OnePlus is making big moves into the mid-range smartphone segment with its new Nord N10 5G, building on the branding of the “original” Nord released just months ago. This new phone isn’t available in the US just yet, though OnePlus claims the day is coming. While you wait for our full review, here’s a quick hands-on to tide you over.
I gave up editing out the dust here, sorry. Super glossy phones are a pain to photograph and I’m moving.
To start, the Nord N10 5G is big. It’s bigger than the higher-end original Nord, and even the OnePlus 8. It’s almost as big as the nearly monumental OnePlus 8 Pro and taller than the gargantuan iPhone 11 Pro Max. It’s also 190g, which is pretty chunky for a cheaper phone. However you heft it, the N10 5G is a big boy and should prove popular for those seeking size at a smaller price point.
It’s also the first OnePlus phone since the OnePlus Two to have an LCD display. Though it’s 6.49″, 1080p, and 90Hz, it lacks the sort of overdrive OLED panels are good at, resulting in an experience that is usually smooth, but also sometimes a little smeared. (And it’s only smooth when performance keeps up, which it can’t always.) The screen also has a hole-punch camera cutout and a big-ish chin, with the latter reminiscent of the Xiaomi Pocophone F1.
It won’t be competing with the company’s other displays, but it’s still a pretty okay screen — though I reserve final judgment for the day it gets a price in the US. Right now, the phone is merely €50 less than the original Nord in Europe.
Build quality is sturdy, but it still feels cheap. The phone is substantial, and you can wrench and twist on it without any disturbing noises or bending, but the glossy plastic back and frame don’t feel very premium, even compared to the original Nord, which used similar materials. I couldn’t tell you precisely what’s different, but something about it definitely feels different. The N10 5G is also the company’s first phone since the OnePlus 6 to have a rear-mounted capacitive fingerprint sensor. Unlike the older Nord, OnePlus elected to include a headphone jack on the N10 5G, a nice touch. It’s also on the bottom, which is my favorite place for it since it’s easiest to pocket a phone upside down — which most of our readers do.
In perhaps the biggest change to the physical design, OnePlus has removed the alert slider, a trademark feature all OnePlus phones since the OnePlus two have had. First-time owners won’t lament the loss, but it adds to an overall experience that this isn’t really a OnePlus phone.
The speakers (stereo via the earpiece) are usual smartphone fare: They are tinny, lack bass, and distort a bit at max volume, but they get plenty loud.
The N10 5G has no water resistance at all, unlike the previous Nord, which the company called “splash proof,” though that phone also lacks any explicit IP rating, like all OnePlus phones until the recent OnePlus 8 Pro.
Before we dig into the software experience, I need to note: We ran into several issues with our review unit, which have delayed our full review of the phone — not that it matters for most of our readers too much, since you can’t buy one in the US until some undefined future date. Still, any discussion of software and performance should be prefaced with the warning that our unit may have been defective, so take all of the following with a grain of salt, as it’s subject to change when we publish our full review.
The Nord N10 5G runs Android 10-based OxygenOS 10.5, rather than the latest Android 11-based OxygenOS 11. Although none of OnePlus’ software experiences have been “stock” in some time, this is closer. OnePlus also only promises a single version update to that current Android 11 release, which is kind of bullshit, though you do otherwise get two years of software updates. All more reason to spend the extra money on the older Nord. I’m not personally a fan of the visual changes in OxygenOS 11, which feel like an inconsistent OneUI knockoff, but it’s less offensive than some other skins, and for now, the phone is running the older OxygenOS 10, whose look I prefer. In more deep-rooted Android changes, I did notice the usual issues with delayed notifications, as OnePlus is known to do.
In my experience, performance on the N10 5G was hit-and-miss. In normal-to-light use, it handled most duties fine, though stutters were both frequent and seemingly unavoidable. Mix in anything graphically intensive like some mild gaming, though, and you’re in for a bad time. I’ve never used another Snapdragon 690-powered phone, so I can’t say if performance hiccups were a lack of hardware oomph, a software issue, or a combination of the two. We also ran into problems with Wi-Fi connectivity and the touchscreen, though those could be hardware faults in our review unit, which is being replaced.
In an odd move, OnePlus also gave the N10 5G microSD-expandable storage. That’s a first for any OnePlus device, and it’s a confusing move for the feature to debut on a mid-range phone. At least it means you’ll have plenty of space for media, or if you run out of the 128GB of UFS 2.1 storage that it comes with. Camera samples and discussion will have to wait until our final review, as updates that change that just landed. At least you can rest easy knowing OnePlus’ habit of tossing in a low-quality macro camera continues — all is right in the world.
…the N10 5G doesn’t really “feel” like a OnePlus phone…
Battery life was hard to gauge since the issues we ran into made the phone difficult to use. But in my use, it was on track to be pretty good — I’d estimate somewhere around 6-7 hours of screen-on time. Thanks to Warp Charge 30T support, it topped up pretty quickly and much faster than other mid-range phones.
I hate to pass judgment given this isn’t our final review and some of the issues that we ran into could be hardware problems specific to our review unit, but even excluding that part of the experience, the N10 5G doesn’t really “feel” like a OnePlus phone — probably helped by details like the lack of an alert slider, the microSD-expandability, and the uncharacteristic hand-feel, among other intangibles. Sure, the model we used is a European import, but something about the overall experience reminds me of using a Chinese import phone, in a distinctly unpleasant way. Hopefully, more time with the OnePlus N10 5G changes that opinion.
