The best new tech heading your way

1 ONEPLUS NORD CE 5G

From £299, oneplus.com

The first Nord seemed to be a case of OnePlus remembering what its original market was – the affordable mid-range – and throwing out something those buyers might like; this second bite of the apple, while not an actual Nord 2, seems to be the result of OnePlus working out what mid-range buyers actually want. The price is a clue, with the CE costing £80 less than the bottom end of the original Nord spec (though also £80 more than the bargain Nord N10). The battery, a 4,500mAh upgrade over the 4,100mAh cell of its predecessor, will suit casual users better.

This launches with Android 11 (with two years of software updates promised) running on an a mid-table Qualcomm Snapdragon 750G chipset backed by up to 12GB RAM; minimum storage is a very reasonable 128GB, and jumps up to 256GB on the top-end model. Sacrifices against the Nord are, realistically, very few: the selfie camera isn’t quite as capable, there’s no macro lens on the main camera, and there’s a plastic back – in one of three colours – instead of glass. All downgrades which aren’t going to spoil the experience; there’s even an upgrade in the form of a physical headphone jack.

OnePlus returning to its roots seems like it was the right move. This is a phone which strikes that balance, one which almost lands in the budget category yet impresses like the best of the mid-range. If the execution matches the promise of its specs, the likes of Nokia and Motorola have good cause to worry. OnePlus – the real OnePlus – might be back.

TECH-O-METER

OnePlus has always loved delivering power fast, so the 30W fast charging functionality of the Nord CE is not surprising – but it’s a welcome addition. The company reckons it’ll boost a flat battery to 70% in just half an hour.