Compare OnePlus Deals

OnePlus – About the brand

OnePlus is a consumer electronics company based in Shenzhen, China. It was founded in 2013 by former Oppo executives, and it operates under the larger BBK Electronics umbrella alongside Oppo, Realme, and Vivo. OnePlus and Oppo phones often share technology, and the two brands recently merged. 

Despite such heavyweight backing, OnePlus successfully positioned itself early on as a disruptive start-up, offering highly capable 'flagship killers' at relatively low prices. This was pushed through brash, online-focused marketing campaigns, which helped build the brand an enthusiastic following.

While early OnePlus phones like the OnePlus One and OnePlus 2 focused on value, the OnePlus line has since matured and diversified. The current OnePlus 9 Pro competes directly with the Samsung Galaxy S21 and the iPhone 12 on price and feature-set, while the OnePlus Nord line harks back to the brand's affordable roots.

OnePlus phones with 5G

OnePlus started supporting 5G connectivity from the OnePlus 8 onwards. There are ten phones listed on the current OnePlus roster over on the official OnePlus UK website. Only one of those doesn't offer 5G connectivity:

Which OnePlus phone should I buy?

If you're asking this question, you should first ask yourself what your budget is. OnePlus offers phones covering virtually the whole gamut of prices, from the £179 OnePlus Nord N10 to the £929 top OnePlus 9 Pro model.

All provide OnePlus's clean, fast, and customisable take on Android, known as OxygenOS. And all subscribe to a similar no-nonsense design philosophy. Here are some of the stand-out picks from the range.

Best OnePlus phone

The OnePlus 9 Pro is the best phone that OnePlus has ever made. It's got a super-fast Snapdragon 888 CPU and a vibrant 6.7-inch OLED display that can output at 120Hz and a QHD resolution.

It also sports by far the best camera system OnePlus has ever made, with a large 48MP main camera, an equally capable 50MP ultra-wide camera, and colour calibration from camera specialist Hasselblad.

Cheapest OnePlus phone

The Cheapest OnePlus phone at the time of writing is the OnePlus Nord N10. It typically costs £179, OnePlus is currently offering it for just £129.

Despite that bargain price you still get 5G connectivity and a fast 90Hz display, though the latter component is LCD rather than the more vibrant OLED. You don't get a super capable processor or a particularly impressive camera system either, but the phone is well specced for the money.

Best overall value OnePlus phone

In terms of the best value for money, we'd have to go with the OnePlus 9. It offers much of what makes the OnePlus 9 Pro appealing, including a 120Hz OLED display, a Snapdragon 888 processor, and a very capable 50MP ultra-wide camera. Despite this, the OnePlus 9 costs hundreds of pounds less.

Keep an eye on the OnePlus Nord 2 5G, though. The original remains a brilliantly balanced mid-range phone, and its imminent successor could well end up dethroning the OnePlus 9 as our top value pick.

Recent OnePlus phones

With so many phones to choose from, it can be confusing picking out the latest model. The brand's current flagship, the OnePlus 9 Pro, may have launched in March 2021, but it's not the latest model.

That honour falls to the OnePlus Nord CE 5G, which is a cheaper revision of the company's popular OnePlus Nord mid-ranger. The next phone to be released will be a full-blown successor to that phone, the OnePlus Nord 2 5G, on July 22.

Conclusions

If you're looking for an alternative to the usual smartphone brands like Samsung and Apple, then OnePlus almost certainly has an appealing proposition for you. It's no longer the plucky underdog intent on undercutting the big boys with aggressively priced phones and bold publicity stunts, and is now an established player in its own right. Choosing a OnePlus phone means choosing high-quality, impressive value, and just a pinch of that old independent spirit.