One plus Nord N10: When OnePlus shifted into the budget space, I’m not sure anyone was expecting the Nord N10 5G: a phone that offered OnePlus quality, clean software, and — perhaps most impressively — 5G connectivity, all without a flagship price point.
Jump to 2025 and the N10 is no longer the brand new model in the rack, but it still holds up for those in the market for something that promises no-nonsense value for money.
So is it still worthy of a place in your pocket? Let’s find out.
Design: Functional with a touch of premium
The Nord N10 is not luxurious but it’s not cheap-feeling either. With its glossy polycarbonate back and that metallic frame feel, it looks neat and clean and pretty under the radar.
The Midnight Ice color looking particularly sleek, though also a little fingerprint-prone.
It’s light at around 190g and thin enough to hold in one hand with ease. The reader on the back is fast and accurate, and the headphone jack — yes, it still exists — is a feature many were happy to see.
It may not have the head-turning looks of its flagship siblings but it’s certainly no slouch when it comes to practical design.
Display: Smooth but Not Gorgeous
The 6.49-inch LCD screen on the Nord N10 is bright and spacious, and it features a Full HD+ resolution and a high 90Hz refresh rate.
That high refresh rate makes everything seem smoother — whether you’re scrolling through Instagram or flipping through Chrome tabs.
But because it’s not an AMOLED panel, colors and contrast aren’t quite as striking as they are on the pricier OnePlus models.
However, considering the price tier in which it originally debuted, this monitor was — and still is — good value.
Performance: As Steady as It Goes
Under the hood, the Nord N10 is driven by 6GB of RAM, 128GB of storage (the latter along with microSD expansion) and the Snapdragon 690 5G chipset. This isn’t exactly a beast, but it suffices.
Multitasking is a breeze, light gaming is fun, and everyday apps perform with no discernible lag. Games such as Call of Duty Mobile and Asphalt 9 are playable at medium settings.
The phone made its debut running Android 10 and OxygenOS — a light, fast version of the operating system that’s relatively bloatware-free.
Software support is no longer current in 2025, but that doesn’t matter to those who don’t crave cutting-edge features.
Camera: Good Enough for the Layperson Shooter
On paper, the N10 comes with a 64MP main sensor, an 8MP ultra-wide and a pair of 2MP fillers (macro, depth).
In the real world, the main camera is pretty good in the daylight, taking sharp, colorful snaps with a fair amount of dynamic range.
It’s not good for low-light photos — they were noisy and soft, even with Night Mode. The ultra-wide is fun to shoot with, but clarity suffers.
The 16MP selfie shooter is fine-leaning: It’s good enough for video calls and casual Instagram posts, but it falls flat in difficult lighting.
Battery Life & Charging: No Fretting about Running out of Power
An onerous sequence of tasks involving web browsing, email access, gaming and multimedia streaming in a loop yielded 10 hours, 24 minutes of life on a single charge of the 4,300-mAh battery.
The real kicker? The phone also gets the super quick Warp Charge 30T fast charging, that fills 0-70% in just 30 minutes.
That’s a life saver when you are running out the door.
Pros and Cons
Pros:
Affordable 5G support
Clean, near-stock OxygenOS
Smooth 90Hz display
Expandable storage + headphone jack
Warp Charge 30T fast charging
Solid build for its price
Cons:
LCD panel lacks AMOLED punch
Low light-camera is just okay
No in-screen fingerprint scanner
Only one major Android update
Little old in 2025 terms
One plus Nord N10: Final Verdict: A Look, Still — for the Right User
Read more: The best 5G phones you can buy right now If you don’t mind not being first in line for the latest in hardware and software updates and just want a budget 5G phone that does the fundamentals well, the OnePlus Nord N10 5G is still a worthy contender.
It provides dependable performance and a silky display as well as clean software and top-notch charging speeds — and it gives you all of this in a package that bears that familiar OnePlus brand.
Whether they’re going to school for the first time, a first-time buyer, or anyone who is looking for a competent backup device, the N10 offers surprisingly good value.