New OnePlus smartphones revealed with flagship performance for mid-range prices
OnePlus has expanded the Ace 5 series with two new models after introducing the Ace 5 and Ace 5 Pro at the end of last year. To recap, the Ace 5 shares the same Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset as the OnePlus 12 and was effectively being re-branded as the OnePlus 13R in January. By contrast, the Ace 5 Pro lines up with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite that OnePlus also uses inside the OnePlus 13 (curr. $949.99 on Amazon).
While the Ace 5 and Ace 5 Pro sit just below OnePlus' flagship smartphones, OnePlus has designed the Ace 5 Racing and Ace 5 Ultra with even more attractive price-performance ratios in mind. To that end, the company has swapped Qualcomm for MediaTek with both devices, among other cost savings. Specifically, the Ace 5 Ultra features the MediaTek Dimensity 9400+ that can be found in high-end smartphones like the Oppo Find X8s and Vivo X200s. Meanwhile, the Ace 5 Racing utilises the slower Dimensity 9400e that officially arrived less than a month ago.
OnePlus' new Ace 5 smartphones share similar designs too, although the Ultra has a longer camera housing and a 0.6-inch larger display. The larger display also outputs at 2,800 x 1,272 pixels with 1,400 nits peak brightness and a 144 Hz refresh rate. In comparison, the Racing's 6.77-inch display delivers a 1080p+ resolution with 1,300 nits full panel brightness and a 120 Hz refresh rate. Both are AMOLED panels, though.
Likewise, the two smartphones contain the same 16 MP front-facing and 50 MP primary cameras. However, OnePlus distinguishes the pair with a 2 MP secondary rear-facing camera for the Racing and an 8 MP ultra-wide-angle (f/2.2) camera for the Ultra. For some reason, the Ultra trails the Racing when it comes to battery capacities at 7,100 mAh and 6,700 mAh, respectively. Conversely, the Ultra comes out on top in terms of peak charging wattages with 100 W compared to the 80 W that the Racing provides.
OnePlus' latest smartphones start at 12 GB of RAM and 256 GB of storage in both cases. At launch, the Racing can be configured with up to 16 GB of RAM and 512 GB of storage; OnePlus reserves a 1 TB of storage option for the Ultra. Unfortunately, there is no word on an international launch yet. For reference, the pair retail for as follows in China:
Ace 5 Racing
- 12 GB RAM/256 GB storage - CNY 1,799 (~$250)
- 16 GB RAM/256 GB storage - CNY 2,099 (~$292)
- 12 GB RAM/512 GB storage - CNY 2,299 (~$320)
- 16 GB RAM/512 GB storage - CNY 2,499 (~$347)
Ace 5 Ultra
- 12 GB RAM/256 GB storage - CNY 2,499 (~$347)
- 16 GB RAM/256 GB storage - CNY 2,799 (~$389)
- 12 GB RAM/512 GB storage - CNY 2,999 (~$417)
- 16 GB RAM/512 GB storage - CNY 3,299 (~$459)
- 16 GB RAM/1 TB storage - CNY 3,799 (~$528)
