Call of 2T

Can OnePlus's affordable new 5G handset continue the trend of top-notch phones for mid-range prices, or is it just a middling update?

- Dan Grabham

There was a time when OnePlus was famed for its flagship-level phones at reasonable prices… but just like in all fairy stories, the good bit didn’t last. So the company needed to come up with some new inspo. The result was the original OnePlus Nord, followed up by last year’s Nord 2. This, then, is a ‘T’-enhanced version of the latter.

There’s a slew of upgrades, notably the bang-up-to-date MediaTek Dimensity 1300 processor powering the whole shebang along.

The Nord has provided some welcome mid-range refreshment over the last couple of years, going toe to toe with a growing stack of rivals in the sub-£400 zone. It’s even spawned a proper budget series under the Nord 2 name: the also-new Nord CE 2 (£299) is the latest of those. We only wish OnePlus’s marketing strategists could have done more to make all these names a little less easy to mix up.

Shake your 2T

The design is run-of-the-mill for a mid-range Android, but at first glance your mates would be hard-pressed to guess you hadn’t paid £500 more for it. The only really inelegant part is where OnePlus has put two big black circles to hide the triple camera arrangement on the rear (1).

2T shooty

Of those rear cameras, there’s only really one that’s worth having: the 50MP Sony IMX766 (2), which remains thoroughly decent but thoroughly standard. As with most phones we test, the ultrawide (8MP) is of limited use while the 2MP mono sensor just adds in extra info.

Death cab for 2T

There’s no headphone port… though there is one on the cheaper Nord CE 2 if you need one for your wired cans.