I recently sat down with Celina Shi, OnePlus Europe’s Chief Marketing Officer, for an exclusive look at what’s coming with the new Nord 5 – and why OnePlus believes it’s about to reset expectations for mid-range phone cameras.
In our conversation, Shi didn’t just confirm a huge spec bump for the selfie shooter – now a flagship-level 50MP sensor with autofocus – but also shared deeper insight into why OnePlus is borrowing hardware from its top-tier devices and pairing it with smarter AI and image processing.
From the upgraded rear camera module borrowed from the OnePlus 13 to 4K@60fps recording on both sides, the Nord 5 is shaping up to punch well above its mid-range price tag.
I covered the headline details in an article earlier this week, but there’s more here than just numbers on a spec sheet. Shi opened up about how user feedback guided the hardware leap, how software and hardware now pull equal weight behind the scenes, and even dropped hints about new AI tricks the company is keeping under wraps – for now, anyway.
If you’re curious about how OnePlus is planning to close the gap between mid-range and flagship camera experiences, here’s my full, unfiltered conversation with Celina Shi.
What’s the single biggest update in the camera of the OnePlus Nord 5 that will improve people’s photography?
We’ve made some very significant hardware upgrades on the camera side on this generation of the OnePlus Nord 5, but the single biggest upgrade is the front-facing camera, where we’ve gone from a 16MP sensor on the OnePlus Nord 4 to a 50MP sensor on the OnePlus Nord 5.
The front sensor, found in the rear camera assembly of flagship devices from other brands, along with ISP (Image Signal Processor,) and Dual Vertical Transfer Gate (VTG) noise reduction on the front-facing camera will create a noticeable improvement, especially in low-light photography and HDR performance.
Our front camera is also equipped with additional autofocus to help with clarity, particularly with selfies and groufies where subjects may be positioned in different depth.
What sets the OnePlus Nord 5 apart from other phones in this price range?
The new OnePlus Nord 5 is a double-punch – it has an exceptional camera and an exceptional chipset.
It represents a breakthrough in the Nord lineup, becoming the first device in the series to feature Snapdragon 8 series chipsets. Powered by the cutting-edge Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 Mobile Platform with 4nm architecture and flagship Kryo CPU setup paired alongside LPDDR5X RAM, the device delivers unprecedented performance in its class.
The OnePlus Nord 5 is equipped with flagship-grade camera sensors on both the front and back, ensuring stunning details and lifelike colours in every shot. It debuts a dual 50MP Ultra-Clear camera setup (front and rear), powered by the LYT-700 sensor on the rear — a flagship-grade sensor previously reserved for OnePlus’ premium devices. Leveraging the OnePlus 13’s Ultra HDR algorithm, the OnePlus Nord 5 ensures lifelike colour reproduction and exceptional detail retention, even in low-light or multi-subject “groufie” scenarios.
The Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 chipset gives us access to an incredibly powerful ISP (Image Signal Processor) that, combined with the hardware, gives us better clarity, better HDR, and better colour reproduction in the dimly-lit environments that pose a bigger challenge to both hardware and software. One particular scenario we’ve been working a lot on is a low-light (around 12-14 lux, to be exact) environment with light sources that sit in the warm hue area around 3000K. In those situations, we’ve managed to achieve much better colour reproduction and detail.
The faster ISP also gives us some other benefits – we’ve also got faster autofocus, and live images that come out at 2K resolution, which is significantly higher than the 720p you’ll find in some other devices. On the front-facing camera, we also have hardware multi-focusing, which helps keep everyone sharp when taking selfies – especially if everyone isn’t lined up perfectly, as is often the case.
Is the software more than the hardware in a smartphone camera, or is the other way around?
It is a combination of both. Hardware sets some physical constraints on what we can do – even with techniques like pixel binning, a sensor only lets in so much light and only does it at a certain resolution.
However, software is what allows us to do more with the information we’re given. Hardware in this context also extends beyond the sensor and optics – another really key hardware component is the Image Signal Processor that allows for techniques like HDR. Without the ability to take several pictures, save, extract and stitch them in a reasonable time, you lose out on a lot.
Hardware is also what drives our ability to shoot ex 4K 60fps video, which requires a significant amount of data bandwidth on the silicon side. At the same time, our HDR algorithm and colour science algorithms are what allows us to create more dynamic images with more true-to-life colours – especially in situations where the white balance is more tricky.
Hardware forms the foundation and framework of what we can achieve, software is what allows us to paint in everything else.
Talk us through the hardware specs for the selection of cameras.
Let’s get the numbers out on the table to start:
The first rear-facing camera is a flagship sensor “borrowed” from the OnePlus 13 – a 24mm equivalent, 1/1.56″ 50MP Sony LYT-700 with OIS, a pixel size of 1.0μm, and an aperture down to f/1.88. The second is a 116° FoV ultrawide – the same as a 15mm equivalent. Both have hardware autofocus.
The front-facing camera is a 21mm equivalent, 1/2.75″ 50MP ISOCELL JN5 selfie camera with a pixel size of 0.64μm, an aperture down to f/2.2 and hardware autofocus.
Both of these camera suites are a significant upgrade from what you saw in the OnePlus Nord 4. The rear-facing camera then was a Sony IMX 882, which specs-wise is roughly comparable to the Sony Lytia 600 series today – in other words, we’ve gone up a category since last time.
Has the front-facing camera seen the same level of attention as the rear? What kind of upgrades can selfie-takers or video callers expect?
Absolutely! It’s been given a lot of attention. There’s now resolution parity (50MP) between our rear- and front facing cameras – this is a significant jump from the 16MP sensor found in the OnePlus Nord 4. This is a sensor you could absolutely use – and that is being used by competitors – as part of the rear camera setup on a flagship device.
We have also given it a lot of boosts on the software side – especially in low-light performance, where we’ve spent a lot of energy getting the visuals for video calls and selfies right in those dark, incandescent light moments. The front camera can now also shoot in 4K 60fps, which is a first in this price category.
Are there any new AI shooting modes or features available?
We have introduced some shooting-related features, including the ability to pull out single frames from Live Photos, upscale and re-create HDR features on them, and then let them stand on their own. For more post-processing focused AI features, we’re keeping those a surprise for a little while longer.
Was there a particular user need or feedback that guided the changes to the camera hardware this time around?
From a design perspective, we’ve gone back to first principles. After a global survey covering China, India, Europe, and North America, we found that our community want practical designs above all else. Consistently, the preference is for designs that are brief, simple and elegant. Hence, we’ve created a Nordic-inspired design that reflects these values, and resonates with our consumers globally.
From a component perspective, the feedback on both the main and front camera sensors in the OnePlus Nord 4 were a big driver to the changes this time around. We realised that we had to up the ante significantly on both, beyond the normal generational improvements you see in equal camera series. Because of that, we’ve taken sensors from different, higher shelves in both cases this time around.
There are so many software features packed into cameras now – what’s one underrated feature that you think more people should try out?
Good question! One of the features that I think is overlooked is the ability to pick out alternative frames from live photos. Live Photos themselves are great to remind you of the context and moment of a given memory, but an oft-forgotten option is that you can use the Live Photos to pick out an alternative frame and use that as a full-resolution, new image.
Thanks to the AI muscles in the OnePlus Nord 5, that new image will have full 4K resolution and HDR, even if it wasn’t the original first picture.
The OnePlus Nord 5 is set for its big reveal alongside the Nord CE5, Watch 43mm, Buds 4 and Pad Lite on 8 July.
