OnePlus Nord CE5 vs Nothing Phone (3a)
64
out of 100
VS
66
out of 100
Here we compared two mid-range smartphones: the 6.77-inch OnePlus Nord CE5 (with MediaTek Dimensity 8350 Apex) that was released on July 8, 2025, against the Nothing Phone (3a), which is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 and came out 4 months before. On this page, you will find tests, full specs, strengths, and weaknesses of each of the devices.
Select the amount of RAM to evaluate performance and value for money more precisely
Key differences
Reasons to consider the OnePlus Nord CE5
- 62% better performance in AnTuTu Benchmark (1696K versus 1050K)
- Expandable storage via MicroSD card up to 1024GB
- Water-resistant body (IP65 classification)
- Supports higher wattage charging (80W versus 50W)
- Slow-motion recording at 960FPS
- Faster storage type - UFS 3.1 versus UFS 2.2
- 20% faster in single-core GeekBench 6 test: 1394 and 1158 points
- Has a built-in infrared port
Reasons to consider the Nothing Phone (3a)
- The rear camera has a 2x optical zoom
- Stereo speakers
- More recent OS version: Android 16 versus 15
Review
Display
Screen quality, color accuracy, brightness
Camera
Photo and video recording quality
Performance
CPU and memory performance (apps, system)
Gaming
Capabilities for playing modern games
Battery
Battery life, charging type and speed
Connectivity
Networks, ports, data transmission
Scores with a red asterisk (*) are approximate and may change in the future as we gather more data.
Select your primary usage scenario to get a more accurate NanoReview Score
Value for money (Beta)
Tests and specifications
Comparison table of technical specifications and testsDisplay
| Type | AMOLED | AMOLED |
| Size | 6.77 inches | 6.77 inches |
| Resolution | 1080 x 2392 pixels | 1080 x 2392 pixels |
| Aspect ratio | 19.9:9 | 19.9:9 |
| PPI | 387 ppi | 387 ppi |
| Refresh rate | 120 Hz | 120 Hz |
| Adaptive refresh rate | Yes (60-120 Hz) | Yes (60-120 Hz) |
| Max rated brightness | 800 nits | 1300 nits |
| Max rated brightness in HDR | 1430 nits | 3000 nits |
| HDR support | Yes, HDR10+ | Yes, HDR10+ |
| Touch sampling rate | 300 Hz | - |
| Screen protection | Tempered glass | Panda Glass |
| Screen-to-body ratio | 89.3% | 87.7% |
| Display features | - DCI-P3 - Always-On Display - DC Dimming |
- DCI-P3 - Always-On Display - DC Dimming |
| RGB color space | - | 99.8% |
| PWM | - | 90 Hz |
| Response time | - | 1 ms |
| Contrast | - | ∞ Infinity |
Peak brightness test (auto)
Design and build
| Height | 163.58 mm (6.44 inches) | 163.52 mm (6.44 inches) |
| Width | 76.02 mm (2.99 inches) | 77.5 mm (3.05 inches) |
| Thickness | 8.17 mm (0.32 inches) | 8.35 mm (0.33 inches) |
| Weight | 199 g (7.02 oz) | 201 g (7.09 oz) |
| Waterproof | IP65 | IP64 |
| Advanced cooling | - | Vapor chamber |
| Rear material | Plastic | Glass |
| Frame material | Plastic | Plastic |
| Colors | White, Black, Blue | White, Black, Blue |
| Fingerprint scanner | Yes, in-display | Yes, in-display |
| Repairability | Good (3.6/5) | Average (2.84/5) |
| Drop resistance | Excellent (A) · 300 drops | Good (C) · 90 drops |
Screen-to-body ratio
Performance
| Chipset | MediaTek Dimensity 8350 Apex | Qualcomm Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 |
| Max clock | 3350 MHz | 2500 MHz |
| CPU cores | 8 (1 + 3 + 4) | 8 (1 + 3 + 4) |
| Architecture | - 4 cores at 2.2 GHz: Cortex-A510 - 3 cores at 3.2 GHz: Cortex-A715 - 1 core at 3.35 GHz: Cortex-A715 |
- 4 cores at 1.8 GHz: Kryo Silver (Cortex-A520) - 3 cores at 2.4 GHz: Kryo Gold (Cortex-A720) - 1 core at 2.5 GHz: Kryo Prime (Cortex-A720) |
| L3 cache | 4 MB | - |
| Manufacturing | TSMC | TSMC |
| Lithography process | 4 nanometers | 4 nanometers |
| Neural processor (NPU) | MediaTek APU 780 | Yes |
| Graphics | Mali-G615 MP6 | Adreno 810 |
| GPU shading units | 768 | 256 |
| GPU clock | 1400 MHz | 1050 MHz |
| FLOPS | ~2150.4 GFLOPS | ~537.6 GFLOPS |
Benchmarks
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Compute Score (GPU)
| Compute Score (GPU) | 9142 | 4435 |
| Single-core score | 1394 | 1158 |
| Multi-core score | 4404 | 3276 |
AnTuTu Benchmark 11
| CPU | 500120 | 402549 |
| GPU | 505807 | 179108 |
| Memory | 258244 | 194640 |
| UX | 432797 | 274304 |
| Total score | 1696968 | 1050601 |
| Samples | [24 tests] | [38 tests] |
3DMark Steel Nomad Light
| Stability | 48% | 98% |
| Graphics test | 9 FPS | 3 FPS |
| Graphics score | 1245 | 379 |
3DMark Solar Bay
| Graphics test | 19 FPS | - |
| Section 1 | 20 FPS | - |
| Section 2 | 19 FPS | - |
| Section 3 | 17 FPS | - |
| Graphics score | 4937 | - |
PCMark 3.0
| Web score | - | 11533 |
| Video editing | - | 6290 |
| Photo editing | - | 20294 |
| Data manipulation | - | 10511 |
| Writing score | - | 16899 |
Recent User Tests
OnePlus Nord CE5
| Date | Benchmark | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 📘 2026-09-12 (Pranav) | AnTuTu 12 | 1714372 |
| 📘 2026-09-09 (Md. Ratul Islam) | AnTuTu 12 | 1620744 |
| 📘 2026-08-22 (Hardik) | AnTuTu 11 | 1633542 |
| 📘 2026-08-20 (Olly) | Geekbench 6 GPU | 8496 |
| 📘 2026-08-20 (Olly) | AnTuTu 11 | 1689517 |
Nothing Phone (3a)
| Date | Benchmark | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 📘 2026-07-10 -> ratulislam-55 | CPU Throttle | 82% |
| 📘 2026-07-10 -> ratulislam-55 | Geekbench 6 GPU | 3328 |
| 📘 2026-07-10 -> ratulislam-55 | Geekbench 6 CPU | 1158 / 3276 |
| 📘 2026-06-07 (Aames Ng) | AnTuTu 11 | 1069149 |
| 📘 2026-06-03 (xperz3650) | AnTuTu 11 | 1065584 |
Memory
| RAM size | 8 GB | 8 GB |
| Memory type | LPDDR5X | LPDDR4X |
| Memory clock | - | 2133 MHz |
| Channels | 4 | 2 |
| Storage size | 128 GB | 128 GB |
| Storage type | UFS 3.1 | UFS 2.2 |
| Memory card | MicroSD | No |
| Memory card max size | Up to 1024 GB | - |
Software
| Operating system | Android 15 | Android 15 (Can be upgraded to Android 16) |
| ROM | OxygenOS 15 | Nothing OS 4.0 |
| OS updates | 4 years | 3 years |
| Security updates | 6 years | 4 years |
Battery
| Capacity | 5200 mAh | 5000 mAh |
| Max charge power | 80 W | 50 W |
| Battery type | Silicon-Carbon (Si/C) | Li-Po |
| Replaceable | No | No |
| Wireless charging | No | No |
| Reverse charging | No | No |
| Bypass charging | - | No |
| Fast charging | Yes (62% in 30 min) | Yes (61% in 30 min) |
| Full charging time | 0:55 hr | 1:06 hr |
| Battery cycles | 1200 cycles | 1400 cycles |
| Web browsing | 09:47 hr | 08:06 hr |
| Watching video | 16:06 hr | 16:25 hr |
| Gaming | 06:43 hr | 05:49 hr |
| Standby | 99 hr | 131 hr |
General battery life
Main camera
| Matrix | 50 megapixels | 50 megapixels |
| Image resolution | 8192 x 6144 | 8192 x 6144 |
| Zoom | Digital | Optical, 2x |
| Flash | LED | LED |
| Stabilization | Optical | Optical |
| 8K video recording | No | No |
| 4K video recording | Up to 60FPS | Up to 30FPS |
| 1080p video recording | Up to 60FPS | Up to 60FPS |
| Slow motion | 960 FPS (720p) | 240 FPS (720p) |
| Angle of widest lens | 112° | 120° |
| Lenses | 1) Standard: 50 MP 2) Ultrawide: 8 MP |
1) Standard: 50 MP 2) Telephoto: 50 MP 3) Ultrawide: 8 MP |
| Camera features | - Bokeh mode - Pro mode |
- Bokeh mode - Pro mode |
| Image resolution | 50 MP | 50 MP |
| Aperture | f/1.8 | f/1.9 |
| Focal length | 26 mm | 24 mm |
| Sensor | Sony LYT-600 | Samsung ISOCELL S5KGN9 |
| Sensor size | 1/1.95" (≈ 0.51 inch) | 1/1.57" (≈ 0.64 inch) |
| Pixel size | 0.8 micron | 1 micron |
| Autofocus | Phase autofocus | Phase autofocus |
| Stabilization | Optical | Optical |
| Image resolution | - | 50 MP |
| Aperture | - | f/2.6 |
| Focal length | - | 50 mm |
| Sensor | - | Samsung ISOCELL |
| Sensor size | - | 1/2.74" (≈ 0.36 inch) |
| Pixel size | - | 0.64 micron |
| Stabilization | - | Optical |
| Image resolution | 8 MP | 8 MP |
| Aperture | f/2.2 | f/2.2 |
| Focal length | 16 mm | 15 mm |
| Sensor | Omnivision OV08D10 | Sony IMX355 |
| Sensor size | 1/4.0" (≈ 0.25 inch) | 1/4.0" (≈ 0.25 inch) |
| Pixel size | 1.12 micron | 1.12 micron |
| Stabilization | Digital | Digital |
Selfie camera
| Megapixels | 16 megapixels | 32 megapixels |
| Image resolution | 4608 x 3456 | 6560 x 4928 |
| Aperture | f/2.4 | f/2.2 |
| Focal length | 23 mm | 22 mm |
| Sensor | Sony IMX480 | Samsung ISOCELL |
| Sensor size | 1/3.0" (≈ 0.33 inch) | 1/3.44" (≈ 0.29 inch) |
| Pixel size | 1 micron | - |
| Autofocus | No | No |
| Stabilization | Digital | Digital |
| Video resolution | 1080p (Full HD) at 60 FPS | 1080p (Full HD) at 60 FPS |
| Depth sensor (TOF 3D) | No | No |
Connectivity
| Wi-Fi standard | Wi-Fi 6 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax) | Wi-Fi 6 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax) |
| Wi-Fi features | - Dual Band - Wi-Fi MiMO - Wi-Fi Direct - Wi-Fi Hotspot - Wi-Fi Display |
- Dual Band - Wi-Fi MiMO - Wi-Fi Direct - Wi-Fi Hotspot - Wi-Fi Display |
| Bluetooth version | 5.4 | 5.4 |
| Bluetooth features | LE | LE |
| USB type | USB Type-C | USB Type-C |
| USB version | 2 | 2 |
| USB features | - Charging - USB-Storage mode - OTG |
- Charging - USB-Storage mode - OTG |
| DisplayPort | No | No |
| GPS | GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo, QZSS | GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, QZSS |
| NFC* | No | Yes |
| Infrared port | Yes | No |
| Number of SIM* | 2 | 2 |
| Type of SIM card | Nano | Nano |
| Multi SIM mode | Standby | Standby |
| eSIM support* | No | No |
| Hybrid slot | No | No |
| 5G support | Yes | Yes |
Sound
| Speakers | Mono | Stereo |
| Headphone audio jack | No | No |
| FM radio | No | No |
| Dolby Atmos | No | No |
Speakers test
Max loudness
Other
| Category | Mid-range | Mid-range |
| Announced | July 2025 | March 2025 |
| Release date | July 2025 | March 2025 |
| Launch price (MSRP) | $299 | $329 |
| Successor | - | - Nothing Phone (4a) |
| Sensors | - Proximity sensor - Gyroscope - Accelerometer - Ambient light sensor - Compass - Fingerprint |
- Proximity sensor - Gyroscope - Accelerometer - Ambient light sensor - Compass - Fingerprint |
| Bundled charger | Not included | Not included |
Further details
Notes on Nord CE5:
- The Indian model features a larger 7100 mAh battery (5200 mAh in the global version).
*Disclaimer! NFC, GSM network support, and some other specs can be different depending on the country.
Conclusion
If the camera and sound are more important to you, then choose the Nothing Phone (3a). But if the performance and gaming are more of a priority – go for the OnePlus Nord CE5.
Cast your vote
Total votes: 108