

side in the form of a bubble and have

quick access to them, plus an extra application in the

floating window. We haven't forgotten about AI. The

OnePlus Note 5 is among the

company's first phones to bring the

OnePlus AI suite, promoted as an

intelligent assistant and more.

First, we discovered the

Mindspace area, where you will have saved

information from the screen with a summary and

key data. You can, for example, press the

left side button and scan the screen

with a concert, and the information will be

saved in Mindspace. You then have the suggestion

to add the event to your calendar.

We also have AI search for

intelligent search in files, settings, notes,

calendar or Mindspace. You can search at

a natural conversational pace.

This is how I searched for when the

Metallica concert previously added to Mindspace was taking place.

It currently works in English,

although you can write your request in Romanian

. We also found AI translation

for live translation of text,

conversation or from the screen, but also

using the camera. The Romanian language is not

on the list for now. Note 5 also brings

Circle to Search, as well as Gemini. And I'm

referring here to Gemini Live, with

which you can share your screen or camera. I

also found AI summary in Chrome for

a website summary and AI speak that

reads your articles in English.

AI Summary, for one reason or another,

summarizes

Romanian articles in Italian, detecting it

as Latin. They

do an excellent job with articles in English.

On the photo creativity side, the OnePlus

Note 5 brings an AI editor with

dedicated functions for optimizing images.

I'm thinking, for example, of AI

recompose, which automatically adjusts

the photo to get the best

possible frame, also offering

suggestions for filters and

smart cropping. With AI Eraser you can remove

unwanted objects or people from photos

without leaving visible traces.

Ai Detail Boost improves clarity

and detail, especially useful for

photos taken with Zoom.

If you have slightly blurry images, AI Unblur

brings them into focus. While AI

Reflection Eraser takes care of

unwanted reflections in the frame, achieving a

clean and balanced result. I also tested the

AI photo editing suite with a

very powerful AI eraser. Ai recompose is good for

when you have crooked images and you don't

want to sit around straightening the frame. It

's frustrating, especially since you have to do

this on the run when you want to post a

story on Instagram. It offers you

different styles for symmetry here,

especially good for landscapes.

That being said, I couldn't forget about the

camera, so I reserved the entire

final section of the review for it. OnePlus is

still relying on a dual system

for the main camera on the Note

5, just like the previous model.

We only have a white camera

and an ultra wide camera, without telephoto. A

choice that I've seen recently

in other brands, like that engine,

for example. The main camera has 50

megapixels with a Sony Lia 700 sensor and

optical stabilization, and the ultra wide camera

is 8 megapixels with autofocus that

also allows for macro shots. As for the

front, it is the most generous

OnePlus has ever had. I'm talking about 50

megapixels with a Samsung JN5 sensor and a

90° angle plus 4K60 filming. Something like that is

rare even on

flagship phones. The rear camera can reach

a digital zoom of up to 20x for

photos and 18x for video. The

camera interface includes

classic modes such as pro, video,

portrait, plus the more area where we find

high, panorama, movie, slowmo,

timelapse, long exposure, dual view

video, scan and tilt shift. Let's see what

it can do in practice.

With a 50-megapixel front camera, it was

clear that we would get impeccable selfies

both during the day and at night, where

autofocus makes the difference.

Portrait mode works flawlessly even in

the evening, and during the day it stands out with

well-rendered textures, natural colors, and a

background with a pleasant bokeh, without loss of

detail. The sun doesn't cause problems

even when it hits the face directly.

In fact, I don't remember any other phone that

managed to reproduce the blonde hair as

faithfully as the Note 5 does in this

situation in the case of my

colleague Claudiu's selfies. We return to the

main room. The photo shoot started

early, around 7:00 in the morning,

in time to beat the heat in

Bucharest. Right out of the box, the

White capture rendered cooler, natural colors

. While on ultra white

the tones have become warmer,

deformations of objects towards the

edges are observed, some even visible. The camera

copes even when you have the sun

directly in the frame, preserving details, but

inevitably overexposure appears in the

background and vegetation with slightly

oversaturated greens. In contrast, the colors of the

fence in the frame were rendered more

naturally than in the video version. The closeups

are effective, with good details and

an HDR that makes its presence felt in a

positive way. However, under the

strong sun conditions this summer,

oversaturation and overexposure can easily occur

in some captures. The

ultra-wide camera on the OnePlus Note 5 comes with

autofocus. I've already established this, so

it can also be used for

macro shots. The results were beyond

expectations. I was able to get close to

various textures and surfaces, from a light

bulb to the cold, scratched metal of a

park post, spider webs,

textile fibers, and my favorites, the

water droplets on

rose leaves captured with

perfect focus. When it comes to bokeh or portrait,

if you will, the results vary between

very good and less successful. For

example, it failed the

lantern test, where the background was correctly

blurred, but the interior area of the

subject was also affected. However,

a few minutes later, the phone

proved its capabilities in portrait modes

with a cat relaxing on a bench, where it

used 2X zoom so as not to get

too close and disturb it.

Photos of flowers lit directly by the

sun look great. Colors are

accurately rendered, with no

overexposure of pink or

background vegetation, even when the light was

intense. The roses, on the other hand, had

some slightly oversaturated hues, but I did

manage to capture a shot of a pink rose

that turned out excellent. When it comes

to zoom, the lack of a dedicated telephoto camera is felt here

. We rely exclusively on

digital zoom, which reaches up to 20x.

But it's clearly not recommended to go

that far. Up to 4x or let's

say 5x, things look decent, and

images can be used without any problems.

But beyond this threshold, the quality

noticeably decreases. Image noise

becomes obvious, and the edges of

buildings, for example, are more

pronounced, a sign that

aggressive AI processing is also involved. Ideally, you should

stay below 5x if you want

decent photos for vacation posts on

social media, especially if Zoom is

an important element for you. Let's

see how it stands now in night samples,

where I was impressed with the OnePlus

Note 5's camera was at night when I

feel it delivered a balance between

lighting and detail. We have a night mode

available and almost all the photos

in the gallery here were taken

this way. You can also take bokeh shots

at night, and that scooter doesn't look bad

at all. Lantern halos have their moments

and moments. Sometimes more gentle, sometimes

more pronounced. Regarding ultra white, I

wouldn't bet on it. Maybe only in

very bright areas. Otherwise, the

main camera does a very good job,

even in terms of color. The

shop windows near Cșmigiu look

very shabby. So are the urban paintings on the

walls and we even have effective close-ups

with a bokeh flare effect in the

background. I also appreciated how the

metallic sheen of the cars in which the

lighting fixtures shine is rendered. And on Calea

Victoriei I took many

great photos, a sign that if you're out

on the promenade with your OnePlus Nor 5 this weekend, you'll

return home with a gallery of great

photos.

We also reached video capture, where we

shoot in 4K60, and in the first phase the

overexposure is visible, but without

sacrificing quality. You can

feel the trepidation with

every step you take, but the colors look

very good. For extra stabilization, there

is also a super steady mode in Full HD,

which I don't feel makes a major difference.

Clarity is key here, especially in

4K, and details and colors are

realistic.

If you want to vlog, however, filming on

location is ideal. You also need

to stay out of the sun. Walking

through the streets, filming with the

rear sensor looks delicious. I'm referring to

details, natural colors,

effective stabilization, and small rays of sunlight that

appear in the frame from time to

time. The

fence colors we use as a

color benchmark seem like a

fresher idea than they should be, but there's no

big exaggeration here. On ultra

steady we drop to Full HD 60 per second,

and the stabilization boost is felt

slightly. There are limitations to the zoom, as

expected from a smartphone

without a telephoto lens, and I wouldn't go beyond 2x.

Panning abounds in detail and even

at a fast one, details are not lost.

Hats off to the focus. We move quickly

from one rose to another, without any

trouble.

We also successfully pass the

stabilization test when climbing stairs. And the Nor

5 performs just like a flagship

here. Just like with photos, when taking

video selfies, you need to be careful of the

strong summer sun because it can

lead to overexposure. Otherwise, I'm

satisfied with the colors, clarity, details,

and the stabilization does its job

effectively.

At night, the selfie video capture looks

very good and with how well

the details are visible, we forget about the shortcomings with

judder. Moving on to the

main camera, the images don't look bad even

if you're in a dark area.

And the night panorama is great, with

small climbing steps as if to

my hesitations. The zoom is decent, just like

during the day.

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On Calea Victoriei, at night,

I'm pleased with how the camera balances

everything. I mean the crowd of people, the

voices, the music and the lights. It's a

good room to take out for a walk on the

weekends. That's the conclusion. On

crowded alleys, the camera films unexpectedly

well and I didn't see any large halos.

The lights are kept neat and

ensure that every element in the

frame is captured with maximum detail. The drawback,

however, when shooting at night, I would say is the

flickering sometimes.

Okay, I've reached the verdict. She's finished with

comedy, as a classic would say. And let's

draw some conclusions. As pros, I

would mention the very

good-looking selfie shots and the selfie camera with autofocus,

as well as the 4K60 recording on both the front and

back. The focus is of quality. We also have a

performance leap at the

processor level, generous autonomy, especially

for video playback, but also a large,

flat, bright and gaming-ready screen.

Night capture has improved, including

video, and 5G connectivity is top-notch. The

generous AI suite, both in

photo editing and productivity,

also deserves a white ball. So is the design

and narrow balls. As for the shortcomings, I

only mention IP65 certification, where

rivals even have IP69, plus the 4 years of

Android updates, where rivals offer

six. I would also mention some cases of

overexposure from the sun on the

photo side, but also the lack of Romanian language in AI

and the ultra wide camera without an upgrade. It also doesn't

have SIM support and unfortunately we are

discriminated against India which received

a much larger battery. OnePlus Note 5

feels like it's expanding its target audience now

to gamers, influencers, maybe if

we consider selfies and selfie

videos, and OnePlus AI can be

used brilliantly for productivity.

The question is: What alternatives do we have between

2500 and 3000 RON? OnePlus is betting heavily

on reliability here, but it seems to be breaking

fewer records than with the

OnePlus Nord 3 generation. See you soon!

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