OnePlus Ace 5: Peak Gaming Performance Redefined

January 17, 2025
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The OnePlus Ace 5 is now official, bringing along a Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor meant for peak gaming performance.

Until a few years ago, the processor model was the main key that users would depend on when trying to judge a phone’s performance. With flagship chips like the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 so in fashion these days, it is not just the processor that can tell how good your phone will be. The same chip can be tuned differently by different manufacturers, which leads to quite notable performance differences.

One of the core focuses of the OnePlus Ace 5 is the gaming-first experience. It uses certain technologies exclusively, such as the Fengchi Gaming Core, Lingxi Touch, and Glacier Battery. These ensure class-leading gaming performance among its peers.

Exhibiting a new, flat-screen design, not only enhances accuracy and ease of use but also reduces accidental touches during operation.

For gamers, the feel of the phone in the hand is fundamental. The design of the OnePlus Ace 5’s mid-frame has focused on comfort while gaming horizontally to offer an ergonomic “pinky finger-friendly” experience. It weighs just 206g, also promising a comfortable grip even during marathon gaming sessions—a plus for the gaming-focused device.

Other features to pay attention to

Powered by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 platform, along with LPDDR5X memory and UFS 4.0 storage, the Ace 5 will surely provide top-notch performance. This setup will easily manage daily tasks, heavy gaming, and multitasking.

Another strong point of the OnePlus Ace 5 is its display: the industry’s second-generation 1.5K Oriental display directly inherits the excellent screen quality of the OnePlus 13’s second-gen Oriental display, featuring a peak brightness of 4500 nits, an 8T LTPO substrate, support for solar display, and Bright Eye Protection 2.0 to offer perfect performance in any scenario-from watching videos under the scorching sun outside to gaming in bed before going to sleep.

But most importantly, OnePlus continues to lead in battery technology: it debuted on the Ace 3 Pro, but the OnePlus Ace 5 carries forward Glacier Battery tech, increasing battery capacity from 5500mAh to 6400mAh weightless. For the first time, users will no longer have to compromise between performance, slim design, and long battery life in a standard version phone.

Design

The OnePlus Ace 5 that we have here comes in the Gravity Titanium color scheme. In terms of texture, there’s a unique Star Track glass back design on its back. Indeed, an industry-first micron-level texture processing with 11,000 circular star-track patterns radiate from the crescent-shaped Deco area, each 0.005mm wide.

OnePlus Ace 5

It’s a craftsmanship only rivalled by the refined feel, while an elegant look that manages to make high technology subtly merge with tasteful aesthetics.

OnePlus Ace 5

The Lens Deco follows the classic OnePlus Ace series design, housing three rear cameras, along with a color temperature sensor and a single LED flash. The iconic “Ace” logo is placed beside the lens module, with its simple yet recognizable font perfectly complementing the overall design and reinforcing brand recognition and the high-performance image of the phone with unique design language. The three-stage volume button is also retained, maintaining its practicality.

Other design elements

On the front, the OnePlus Ace 5 sports a 6.78-inch OLED display, the first with a second-generation 1.5K Oriental display featuring flagship X2 materials. Measured against peak brightness of up to 4500 nits and global maximum brightness of up to 1600 nits, with 1.5K resolution and an 8T LTPO circuit design, this screen will bring a very refined visual experience. It also provides better power efficiency and offers a smoother dynamic refresh rate, hence promising a premium view to the end user.

OnePlus Ace 5

At the top center, it features a 16-megapixel front camera. For symmetry in the design, there is an independent opening for the speaker at both the top and bottom for symmetrical stereo sound. It also houses an infrared remote sensor and a noise-cancelling microphone at the top and a SIM card slot, dual microphones, and a Type-C charging port at the bottom.

Furthermore, it will pack an 80W fast charging kit inside the box for the OnePlus Ace 5.

Performance and games

The OnePlus Ace 5 is powered by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 mobile platform, coupled with LPDDR5X RAM and UFS 4.0 storage. For this review, the variant with 16GB RAM and 512GB onboard storage was tested.

OnePlus Ace 5 performance

To evaluate its performance, we conducted several theoretical and gaming tests. Memory expansion was turned off, and high-performance mode was enabled to fully unleash the device’s capabilities.

Theoretical Performance Tests

AnTuTu Benchmark: The OnePlus Ace 5 achieved an impressive score of over 2,188,000 points. The CPU scored over 469,000 points, while the GPU reached over 900,000 points.

Geekbench 6: The device scored 2206 points in the single-core CPU test and 6865 points in the multi-core test.
Storage Performance: In the flash memory test, it delivered sequential read and write speeds of 4020.39MB/s and 3684.38MB/s, respectively, with random read and write speeds of 418.8MB/s and 609.11MB/s, meeting the UFS 4.0 standard.

Gaming Performance Tests

We tested popular games like “Peace Elite” and “Genshin Impact” to assess frame rates, power consumption, energy efficiency, and device temperature.

Peace Elite:

Tested at 90 FPS mode with HDR high-definition settings.

  • Average frame rate: 89.6 FPS with minimal fluctuation of 0.5 FPS.
  • Power consumption: Averaged 3.78W, with an energy efficiency ratio of 23.7 FPS/W.
  • Temperature: Maximum back temperature was 33.5°C, keeping the device cool.

Genshin Impact:

Tested in 60 FPS mode with maximum graphic settings for 15 minutes.

  • Average frame rate: 59.9 FPS with a fluctuation of just 0.3 FPS.
  • Power consumption: Averaged 4.94W, with an energy efficiency ratio of 12.13 FPS/W.
  • Temperature: Maximum body temperature reached 36.4°C, maintaining stability and coolness during the test.

Super-Frame Gaming

The OnePlus Ace 5 supports super-frame and super-resolution gaming features, allowing it to reach native 120 FPS at 1080P without a dedicated graphics chip. In super-frame mode for “Genshin Impact,” the frame rate automatically increased from 60 to 120 FPS. After a 15-minute test, it averaged 119.7 FPS with only a 0.2 frame fluctuation.

In super-frame mode, the power consumption was 6.06W, just 1W higher than in standard quality mode, improving the energy efficiency ratio to 19.76 FPS/W, a 62.9% increase from the previous year.

Cooling System

The OnePlus Ace 5 features Tiangong Cooling Elite, along with a 9925mm² ultra-large vapor chamber (VC) cooling area made from aerospace-grade heat dissipation materials. Under heavy loads, the phone’s maximum temperature reached only 40.2°C, thanks to this advanced cooling system.

Camera

On the rear, the OnePlus Ace 5 is equipped with three cameras: a main camera featuring the newly released Sony IMX906 CMOS sensor with a 1/1.56-inch photosensitive unit and a single pixel size of 1μm. It offers an F1.8 large aperture, an equivalent focal length of 24mm, and OIS for enhanced image quality and stability.

OnePlus Ace 5

The combination of the IMX906 sensor and large aperture delivers a 27% increase in photosensitivity compared to the previous generation, reducing noise in low-light conditions and providing more refined night shots. Imaging optimization technology from the OnePlus 13 flagship has been incorporated, elevating the image quality to near-flagship levels.

In addition to the main camera, the OnePlus Ace 5 also features an 8MP ultra-wide-angle lens with a 112-degree field of view and a 2MP macro lens.

Main Camera Performance:

Daylight: The Sony IMX906 excels in good lighting conditions, producing high-resolution images even at 2x zoom, retaining details in both light and shade. The super light and shade image engine ensures vivid colors and appealing visuals. However, in direct sunlight, some images appeared slightly overexposed. Overall, the OnePlus Ace 5 captures more than adequate photos for everyday use.

Night Shots: In low-light conditions, the long-exposure night mode controls colors well, even in complex lighting scenarios. Bright signs, like neon lights, are accurately reproduced with proper color purity and detail, avoiding the whitening or distortion issues common in such settings.

Ultra-Wide-Angle Camera:

The 8MP ultra-wide-angle lens captures realistic colors with a natural, pleasing image style, managing edge distortion effectively to ensure a balanced overall visual experience. Whether capturing urban architecture or wide landscapes, the ultra-wide lens offers an expansive and immersive field of view.

While the camera setup is not flagship-tier, the OnePlus Ace 5 performs well in various lighting conditions, making it more than sufficient for daily photography.

Charging and Battery Life

The OnePlus Ace 5 comes with an upgraded Glacier Battery with a capacity of 6400mAh, up from the previous 6100mAh. Despite the larger capacity, the device remains slim at 8.02mm thick. The battery supports 80W super-fast charging, which not only extends battery life but also ensures efficient charging.

Charging Test

In a screen-off charging test starting from 1% battery:

  • 30% charge in 10 minutes
  • 54% in 20 minutes
  • 77% in 30 minutes
  • Fully charged in 51 minutes

Charging a 6400mAh battery in less than an hour is impressive, demonstrating fast and efficient charging capabilities.

Battery Life Test

In real-world usage conditions, such as multitasking, video playback, web browsing, and gaming, the Battery Dog test measured the OnePlus Ace 5’s battery life. With screen brightness at 50% and volume at 30%, the device lasted 11 hours, 37 minutes, and 24 seconds, which equates to around 14 hours of total battery life from a full charge.

This ensures a full day’s usage without the need to search for a charger, even during heavy gaming sessions.

Conclusion

The OnePlus Ace 5 leverages Snapdragon 8 Gen3 with its self-developed Fengchi gaming kernel technology, enhancing performance beyond hardware limits.

Performance: In Peace Elite, it maintains 89.6 FPS in HDR mode, using just 3.78W. For Genshin Impact, it runs at 60 FPS with stable 59.9 FPS and 4.94W power. With the Fengchi kernel, frame rates jump to 120 FPS while power consumption rises to 6.06W, improving energy efficiency by 62.9%.

Screen Quality: The 1.5K Oriental display reaches 4500 nits peak brightness, ensuring excellent visibility even in direct sunlight. With LTPO dynamic refresh rate and eye protection, it offers seamless color accuracy and reduced flicker.

Battery & Charging: The 6400mAh Glacier Battery supports 80W fast charging, reaching full charge in 51 minutes. In a Battery Dog test, it lasts 14 hours, ideal for extended gaming sessions.

Camera: The Sony IMX906 main camera offers solid performance in both day and night photography.

Overall, the OnePlus Ace 5 stands out with high-performance gaming, excellent display quality, long battery life, and fast charging, making it an excellent choice for demanding users.

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