Best 5G phones 2020

As 5G begins to take hold in the UK, here are our pick of the best 5G handsets currently available. ALEX WALKER-TODD reports

2019 was the year that 5G phones started appearing on store shelves. 2020 is the year that the technology really took off; with the country’s major mobile carriers now all supporting this new super-fast network infrastructure and a wealth of manufacturers now offering top-tier phones with 5G modems onboard.

BEFORE YOU BUY

Getting a 5G phone is only one piece of the puzzle, of course. To actually take advantage of this next-gen connectivity you need to:

• Have a 5G-capable phone • Subscribe to a network that actively offers 5G connectivity

Credit: Getty Images/FG Trade

• Subscribe to a contract that actively includes 5G connectivity • Be in an area with good 5G coverage

EE and Vodafone were the first networks to get their 5G networks up and running, with O2 joining the fray in October 2019. Three’s 5G network was technically up and running in 2019 too but the carrier didn’t start offering 5G phone plans until earlier this year.

There’s also the matter of the nation’s MVNOs (mobile virtual network operators) – carriers that effectively piggyback off of other networks’ existing 5G infrastructure. Right now, BT Mobile (using EE’s 5G network), Sky Mobile (using O2’s 5G network), Tesco Mobile (using O2’s 5G network) and Voxi (using Vodafone’s 5G network) all also offer 5G plans/phones.

Before you splash out on a 5G phone, it’s worth checking to see what the quality of 5G coverage in your area is like. Check out RootMetrics’ coverage map for an independent evaluation of mobile coverage (including 5G coverage) from the UK’s major carriers, across the nation – see fave.co/3ldvnFT.

WHY UPGRADE TO 5G?

5G is around 20 times faster than 4G, with the potential for even better speeds in future. With 5G, you’ll be able to stream video in 4K resolution without buffering and make high-resolution video calls if you so wish. There are also benefits for mobile gaming, because of 5G’s lower latency.

BEST OVERALL: ONEPLUS 8 PRO

Price: £799 from fave.co/2SnYKc1

The OnePlus 8 Pro ushers in a bunch of firsts for the humble Android phone maker. It’s the first OnePlus display with a hole-punch camera and a 120Hz refresh rate. It’s the first OnePlus phone with wireless charging and a quadcamera. It’s the first time OnePlus has made Wi-Fi 6 and 5G standard. It’s even the first OnePlus phone with IP-rated water resistance.

The top-of-the-range 256GB model (our review unit is the 128GB version) is also the first OnePlus handset to cots almost £900. To be fair, things have changed a lot since 2014, when Samsung’s flagship Galaxy S5 cost just £549 off-contract. But even though OnePlus can claim the 8 Pro costs hundreds of pounds less than the closest apples-to-apples comparison Galaxy phone, the price is still much more shocking on a OnePlus phone than a Samsung one.

While the 8 Pro is a fantastic phone that continues to shine a light on just

cam introduced on the 7 Pro. It’s probably for the best that OnePlus removed the moving and inherently breakable parts, but I’d be lying if I didn’t say I missed it. The pop-up selfie cam might have been a little gimmicky, but The OnePlus 8 Pro Ultramarine Blue colour doesn’t reflect light it gave the 7 Pro a like the 8’s Interstellar Glow, but it’s a beauty in its own right. unique feature that set it apart from how expensive premium Android phones other premium Android phones. The have become, the light is less illuminative hole-punch camera gives it a sameness this time around. By throwing out its own that makes it feel less special, amplified playbook to give diehard fans everything by the fact that the bezels haven’t really they wanted, the OnePlus 8 Pro has shrunk much either. joined the ranks of the phones it was But while the overall look may be supposed to undercut. a little on the safe side, the OnePlus 8 Pro is still a very nice phone. My chief Design complaint is the rather bulbous camera The design of the OnePlus 8 Pro bump, which is once again centred and doesn’t deviate much from that of its vertical but noticeably thicker, making predecessor, the 7 Pro. Its dimensions the OnePlus 8 Pro all but impossible to are a touch bigger, and it’s a bit lighter use on a flat surface. It’s better with one (199g versus 210g) and thinner (8.5mm of OnePlus’s bumper cases, but with such versus 8.8mm). There’s one noticeable a beautiful, fingerprint-repelling frosted deviation: the curved display now has a glass finish in Ultramarine Blue or Glacial hole in the upper left corner for the selfie Green, you won’t want to cover it with a cam, rather than the delightful pop-up slab of silicone.

Display

While there are plenty of ‘pro’ components inside the OnePlus 8 Pro, none of them matter more than the display. OnePlus isn’t often at the forefront of screen tech – its first OLED screen didn’t arrive until late 2015, in fact – but the Fluid Display on the 8 Pro is on the absolute cutting edge of smartphone screen tech, belying the seemingly minor spec-sheet improvements over the 7 Pro:

OnePlus 7 Pro: 6.67in 3,120x1,440, 516ppi, 19.5:9, 90Hz refresh rate OnePlus 8 Pro: 6.78in 3,168x1,440, 513ppi, 19.8:9, 120Hz refresh rate

We’re talking about a tenth of an inch more screen, a slightly taller aspect ratio, 30 more hertz of refresh, and three fewer pixels per inch. Taken together, though, all those small changes make a huge difference. The faster refresh rate is the most noticeable, with simply effortless scrolling and super-smooth transitions. But even when you’re not touching the screen, the brightness, refined motion interpolation algorithms and HDR Boost are noticeable. My only complaint is with edge rejection, which is a constant nuisance on a phone this size.

The brightness of the display helps the optical fingerprint scanner. On the whole, it’s speedier and more reliable than the S20’s ultrasonic sensor, but despite conscious effort from OnePlus to improve the experience, it’s still very hit-and-miss. All things being equal, I’d much rather have 3D facial recognition such as the Google Pixel 4’s Face Unlock, even if that meant a return to a notch. Biometrics aside, the OnePlus 8 Pro isn’t just the best screen OnePlus has made – it’s the first I’ve used that rivals the latest from Apple and Samsung. The brightness, colour gamut and colour accuracy truly raise the bar. But I’m not sure anyone who would

The matte frosted glass on the OnePlus 8 Pro (right) looks even classier next to the glossy OnePlus 8.

consider a OnePlus phone necessarily needs a screen this good. It’s not that OnePlus customers aren’t discerning, but when faced with a £899 price tag, I wonder how many would-be buyers would just pick up a Galaxy or an iPhone instead. Besides, the display on the £549 OnePlus 7T is very good too.

Performance

With the Snapdragon 865 processor and next-gen Wi-Fi onboard, the OnePlus 8 Pro is every bit the screamer you’d think it is. I regularly topped 10,000 in PCMark Work 2.0 benchmarks, and my gigabit home Internet with an Orbi Wi-Fi 6 System delivered consistently fast speeds better than 600Mb/s (versus 450Mb/s on the OnePlus 7T). The S20 Ultra benchmarked a little better overall, but the 8 Pro is insanely fast. I didn’t get a chance to test the 5G modem. We’re still years away from super-fast 5G being as ubiquitous as 4G, so the extra expense for the 5G modem in the OnePlus 8 Pro won’t pay off for awhile.

What’s more impressive about the 8 Pro is the 4,500mAh battery. It’s a good size, but it performs like it’s much bigger. Even with the 120Hz screen turned on, I was able to make it through a full day of heavy use with juice to spare, rivalling the performance of the 5,000mAh battery in the S20 Ultra. Benchmarks bore this out, topping 10 hours in PCMark’s tests, an impressive feat for a battery under 5,000mAh in an Android phone.

The OnePlus 8 also introduces wireless charging for the first time. It’s a welcome addition, even though thirdparty charges are only supplying slow 5-watt charging. You’ll need to buy a separate Warp Charge 30 Wireless Charger (priced £70) to get the full 30 watts of power that the OnePlus 8 Pro is capable of, but most people should probably skip it. Not only is it pricey, but the built-in fan is so loud that OnePlus

so tapping and scrolling feel even faster than they look. However, OnePlus is still only promising bi-monthly Android updates with the 8 Series, a schedule that’s not going to cut it for such as pricey phone. To be fair, updates could arrive sooner than that, as If not for the OnePlus logo on the back, you might mistake the OnePlus has a robust 8 Pro for a Samsung phone. beta programme to make sure the built a configurable bedtime mode that final release is free of bugs. But when limits the charger to 10 watts, so it won’t Samsung and Google are pushing out disturb your sleep. system updates near the beginning

Helping the speed and power of every month, OnePlus’s update management is OnePlus’s delightfully schedule seems stuck in the past. minimal Oxygen OS. The new parts are relatively slight – most notably dark Photography mode has been enhanced a bit, and Live With such a high price tag, the Caption makes a welcome appearance – expectations for the OnePlus 8 Pro are but as usual, OnePlus’s skin is less about high as well, and no other component features than functionality. For example, will be more scrutinized than the camera. the system can detect when you’re less On paper, the OnePlus 8 Pro’s camera is likely to use the screen – when you’re top-notch, sporting four lenses including playing a movie, for instance – and a novel colour filter camera and a new effectively lower the refresh rate to Sony IMX689 image sensor with a 60Hz to preserve battery. Conversely, 1/1.43in sensor. the touch sampling rate is bumped to In a general sense, the OnePlus 8 240Hz when you are using the screen, Pro takes great pictures, and anyone

In pitch black, the Pixel 4 (right) was still able to pull the correct colours and some detail, while the OnePlus 8 Pro, left, and OnePlus 8 (centre) struggled with white balance.

In dark lighting, the OnePlus 8 Pro (left) outdid the OnePlus 8 (centre), but the Pixel 4 does a better job with both exposure and clarity.

who uses one to snap a landscape or a portrait in good-enough lighting will be happy with the results. However, it still feels like a generation or two behind the smartphone leaders. Just like last year’s 7T Pro was bested by the iPhone 11 Pro and Galaxy Note 10+, the 8 Pro isn’t quite at the level of its newest peers when it comes to processing, particularly with night mode and action shots.

When capturing motion, the OnePlus 8 pro (left) and OnePlus 8 (centre) both struggled, while the Pixel 4 (right) was able to perfectly freeze the moment.

With solid hardware, the 8 Pro’s camera abilities could change with updates – and as such, a mid-review update did improve the speed of autofocus and quality of low-light shots – but it’s unlikely that the 8 Pro will see a significant leap. You can argue that the issues I’ve outlined below are nitpicky, but for the price, the OnePlus 8’s camera should stand up to those in other likepriced handsets.

Take night mode. While OnePlus has done a fine job with improving its phones’ low-light abilities over the years, the OnePlus 8 Pro still doesn’t quite measure up to Google’s stellar output. In the image above, both phones are able to pull out an impressive amount of detail from pitch blackness. The Pixel 4 handled the colour properly, however, and captured far greater detail than either OnePlus phone. That advantage served the Pixel 4 in typical low-light conditions as well: Google’s processing engine did a better job with sussing details and preserving the integrity of the scene.

OnePlus’s inferior processing is evident with action shots as well. While OIS and Super Steady mode do well to keep videos stable, the photo engine struggles to capture clean motion even in brilliant sunshine. In the photos below, the 8 Pro (left) was able to lock in on my son’s face, but his feet and hands are blurry, and the badminton shuttlecock and racket are barely recognizable. The Pixel 4, on the other hand, snapped

You can have some fun with the filter camera on the OnePlus 8 Pro (from left, Photocroma, Vivid, B&W), but ultimately it’s a useless gimmick.

the whole scene as if everything were perfectly still.

OnePlus’s most unique camera feature is its fourth lens, which introduces a colour filter lens for snapping Instagram-worthy shots at the source. In a world where filters are a dime a dozen, it’s a little gimmicky, especially considering there are only four options to choose from, and the 5Mp image quality is quite low compared to that of the main lens. Granted, these are smallish problems, but for the price, good enough isn’t good enough anymore. If OnePlus is going to compete in this space, it’s going to need a camera that challenges the Pixel and iPhone in the areas where they excel. The 8 Pro just isn’t on their photography level yet.

Verdict

There’s no denying that the OnePlus 8 Pro is a great phone. It can hold its own against any other Android flagship when it comes to performance, and in an apples-to-apples comparison, you won’t find a better price for a phone with these specs. That said, the £799 starting price isn’t the same bang-for-your-buck deal that the £649 7 Pro was, especially when you consider that it’s limited to just one colour, green. If you want the OnePlus 8 Pro in black or blue you’ll need to swing for the £899 model with 256GB of storage and 12GB of RAM. That’s still less than the £999 S20+ or the £1,199 S20 Ultra, but the value isn’t nearly as apparent as it once was. OnePlus had an opportunity to expose how

excessively expensive high-end Android phones have gotten. All it has proved with the 8 Pro is that building a cuttingedge 5G phone in 2020 is expensive. Michael Simon

Specifications

• GPS with dual-band A-GPS, GLONASS, BDS, GALILEO, SBAS • NFC • Fingerprint scanner (under display) • USB 3.1, Type-C 1.0 reversible connector, USB On-The-Go • Non-removable 4,501mAh lithium• 6.78in (3,168x1,440; 513ppi) Fluid polymer battery

AMOLED capacitive touchscreen • Fast charging 30 watts • Android 10.0; OxygenOS 10.0 • 165.3x74.4x8.5mm • Qualcomm SM8250 Snapdragon 865 • 199g (7nm+) processor • Octa-core (1x 2.84GHz Kryo 585, 3x MOST COMPACT: 2.42GHz Kryo 585, 4x 1.8GHz Kryo GOOGLE PIXEL 5 585) CPU Price: £599 from fave.co/2SYhfnc • Adreno 650 GPU Hot on the heels of the Pixel 4a, Google • 8GB/12GB RAM has expanded its 2020 mobile portfolio • 128GB/256GB storage yet further to now include the Pixel 4a • Four rear-facing cameras: 48Mp, 5G and the long-rumoured Pixel 5. f/1.8, 25mm (wide), 1/1.43in, 1.12µm, On the surface, the Pixel 5 serves omnidirectional PDAF, Laser AF, OIS; to right the wrongs made by last 8Mp, f/2.4, (telephoto), 1/1.0µm, PDAF, OIS, 3x optical zoom; 48Mp, f/2.2, 14mm, 116-degree (ultrawide), 1/2.0in, 0.8µm,

PDAF; 5Mp, f/2.4, (depth) • Selfie camera: 16Mp, f/2.5, (wide), 1/3in, 1.0µm • Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/6, dual-band, Wi-Fi Direct,

DLNA, hotspot • Bluetooth 5.1, A2DP, LE, The Pixel 5 serves to right the wrongs made by last aptX HD year’s erroneous Pixel 4.

year’s erroneous Pixel 4; namely by dropping the experimental Motion Sense gesture tech, trading its secondary telephoto camera in for an ultra-wide sensor and almost doubling battery capacity so that the phone actually lasts beyond a few hours at a time. While these changes may seem obvious, the The Pixel 5 sees the welcome return of a centrallyPixel 5 – and where it sits positioned rear fingerprint sensor. in the wider smartphone landscape – is indicative of a shift in portability, weight, ease-of-use and Google’s smartphone strategy and points comfort in the hand. to a very different future to the one that The Pixel 5, with its 6in display, older Pixel phones were designed for. definitely cements its place on our Best Small Phones list (see fave.co/2SWdNcO) Design because of its diminutive footprint, The most striking thing about the Pixel paired with a comfortable hand feel 5 isn’t its camera tech or how well the that’s wholly unique to this device. Google Assistant is integrated into its It has a beautifully balanced design, software experience, it’s its design and being the only phone with what appears that’s thanks to two main factors: its size to be equally-sized bezels along all four and its finish. edges of the screen (most usually have

It’s fair to say that there just haven’t a thicker bottom bezel). really been any good small Android The move away for the Motion Sense phones in recent years, with a few radar array of last year’s Pixels, plus the exceptions that barely scrape by. Most use of an in-display hole-punch front manufacturers have pushed for bigger camera (a trend Google first adopted displays in order to show off their with the Pixel 4a), is why the bezels of multimedia capabilities but in most the Pixel 5 are so much thinner; and cases, that’s been at the expense of then there’s the rounding.

It’s a small detail, but both the body and the display of the Pixel have rounded corners that share proportionally complimentary radii; something you might overlook on paper, but in reality taps into that part of your (are at least my) subconscious that’s appeased by the visually congruent.

It brings a pleasing balance to the look of the Pixel 5 that’s also supported by its relatively thin 8mm waistline, rounded sides and impressively low weight (just 151g).

There’s also the finish, you won’t readily find metal-bodied smartphones nowadays, with glass or plastic being the preferred material of choice, especially when it comes a phone’s back panel.

The Pixel 5 is an enigma in this regard, as, along with signal performance, wireless charging is one key reason you don’t want to use a metal back and yet the Google has clad the 5’s internals in recycled aluminium, while also retaining support for wireless charging. How has it achieved this feat? Simple, it cut a hole in it.

It’s very hard to perceive, but in the right light you can actually see the shield-shaped cut-out Google has sliced out of the phone’s aluminium frame to allow the wireless charging coil to function. The Pixel 5 is covered in what it describes as a “bio-resin” which gives the impression of a continuous unibody and the overall effect is wholly convincing; with the Pixel 5 presenting itself as a clean, well-built device.

There’s a light surface texture that offers a touch less grip than a glossy back would and picks up small abrasions disappointingly easily but it is, at least, brilliant at repelling fingerprints and feels nice in the hand.

This year, potential buyers only have two colour options to choose between: Just Black or Sorta Sage – a muted pale green that serves as a notable contrast to last year’s Clearly White and Oh So Orange colourways. Google says this year’s choice of just two finishes comes as a direct result of supply chain limitations in the face of the global pandemic.

The colour-accented power button has also been replaced with a chromed button (along with a chromed ‘G’ logo on the lower half of the phone’s back) which Google says helps differentiate the more premium Pixel 5 from the Pixel 4a (5G) that it was announced alongside (which features a white power key).

The finishing touches that round out the Pixel 5’s design are its pleasingly small camera bump, the return of a centrally-positioned rear fingerprint sensor – which is undoubtedly more responsive and convenient than the Pixel

a result, so it’s best left on Maximum brightness could be a touch higher but generallyspeaking, there’s little that detracts from the visual experience; with pleasing colours, contrast There’s little that detracts from the visual experience on the Pixel 5. and viewing angles at play. 4’s face unlock or in-display fingerprint You have the option to change sensors (both optical and ultrasonic) – between Natural and Boosted colour and IP68 dust and water resistance. profiles or opt for Adaptive mode, which is enabled by default (I never felt the Display need to change it), while Night Light will A taller, slimmer 19.5:9 aspect ratio warm up the screen colour temperature means the Pixel 5 offers a larger 6in in the evenings to help reduce eye strain. display compared to last year’s Pixel As for the Pixel 5’s audio chops, 4, without becoming that much wider a headphone jack doesn’t feature in-hand. Google hasn’t pushed the and there’s no in-box 3.5mm adapter boat out with the panel on this year’s or USB headphones, so you’re left Pixel, but it’s still a pleasingly crisp and either forking out extra for Bluetooth clear HDR10+-compliant, 90Hz, Full headphone or sourcing your own HD+, OLED offering. USB-C to 3.5mm adapter (Google,

That adaptive higher refresh rate no doubt, hopes that you choose to is enabled by default and although pick up a pair of its latest Pixel Buds technically consumes more battery life [£179] or its own-brand adapter [£12]). than locking the phone down to 60Hz, If that is an important consideration for gives you a far more responsive and you, the Pixel 4a (5G) does feature a premium-feeling user experience as headphone jack.

With no visible earpiece, it was assumed that the Pixel 5 would host an under-display speaker, and sure enough, it works well in calls but doesn’t bring much to the table when serving as a loud-speaker. It handles the higher frequencies while a downward-facing secondary speaker does most of the heavy lifting regarding the mids and bass tones.

That said, despite the promise of stereo sound and the frequency split across both speakers, the overall sound profile lacks punch or clarity, especially the louder you push it.

Software

functionality (the latter now lets you edit audio recordings and auto-transcriptions by highlighting each one to affect the other – it’s pretty impressive in practice). Hold For Me – the Google Duplexpowered automated call holding feature – sounds promisingly helpful on paper but isn’t available at launch and if you’re outside the US, won’t be coming to your Pixel phone for the foreseeable, which is a real shame. It’s really the small tweaks the elevate the software experience on the Pixel 5; the ability to both screenshot or grab on-screen information in a context-aware format with a simple swipe up, support for Live Captions (introduced last year) There was never any doubt about the and the improved wallpaper and home software experience that the Pixel 5 screen customization tools. would be running outthe-box. Android 11 is the latest and greatest of Google’s mobile OS’s and as ever, this newest Pixel serves to show it off at its best.

This mainly takes the form of iterative improvements across a number of established features, with apps like Google Duo and Google’s Recorder getting some additional Unsurprisingly, the Pixel 5 comes with Android 11.

None of this is groundbreaking stuff but Google has managed to both add and improve features without leaving the resultant software experience feeling bloated. That’s before you fold in the promise of three years of both security and OS updates, as well as a handful of camera and battery-related additions that we’ll come to in a moment.

Photography

The Pixel line has grown to represent the power of computational photography on smartphones and as the years have gone on, that fact has only solidified further.

The Pixel 5’s primary 12.2Mp (Sony IMX363) sensor is the same unit used by the Pixel 4 series and even the Pixel 3 series before that; it’s a decidedly ageing component that’s remained in high regard, only because of what Google’s engineers have been able to achieve on the software and image processing side.

Google has replaced the Pixel 4’s telephoto for a new ultrawide lens. The Pixel 5’s primary 12.2Mp sensor is accompanied by a 16Mp ultra-wide sensor.

The Pixel 5’s video stabilization options.

This year, it’s accompanied by a 16Mp ultra-wide sensor, which sports a 107-degree field-of-view; not as wide as its competitors (the iPhone 12’s ultra-wide sensor sports a 120-degree FoV, for example) but still a great way to gain a new perspective on a subject or fit more in-frame without having to move position.

The biggest upgrade isn’t so much the decision to swap out the Pixel 4’s telephoto for this new ultra-wide (despite that being one of the biggest criticisms of the camera set-up on last year’s Pixels) but that Google has expanded standout features like Night Sight to work across all of the Pixel 5’s various sensors, automatically.

There’s also the addition of virtual portrait lighting, a multitude of new specialized video stabilization options and the ability to top out at 4K 60fps recording (up from 4K 30fps on the Pixel 4). And all this while Google has seemingly dropped the use of a dedicated chip, like its predecessors’ Pixel Visual Core and Pixel Neural Core.

In side-by-side testing, the Pixel 5 was able to capture and process Portrait shots as quickly as, or faster than last year’s Pixel 4, so it looks as though Google’s confidence in this move seems valid.

As for picture quality, you’re getting a very similar result to last year’s Pixels. Crop in and you’ll see some variation in sharpness, dynamic range and colour science – with the Pixel 5’s images being sharper, dynamically wider and a fraction cooler in those three regards – but the different decisions the camera is making over last year’s Pixel are both subtle and more a matter of personal preference, rather than an empirical improvement.

Video quality does seem improved, namely thanks to the option of that

Here’s a shot of a rainbow taken using the defaults settings.

This is the same subject, but taken with the ultra-wide lens.

This photo was taken when the light was extremely low.

Here’s the same scene, but shot using the Pixel 5’s Night Sight mode.

Virtual portrait lighting is well implemented on the Pixel 5.

higher frame rate, as well as different stabilization for different use cases. It’s definitely worth familiarizing yourself with these modes ahead of time though, as they all treat footage differently and most importantly, crop in on the frame to a different degree; depending on what type of content the phone thinks you’re going to capture.

Standard stabilization is on by default and seems wholly capable if you’re simply walking down the street or panning around from a fixed spot. Locked is great for a zoomed, tripodstyle fixed position shot, while handheld, although the crop is quite heavy (starting at 2x).

Active is the Pixel’s attempt at GoProstyle stabilization and while useful, still lets in noticeable judder depending on the motion the phone is trying to counteract. Cinematic Pan is the most creative but also the most specialized – trimming out audio and slowing footage down to half speed while helping you capture a super-smooth horizontal pan while shooting handheld.

You can also disable image stabilization (although there’s no real need) although it’s clear that this only really kills the EIS (electronic image stabilization), while the main camera’s OIS (optical image stabilization) remains on.

HDR processing has also been improved and the feature-set expanded upon, along with a richer post-capture editing suite, but the other stand-out feature is virtual portrait lighting, which lets you add a virtual light against your

subject’s face that you can drag around on-screen, change intensity or have the phone automatically place and adjust.

While the feature isn’t new to smartphones in general, the Pixel 5 has one of the most impressively reliable and easy-to-use implementations of such functionality.

Performance

The Pixel line has always been about a software and user experience that outshine – and aren’t explicitly limited by – the hardware that supports them. This is most evident in the phone line’s camera technology, but with the Pixel 5 it’s also true of the processor running the show.

Google has always stuck Qualcomm’s flagship chip into its mainline Pixel phones, but near the end of said chip’s time in the spotlight. This was originally because a successor was always scheduled to be announced by Qualcomm only a month or so later, or in more recent years, because Qualcomm started to push out superior mid-life cycle revisions, such as in the case of the Snapdragon 855+ and 865+.

This year, Google is taking a different tack altogether, dropping from Qualcomm’s flagship-tier Snapdragon 800 series down to its 700 series chips instead.

Geekbench 5 (multi-core)

Pixel 5: 1,625 Pixel 4a 5G: 1,631 Pixel 4a: 1,640 Pixel 4: 2,270 OnePlus Nord: 1,963 OnePlus 8T: 3,133

GFX Manhattan 3.1

Pixel 5: 20fps Pixel 4a 5G: 20fps Pixel 4a: 27fps Pixel 4: 48fps OnePlus Nord: 34fps OnePlus 8T: 61fps

Battery test

Pixel 5: 12 hours 34 minutes OnePlus Nord: 11 hours 26 minutes OnePlus 8T: 9 hours 17 minutes

Fast charge in 30 minutes

Pixel 5: 45% Pixel 4a: 51% Pixel 4: 48% OnePlus Nord: 68%

Admittedly, the Snapdragon 765G that powers the Pixel 5 is the best that the 700 series has to offer and holds an advantage over the current 800 series when it comes to one of the phone’s key selling points – 5G. The 765G has an integrated 5G modem, while the

865 still relies on a standalone unit. This means greater power efficiency, but the 765G has also proven to be a superb processor in its own right, regardless of its standing in Qualcomm’s portfolio. It’s the same chip found in top-notch phones like the Nokia 8.3 5G, Vivo X50 Pro and OnePlus Nord.

In real-world use, the Pixel 5 handles as you’d expect any flagship phone to and paired with the lightweight Android 11 software and 8GB of RAM (the most of any Pixel so far), makes for one of the cleanest and most responsive user experiences on the market, right now.

Oddly, it benchmarks relatively poorly to comparable devices, so poorly in fact something seems amiss. The numbers produced by our performance-focused benchmarks don’t reflect the real-world performance that the phone clearly delivers and tests from other Android 11-based phones also show notably lower scores than Android 10-toting devices powered by similar hardware. As such, we’ve concluded that either the benchmarking apps or Android 11 require better optimization. The original point still stands, however, the Pixel 5 delivers superb real-world performance and is as well-suit to gaming as it is multi-tasking or photography.

Extreme Battery Saver is useful in a pinch.

Battery

The Pixel 4 was a promising Android phone undone by some of the worst battery life in recent memory. It was an issue fundamentally caused by the

small 2,800mAh cell that the phone all Google really needed to hit. It’s no used and it was at the top of our wish battery champ, though. list of improvements that the Pixel 5 Android 11 on the Pixel 5 does also needed to make. introduce the Extreme Battery Saver

Thankfully, Google looks to have feature (coming to older Pixel devices in listened and while the bump in battery future), which if enabled locks down app capacity isn’t transformative, it turns the access to the phone’s base functions, Pixel 5 into a phone that you’d be happy save for any apps you white list. to live with, rather than one that you’d Google proudly promises up to 48 be scared to use for fear of it dying the hours of use using this mode, but that’s moment the screen lights up. something other phones are capable

Despite its small proportions and of during normal use, so wouldn’t be relatively thin frame, the Pixel 5 features the first thing we shout about when a far larger 4,080mAh cell, compared to recommending the Pixel 5. its predecessor. Like before, it supports fast charging (still 18-watt PD charging) Verdict and up to 12-watt wireless charging. The Google Pixel 5 sheds some of the Reverse wireless charging is now part of series’ more experimental features to the Pixel recipe too. deliver a more focused smartphone

In battery benchmark tests, the Pixel 5 delivers promising numbers, lasting 12.5 hours under artificial conditions. In real-world use, the phone proves to be far more pedestrian, with a somewhat unexciting 4.5 to 5 hours of screenon time per charge. However, this works out to a day’s use without worry and with the bar as low as it was, that’s The Pixel 5 is the most balanced Android phone you can get.

experience that exemplifies some of the best qualities of Android as a platform.

The hardware isn’t competitive to the same degree as offerings from the likes of Oppo, OnePlus or Realme, but that doesn’t stop the Pixel 5 from being greater than the sum of its parts.

This device is a reliable all-rounder, a great long-term purchase – both in terms of software support and based on the fact that 5G infrastructure continues to improve – a superb small Android phone and an outstanding camera phone to boot. Google has finally realized that the Pixel can’t compete with the everything-but-the-kitchen-sink approach of some top-tier smartphones, but also that it doesn’t have to. The Pixel 5 is perhaps the most balanced Android smartphone on the market and if you related to any of the use cases I just mentioned, then this is definitely worth considering, even if rivals offer more for less. Alex Walker-Todd

Specifications

• 6in (2,340x1,080; 432ppi) OLED, 90Hz,

HDR10+ touchscreen • Android 11 • Qualcomm SDM765 Snapdragon 765G (7nm) processor • Octa-core (1x 2.4GHz Kryo 475 Prime, 1x 2.2GHz Kryo 475 Gold, 6x 1.8GHz

Kryo 475 Silver) CPU • Adreno 620 GPU • 8GB RAM • 128GB storage • Two rear-facing cameras: 12.2Mp, f/1.7, 27mm (wide), 1/2.55in, 1.4µm, dual pixel PDAF, OIS; 16Mp, f/2.2, 107-degree (ultra-wide), 1.0µm • Single selfie camera: 8Mp, f/2.0, 24mm (wide), 1/4.0in, 1.12µm • Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band,

Wi-Fi Direct, hotspot • Bluetooth 5.0, A2DP, LE, aptX HD • GPS with A-GPS, GLONASS, GALILEO,

QZSS, BDS • NFC • USB Type-C 3.1 • Fingerprint scanner (rear mounted) • Non-removable 4,080mAh lithiumpolymer battery • Fast charge 18 watts • 144.7x70.4x8mm • 151g

BEST CAMERA: OPPO FIND X2 PRO

Price: £1,099 from fave.co/2ANcsj1

The Find X2 Pro is nothing more than a statement of intent from Oppo. With Galaxy S20 Ultra-rivalling specs – and a price tag to match – this is a company saying: we don’t just make good phones. Or great phones. We make the best phones. And honestly? It’s not far off. Spec for spec there aren’t many phones

out there that can match it, while the design feels premium – if a little pedestrian by Oppo’s usual standards, orange leather aside.

This is undoubtedly one of the best Android phones on the market, so the only question that really remains is whether anyone in the UK and Europe is really willing to spend as much as they would on a Samsung Our review Find X2 Pro is the orange vegan leather option. or Apple flagship for a phone from a Chinese brand they may review unit is the much more exciting never have heard of before. orange vegan leather option. This isn’t the first phone to use a pleather finish, Design but we wish more would: it adds a The Find X2 Pro looks great. But it also welcome grippiness to the rear, avoids looks like most other 2020 flagship the risk of smashing, and looks a little phones, so don’t expect anything wild different to everything else out there. like the company’s early forays into pop- The vegan leather model does run a up cameras and the like. little thicker, but lighter, and at 9.5mm

You get a big 6.7in curved display and 200g it definitely feels chunky, with a pin-hole selfie camera in the top though not unmanageably so. It also left, and on the rear the cameras are laid comes with a small Oppo logo in a out in a vertical strip, also in the corner. gold-coloured metal tag on the back, The phone has an IP68 rating, so should a mildly blingy touch I’d rather the be safe from both water and dust. company had left out.

The main thing that is notable is Orange pleather aside, the Find the finish. You can buy the phone in X2 Pro essentially looks good but a standard dark grey ceramic, but our forgettable. There’s nothing really to

criticise here, but not a lot to make it stand out in a competitive crowd. And it should go without saying, but if you’re not a fan of big phones you should absolutely look elsewhere.

Display

Speaking of size, we’ve naturally got the 6.7in display to blame for that. But honestly? We can forgive it when the display is this damn good.

The AMOLED screen has a resolution of 1,440x3,168 and supports HDR-10, displays over a billion colours, and runs at a blistering 120Hz refresh rate – the same as Samsung’s Galaxy S20 series.

Earlier this year I declared the Galaxy S20’s display to be the best you could buy, but already it’s been supplanted by Oppo’s That’s not least because unlike the S20 it will let you run the phone with both max resolution and the 120Hz refresh rate simultaneously, making this both the crispest and smoothest screen around at the same time.

The hit to battery life luckily isn’t too bad, but if you’re worried you can also set each to an auto option, which will dynamically adjust refresh rate and resolution to suit the current content, ensuring it only uses up the extra battery when you’ll actually see a benefit.

The screen is bright, with vivid colour and fantastic dynamic range. Oppo’s ‘01 Ultra Vision Engine’ chips in to boost both frame rate and colour gamut on compatible video content, though even without its help most things will look great on this phone just by virtue of the display itself. It’s curved on the sides, but fortunately not to the extreme extent of more recent ‘waterfall’ displays from the likes of Vivo or Huawei. It still feels comfortable to use, with impressive palm-rejection, so you can enjoy the look of the curved panel without sacrificing usability along the way.

Photography

If Oppo has gone all out on the Find X2 Pro’s display, it’s just as committed to the camera. On the back you’ll find a triple camera set-up: a 48Mp f/1.7 main camera with a custom IMX689 Sony sensor that’s capable of taking shots with 12-bit colour – more than can even be fully displayed on the screen.

It’s joined by a second 48Mp lens, using the older IMX586 sensor and f/2.2, which serves as a wide angle. Then you get a 13Mp f/3.0 periscope lens that delivers roughly 5x optical zoom and up to 10x hybrid, capping out at 30x zoom overall.

Photos from the main sensor are bright and vivid, with excellent colour depth and dynamic range, but without the over-saturation that plagues many

From the top left, these images were taken using the 2x, 5x, 10x and 30x zoom.

rival Android devices. Essentially if you want crisp, detailed shots that feel true-to-life rather than over-stylized, the Find X2 Pro will be one of the best options around.

The wide angle delivers solid results, but between the aperture and the different sensor it’s clear that this is still not on a par with the main sensor for detail and vibrancy – so don’t expect similar results just because of the common megapixel counts. Still, the extra detail is welcome for landscapes, and should pay off in macro shots too.

Finally, that zoom lens. This isn’t Oppo’s first foray into extreme zoom – the Reno 10x Zoom got there last year – but it remains one of the best around. Capping digital zoom at 30x is a smart way to avoid the distraction those very lossy images provide, and instead makes it easier to focus on how

Here’s a photo taken using the standard lens…

…and here’s another of the same scene using the wideangle lens.

Here’s an example of a low light shot.

This was taken using the phone’s Night Mode.

The photo on the left is a portrait shot, while the one on the right is a selfie.

great the camera performs at up to 10x. Yes, images lack the phenomenal colour range that the main camera can deliver, but the detail captured here remains really remarkable, and at least on a par with what Samsung delivered in the S20 Ultra. I still don’t know how often most people will use periscope lenses like this, but if you want to the Oppo undeniably delivers.

There’s the usual night mode and portrait options. The former is a solid effort, though I did find that it tended to overblow light sources, and especially struggled with realistic night skies. It’s good, but far from the best. Portrait mode is also hit-and-miss – the edge detection is pretty spot on, but you lose a lot in dynamic range, especially from the 32Mp f/2.4 selfie lens.

As for video, the big downside is that there’s no 8K recording support here, but I don’t think that will matter to most people – and even on phones that do support 8K, it’s really not good enough yet to miss it much here. Otherwise there’s the usual features, including image stabilization, and the now fairly common option for portrait mode video.

Performance

Just about every other spec on the Find X2 Pro is predictably top-tier. You get the flagship Snapdragon 865 processor along with 12GB of DDR5 RAM and 512GB of ultra fast storage.

The result is blisteringly fast performance across basically anything you’d hope to use it for, including the fastest multi-core processing performance we’ve seen on any Android phone yet – though the Exynosequipped Galaxy S20 phones do beat it at simpler single-core tasks.

Geekbench 5 (multi-core))

Oppo Find X2 Pro: 3,295 Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra: 2,646 Google Pixel 4 XL: 2,435 OnePlus 7T Pro: 2,732 Huawei P40: 3,140

GFXBench Manhattan

Oppo Find X2 Pro: 58fps Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra: 59fps Google Pixel 4 XL: 45fps OnePlus 7T Pro: 54fps Huawei P40: 60fps

GFXBench T-Rex

Oppo Find X2 Pro: 60fps Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra: 86fps Google Pixel 4 XL: 74fps OnePlus 7T Pro: 60fps Huawei P40: 60fps

Battery life

Oppo Find X2 Pro: 8 hours, 44 minutes Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra: 8 hours, 2 minutes Google Pixel 4 XL: 11 hours, 4 minutes OnePlus 7T Pro: 9 hours, 17 minutes Huawei P40: 11 hours

Beyond the core internals, you get the likes of stereo speakers, Wi-Fi 6, 5G, NFC, and an optical in-display fingerprint sensor that’s one of the most reliable I’ve used yet.

Battery

Power and charging are two of Oppo’s standout strengths, and the Find X2 Pro doesn’t disappoint here. Even with both 120Hz refresh rate and QHD resolution the 4,260mAh battery comfortably made it to the end of the day, every day, and if you turn those down (or just switch to the more efficient auto settings) this will last even longer, though won’t quite be a two-day device.

Charging is even more impressive. This is the first phone Oppo has released in the West with its 65-watt wired fast charging, which actually involves splitting the battery into two cells so that it can be charged fast enough.

Oppo claims that the phone will reach a full charge in 35 minutes – and since I got it to 97 per cent in our standard 30 minutes charging test (from empty, with the phone off) I’m inclined to believe it.

Setting numbers aside, this is a game-changer in terms of fast-charging – you can now genuinely plug your phone in for ten minutes and get most of a day’s charge back in return, completely removing the need to worry about plugging it in overnight or stressing about lugging battery packs around with you. The only downside? There’s no wireless charging at all, as Oppo says it couldn’t include Qi support without compromising on those wired speeds.

Software

Finally, software. If you haven’t tried it, Oppo’s ColorOS is one of the better Android skins out there, and the best by far from the Chinese big three: Oppo, Xiaomi, and Huawei. There’s a fairly clean, angular design to the icons and OS settings, but more importantly there’s a huge amount of customisability here. For example, you can Oppo’s ColorOS is one of the better Android skins out there. set not only the home screen style and number of app icons, options and eye care modes, along but the icon style can also be tweaked with a schedulable dark mode – still to a really granular level, right down to not guaranteed on Android devices, so whether the corners are rounded or how welcome here. much of the icon box each app logo takes up. Verdict

If there’s a fault it’s that there’s so The Oppo Find X2 Pro is a phenomenal much control that some of the settings phone by any measure. It packs the best menus become a confusion of sliders, display you’ll find in any phone right now toggles and settings, enough so that and backs it up with the fastest wired even Android experts might find the charging around and a top-tier camera. array of options daunting. That’s mostly You’ll have to live without wireless forgiveable on this phone at least, which charging, and the choice between bland is pretty much targeting power users grey or garish orange leather might anyway. Beyond that this is mostly a leave some shoppers struggling to find pretty typical Android 10 set-up, with a design that suits their style. For pure the usual array of digital well-being performance though, the Find X2 Pro

can’t be beat right now – you’ll just have to be willing to pay the price for it. Dominic Preston

Specifications

• 6.7in (3,168x1,440; 513ppi) AMOLED capacitive touchscreen • Android 10, ColorOS 7.1 • Qualcomm SM8250 Snapdragon 865 (7nm+)processor • Octa-core (1x 2.84GHz Kryo 585 & 3x 2.42GHz Kryo 585, 4x 1.8GHz Kryo 585) CPU • Adreno 650 GPU • 12GB RAM • 256GB/512GB storage • Three rear-facing cameras: 48Mp, f/1.7, 25mm (wide), 1/1.43in, 1.12µm, omnidirectional PDAF, Laser AF,

OIS; 13Mp, f/3.0, 129mm (periscope telephoto), 1/3.4in, 1.0µm, 5x optical zoom, PDAF, OIS; 48Mp, f/2.2, 17mm (ultra wide), 1/2.0in, 0.8µm, AF • Selfie camera: 32Mp, f/2.4, (wide), 1/2.8in, 0.8µm • 802.11a/b/g/n/ac/6 Wi-Fi dual-band • Bluetooth 5.0, A2DP, LE • GPS with dual-band A-GPS, GLONASS,

BDS, GALILEO • NFC • USB 3.1, Type-C 1.0 reversible connector, USB On-The-Go • Fingerprint scanner (under the display) • Non-removable 4,260mAh lithium-

polymer battery • 165.2x74.4x8.8mm • 217g

BEST FOR EASE OF USE: SAMSUNG GALAXY S20 FE Price: £599 from fave.co/31c9KOa

Unlike Apple’s iPhone SE branding, Samsung had no qualms in explaining the logic behind the FE branding. The Fan Edition of the flagship Samsung Galaxy S20 looks to offer the favourite high-end features at a more palatable price tag, and with a Snapdragon 865 included as standard, it could be the only Samsung smartphone in the 2020 roster that UK fans are truly interested in.

Design

The Samsung Galaxy S20 FE has the same design ideology as the rest of the S20 range – complete with rearfacing rectangular camera block and centrally-placed hole-punch front-facing camera – but there are plenty of small differences in design that make the S20 FE stand out on its own.

The most noticeable is that unlike its siblings, the Galaxy S20 FE doesn’t have a curved display. It’s completely flat, and that does mean it’s not quite as comfortable in the hand as curved alternatives, but Samsung has tried to make up for it by offering more of

a curved rear than the standard S20. I admittedly had no complaints about comfort when using the S20 FE, even one-handed, but it’ll very much be a personal thing.

Another noticeable change is the shift from glass to ‘Glasstic’, Samsung’s proprietary plastic that’s designed to look and feel like glass, on the rear. Whatever Samsung might promise, it certainly doesn’t feel like a high-end glass rear, although the matte finish does mean it’s less of a fingerprint magnet than its siblings.

You might be surprised that Samsung opted for a plastic rear on a premium smartphone, but you shouldn’t be – it’s also present on the Samsung Galaxy Note S20 Ultra, a phone that costs a whopping £1,199, so Samsung certainly doesn’t see an issue with its plastic replacement. Regardless of how Samsung feels, it makes cheaper alternatives with a glass rear – like the Nokia 8.3 5G – feel nicer in the hand than the S20 FE.

The only upside is that the rear will probably be more durable than glass – it certainly won’t shatter when dropped – and when combined with IP68 water resistance, the S20 FE is robust.

Smartphone colours have taken an interesting turn in recent years, with manufacturers leaning to the colourful look, and that is certainly true of the Galaxy S20 FE. In fact, with Cloud Lavender, Cloud Orange, Cloud Red, Cloud Mint, Cloud White and Cloud Navy options available, there are more colour options to choose from than any other in the S20 family. It certainly makes for a more eye-catching device, that’s for sure. Elsewhere, there’s a volume rocker and power button on the right and a USB-C port at the bottom, but there

The Galaxy S20 FE’s chassis is made from ‘Glasstic’, Samsung’s proprietary plastic that’s designed to look and feel like glass.

but general use – until palm rejection tech is improved, anyway. The main highlight of the Galaxy S20 display was the 120Hz refresh rate, and being the Fan Edition, it was only right for the S20 FE to feature the same high refresh rate. In fact, the buttery smooth display of the The Samsung’s OLED panel is gorgeous, detailed and bright S20 FE is improved in enough to be used on even the sunniest of days. some areas, with a 240Hz touch sampling rate isn’t a headphone jack. That’s not a total to improve touch response time when surprise considering it isn’t present on gaming – a feature not even present on the rest of the Galaxy S20 range, but the recent flagship Galaxy Note20. Samsung’s cheaper smartphones do still It is lower resolution than the main ship with a 3.5mm headphone jack, so it S20 range, capping out at FHD+ rather would’ve been nice to see. It is the Fan than WQHD+, but as you couldn’t opt Edition, after all, and plenty of fans still for a high refresh rate and high resolution use wired headphones. on the flagship, it doesn’t seem like much of a downgrade. It’s more than Display likely that most S20 owners took the hit The Samsung Galaxy S20 FE sports a to resolution to enable the high refresh 6.5in display, placing it between the 6.2in rate, providing a more immediately S20 and 6.7in S20 Plus in Samsung’s noticeable effect than a pixel-packed collection. That’s the best of both display, so the high resolution likely worlds to me, with the 20:9 aspect ratio won’t be missed by most. providing a tall display that’s easy to use Like the rest of the collection, one-handed. The display is flat, which the Galaxy S20 FE sports an OLED may be disappointing to some, but it’s display, complete with a small holesomething I prefer not only for gaming punch camera at the top. Crucially, that

S20, in the UK at least, was the inclusion of Samsung’s Exynos 990 over Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 865. There are complaints from S20 owners that the Exynos version is slower than the Snapdragon variant, and there’s a knockon effect on overall The optical fingerprint scanner requires light to work properly. battery life too, so it’s great to see Samsung OLED panel is gorgeous, detailed and finally offering a Snapdragon-enabled bright enough to be used on even the variant of the Galaxy S20 FE with 5G sunniest of days. connectivity in the UK.

You’ll also find an in-display It is worth noting, however, that the fingerprint scanner that works in a slightly 4G version of the Galaxy S20 FE features different way to the usual in-display the Snapdragon Exynos 990, so there scanners that Samsung uses. It’s optical is still a chance you’ll end up with an and not ultrasonic, requiring light to arguably inferior model if you aren’t work properly, which essentially means paying extra for 5G connectivity. you’ll see a bright light around your Regardless of the processor you get, finger when you unlock your phone. It’s the Galaxy S20 FE is paired 6GB of RAM not a big deal to most as it’s used by and 128GB of storage, expandable via many Android competitors, and it’s still the built-in microSD card slot. lightning fast and accurate, but it may be As you’d expect from a Snapdragon something that existing Samsung owners 865-powered smartphone, the Galaxy have to get used to. S20 FE offers flagship performance regardless of what you’re up to – be Performance it playing Call of Duty Mobile with the One of the biggest complaints when it highest graphical settings or scrolling came to the flagship Samsung Galaxy through media-heavy apps like Twitter

and Instagram. It’s helped by the high refresh rate, of course, making everything feel smoother and more responsive than competing 60Hz smartphones, and there’s not a hint of stutter or lag either.

That’s backed up by our benchmark results, putting the Samsung Galaxy S20 FE on a par with the standard Galaxy S20 and OnePlus 8T. It’s worth noting that I’ve been looking at the Snapdragon 865 variant of the S20 FE, so performance may vary with the Exynos model.

Geekbench 5 (multi-core)

Samsung Galaxy S20 FE: 2,934 Samsung Galaxy S20: 2,299 OnePlus 8T: 3,133 Huawei P40: 3,140 Xiaomi Mi 10T Pro: 3,388

GFX Manhattan 3.1

Samsung Galaxy S20 FE: 59fps Samsung Galaxy S20: 50fps OnePlus 8T: 61fps Huawei P40: 58fps Xiaomi Mi 10T Pro: 50fps

That impressive performance extends to battery life, with the 4,500mAh battery performing noticeably better than its Exynos-enabled counterparts in our benchmark tests – likely down to the improved power efficiency of the Qualcomm chipset.

The Galaxy S20 FE lasted a whopping 12 hours and 35 minutes during our Geekbench 4 battery test, and that mirrors real-world use; it’s enough to get me through a day packed full of texting, tweeting and gaming, but there’s not enough power in the tank to last a full second day. 5G connectivity and the 120Hz refresh rate do take their toll eventually, after all.

That said, the Galaxy S20 FE does offer support for 25-watt fast charging, although it only ships with a 15-watt charging brick, so you’ll have to splash out to take full advantage of the fast charge capabilities on offer. Still, with the bundled charger, the S20 FE regained 38 per cent of charge in 30 minutes and full charge in little under 90 minutes in tests, which should minimise the amount of time you spend tethered to the wall.

There’s also 15-watt wireless charging, and like the rest of Samsung’s flagship range, there’s 4.5-watt reverse wireless charging on offer too.

Photography

You’ll find three cameras embedded within the rectangular camera block on the rear of the Samsung Galaxy S20 FE. It’s comprised of a main 12Mp f/1.8 sensor along with 12Mp f/2.2 ultra-wide and 8Mp f/2.4 telephoto snappers. That might seem a little underwhelming

compared to the rest of the S20 at a glance, particularly in the telephoto department, but generally speaking, the trio of cameras perform well.

Of course, it’s the main sensor that gets the most TLC in most smartphones, so let’s start there.

The main 12Mp sensor is larger than that of the other S20 FE cameras, so it captures more light with more accurate colours, and that’s evident in the quality of images taken. In ideal conditions, the S20 FE captured bright, detailed, colourful snaps enhanced further by Samsung’s AI scene optimization, a feature that adjusts images depending on what it thinks you’re taking a photo of.

It’s quick to capture images, although like most smartphone cameras, there’s a slight chance it’ll come out blurry if you move mid-take. But, if the S20 FE notices this, it’ll give you a little heads-up within the Camera app – a handy feature not present on most Android smartphones.

The idea of the 12Mp ultra-wide is to squeeze as much of a scene in as possible, with Samsung’s option offering the ability to capture double the amount of the scene compared to the main lens with a 0.5x zoom. That’s on a par with the iPhone 11, and it’s an improvement on the 0.6x zoom on many competing Androids with an ultra-wide lens, allowing you to squeeze in a little more of a vista or more friends in a group shot.

Importantly, unlike some competitors, there’s no noticeable drop in quality or real shift in colour temperature between the ultra-wide and wide lenses. Images are just as vibrant and detailed as those from the main sensor, although it’s not quite as capable in low-light situations.

Lastly, there’s the 3x telephoto lens, allowing you to get closer to your subject without physically moving. The good news is that images captured by the telephoto lens are decent in terms of detail, but unlike the ultra-wide, there’s a shift in colour temperature compared to the main lens. It might not be noticeable in everyday use, but putting photos side-by-side, you’ll be able to tell.

The telephoto lens also offers up to 30x digital zoom, but images taken at that level are barely usable – taking a photo of the moon on a clear night looked closer to a headlight than a celestial body.

Along with the different lenses, there are a variety of shooting modes available including Samsung’s popular One Take mode, allowing you to take a 10- to 15-second video and generate a variety of photos, video clips and edits based on what the phone thinks is important, along with Night Mode, Pro mode and more.

An image taken using the main lens.

Here’s the same scene, but shot using the ultrawide lens.

Here are a couple of examples of photos taken using the telephoto lens.

On the front, you’ll find a 32Mp snapper that performs much like the selfie camera of the iPhone 11: it’s a single camera offering both an ultra-wide and wide shooting mode. That’s done simply by cropping in the full-frame image to give you a tighter look, and although it’s not as good as having a true dual-camera set-up on the front, images are more than enough for the likes of Instagram and Snapchat.

In terms of video, you can record at up to 4K at 60fps on both the frontand rear-facing cameras. However, features like moving autofocus only work when shooting at 1080 at 30fps, and it’s a similar case when shooting in aspect ratios other than 16:9, so there are limitations to the video offerings of the S20 FE.

Software

Like the rest of the Galaxy S20 range, the S20 FE comes with Android 10 out of the box, although you’ll be able to get an upgrade to Android 11 when it’s pushed out to Samsung smartphones – likely near the end of 2020. What’s better is that prior to the announcement of the S20 FE, Samsung committed to three years of Android upgrades, potentially providing access to Android 12 and 13 on the 20 FE.

You’ll get access to key new features in Android 10 including a system-wide dark mode, Digital Wellbeing tools and even Facebook Messenger-esque Chat bubbles from the likes of WhatsApp and other chat apps – if you want them.

Like the rest of the Samsung portfolio, the S20 FE features Samsung’s OneUI baked on top of stock Android. As with most custom UIs, there are visual changes on offer, and OneUI provides deep customization in terms of widgets, themes and fonts to radically change the look of the interface if you desire.

OneUI can take a bit of getting used to initially, but once you’ve powered through the short learning curve, the Galaxy S20 FE is a joy to interact with.

Verdict

Being the Fan Edition, The S20 FE had a lot of expectations to live up to, and for the most part, Samsung has achieved what it set out to do – provide the core Galaxy S20 experience in a cheaper package. You’ve got the same supersmooth 120Hz AMOLED display, albeit with a lower resolution, and it still has a high-end look despite switching out the rear glass for Samsung’s ‘Glasstic’ glass-effect plastic.

The biggest plus for UK fans is the inclusion of the Snapdragon 865 over the Exynos 990, with Qualcomm’s option offering improved performance

and power efficiency compared to Samsung’s own chipset.

There’s a trio of surprisingly capable rear-facing cameras that work well, capturing bright, detailed images, although photos taken on the telephoto lens do look a little more washed out than the vibrant colourful shots taken by the main wide and ultra-wide lenses.

Battery life is decent too, with no issues getting through an average day with 5G and the 120Hz refresh rate enabled, and there’s 25-watt fast charging supported to keep you untethered – although it ships with a less powerful 15-watt charging brick.

Essentially, Samsung has distilled the essence of what made the Samsung Galaxy S20 such a popular option and put it on sale at a discounted price. The Glasstic rear is a little disappointing, but it’s something most people will get over eventually. Lewis Painter

Specifications

• 6.5in (2,400x1,080; 407ppi) Super

AMOLED, 120Hz, HDR10+ touchscreen • Android 10, One UI 2.5 • Exynos 990 (7nm+)processor • Octa-core (2x 2.73GHz Mongoose

M5, 2x 2.5GHz Cortex-A76, 4x 2GHz

Cortex-A55) CPU • Mali-G77 MP11 GPU • 6GB/8GB RAM • 128GB/256GB storage • Three rear-facing cameras: 12Mp, f/1.8, 26mm (wide), 1/1.76in, 1.8µm,

Dual Pixel PDAF, OIS; 8Mp, f/2.4, 76mm (telephoto), 1/4.5in, 1.0µm,

PDAF, OIS, 3x optical zoom; 12Mp, f/2.2, 123-degree, 13mm (ultra-wide), 1/3.0in, 1.12µm • Single selfie camera: 32Mp, f/2.2, 26mm (wide), 1/2.74in, 0.8µm • Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/6, dual-band,

Wi-Fi Direct, hotspot • Bluetooth 5.0, A2DP, LE • GPS with A-GPS, GLONASS, BDS,

GALILEO • NFC • USB Type-C 3.2, USB On-The-Go • Fingerprint scanner (under display, optical) • Non-removable 4,500mAh lithiumpolymer battery • Fast charge 25 watts • 159.8x74.5x8.4mm • 190g

BEST FOR PRODUCTIVITY: SAMSUNG GALAXY NOTE20 ULTRA 5G

Price: £1,179 (inc VAT) from fave.co/34uV3Il

Our Samsung Galaxy Note20 Ultra review found three clear reasons to make the jump to this new flagship phone: Mystic Bronze, laser autofocus

and the S Pen’s new 8ms latency. And if you’re looking for any reasons not to, well, there are plenty of those in this review too – namely, it’s gigantic, expensive and not a huge upgrade over the S20 Ultra.

But if you’re a Note fan, you know exactly what you’re The 6.9in screen on the Galaxy Note20 Ultra definitely needs getting and you two hands to operate. know you want it: the biggest, fastest and most powerful Android phone you can buy. For everyone else, it’s not so simple.

Samsung’s flagships have become so good that reviews of them are all basically the same: yes they have the best specs, but they’re also the most Sorry, Bixby lovers, the dedicated button is gone for good. expensive (although the Note20 Ultra actually costs £20 carrier offers, you’re still going to be less than the S20 Ultra). The maths is paying more for this phone than for any brutally clear: Even with trade-ins and other Note that came before it. There’s

no doubt that you’re getting a lot for your money with the Note20 Ultra. But Samsung has raised the bar so high, the best might not be worth the price of admission anymore.

Design

There’s no nice way to say it: the Note20 Ultra is the most unwieldy phone I’ve ever used. Granted, it’s about 15g lighter than the S20 Ultra, three-quarters of a millimetre thinner and only a couple of millimetres wider, but that phone was already at the upper limit of what my hands and pockets could handle. The extra width on the Note20 Ultra, along with its very boxy shape, makes it feel uncomfortable to handle and carry.

The unwieldiness is due in no small part to the camera bump. You’ve seen it in photos, and it’s every bit as obtrusive as it looks. The Note20 Ultra’s impressive thinness actually works against it here, making the bump feel much thicker by comparison. The size also means it’s tough to use when resting on a table. I even encountered some issues with charging pads. A case would help, but you wouldn’t want to use one.

Why? Because the Note20 Ultra is flat-out gorgeous. Samsung’s new colours are dubbed ‘Mystic’, and they give the Note a refinement and dignity that contrasts with the pop-culture vibe one gets from the S20 Ultra’s bright, iridescent ‘Cosmic’ colourways.

The Note20 Ultra has a luscious matte finish that’s nicer than what I’ve seen on any Galaxy phone I’ve ever used. It doesn’t need to grow on you like the iPhone 11 Pro’s Midnight Green or wait for the right light like the Note 10’s Aura Glow. It repels fingerprints like it was made of plastic, and it has a better grip than the glossy S20 does. The new bronze colour’s matching, stainless-steel sides add a touch of sophistication, accentuated by the slivers of colour that peek out above and below the

The bezels aren’t completely gone on the Note20 Ultra, but they’re not very visible.

The Note20 Ultra’s matte finish is a massive improvement over the glossy S20 Ultra.

display. You’d be nuts to get any other colour and even more nuts to put a case on it, even a clear one.

The front of the phone is equally fabulous. The bezels around the enormous 6.9in screen are about as thin as they can get without disappearing completely. The curved edges contrast nicely with the flat top and bottom.

Because it’s a Samsung flagship, it goes without saying that the display is big, bright and breathtaking. But I’ll say it anyway. Samsung somehow manages top itself with each new flagship. If you go deep enough in the comparison with the S20 Ultra, you’ll see a more consistent white balance and a higher max brightness (a whopping 1,500 nits using adaptive brightness), but all you’ll notice are the vibrant colours and deep blacks. The Galaxy Note20 Ultra has the same 120Hz display that Samsung introduced with the S20, so unfortunately, you still need to drop the resolution to Full HD to use the 120Hz setting, but it’s a small sacrifice. Once you try it out, you won’t want to go back, but here it has an adaptive refresh rate to conserve battery life. So if you’re reading an article, the rate will drop to 60Hz, but if you’re playing a game or watching a movie, it’ll increase to 120Hz. It’s a great batterysaving feature and one that looks to be exclusive to the Note. Samsung has announced the One UI 2.5 features that are coming to the S20 and the adaptive refresh isn’t one of them.

Performance

The Note20 Ultra might not be a true ‘gamer’ phone like the Asus ROG Phone 3 or the Lenovo Legion Duel, but it packs just as much of a punch. The Snapdragon 865+ combined with 12GB of LPDDR5 RAM produced the best scores I’ve ever seen on an Android phone:

Geekbench 5

Single: 966 Multi: 3,067 Compute: 3,652

PCMark

Work 2.0: 12,298

So you’re getting a phone that’ll run everything at tip-top speed, including Microsoft’s new xCloud Xbox gaming service. I’m no gamer (my Candy Crush obsession notwithstanding), and my Minecraft Dungeons-loving son was too young to try out the preview with his account, but Xbox fans will surely be happy with the performance.

You’ll also be able to download Fortnite without side-loading, an unexpected benefit of Epic’s recent war with Google and Apple. Because Samsung runs its own App Store and doesn’t have terms as strict as Apple’s for developers, the new Epic Store with discounted V-Bucks is available at a tap. My son reports that while the on-screen controls were a little confusing at first, gameplay on the Note20 Ultra is ‘OP’ (that means good), and he was able to snipe some sweats.

The Snapdragon 865+ chip gets a little hot, however. In Fortnite and other graphically intensive apps, the back of the phone became noticeably warm to the touch, often topping 100 degrees Fahrenheit during the heaviest loads (per an infrared thermometer). It might become an issue on hot days. That’s probably why the Asus ROG Phone 3 and Lenovo Legion Duel have specialized cooling systems. Also worth noting it that the Note20 Ultra’s 4,500mAh battery is a little on the skimpy side is. While that’s bigger

The Galaxy Note20 Ultra (top) is only about three-quarters of a millimetre thinner than the S20 Ultra, but the difference is noticeable.

the main reason why the iPhone 12 probably won’t include a ProMotion display – it kills battery life. When you need to charge it, you’ll get 25-watt fast charging, but not the 45-watt charging on the Note 10+ and Galaxy S20 Ultra. It won’t make a huge difference – the The bezels are thin, the camera is centred, and the screen is Note20 Ultra will still gorgeous on the Note20 Ultra. fill up in less than 90 minutes using the than what you’ll find on most phones, 25-watt charger – but it’s strange that it’s smaller than the 5,000mAh battery Samsung removed support after just in the S20 Ultra. But don’t worry: your a year. The camera bump also caused Note20 Ultra is still going to make some issues with charging pads. More it through the day, even with heavy than once my phone didn’t charge users who want to keep 120Hz motion because the camera lifted the phone up smoothness turned on. enough where the coils weren’t touching.

Note20 Ultra users will have to settle for second-best when it comes S Pen to battery life, however. In benchmarks, Because this is a Galaxy Note phone, I got better than 12 hours with 120Hz it has an S Pen on board, though it’s turned off, but only around nine hours not like the styli of Note past. For one, with it on. My real-world experiences it’s been moved to the left side of the were similar: even with the new adaptive device after living its whole past life refresh rate, the Note’s battery drained on the right side. The placement isn’t significantly faster when motion the only thing that’s new. Samsung has smoothing was on, which is just going accelerated the S Pen’s latency from to be a fact of life until it evolves. It’s 45ms to 8ms, which has a dramatic effect

Samsung turned its stylus into a Bluetooth remote with the Note 9 and added app gestures last year. Now the Note has even more ‘air actions’ that let you control all aspects of the phone with back, recents, home, and screenshot gestures. I could somewhat see You’ll want to take more notes with your Note20 Ultra’s S Pen. the appeal of using the S Pen as a remote on writing and drawing. I never had an for the Camera or Gallery, but the use issue with the old pen’s performance, case for the new air actions is extremely but the new S Pen feels as natural as limited. writing on an actual piece of paper. And that’s if you can get them to That latency is the same as the Apple work. While I was able to complete the Pencil’s, and it makes a huge difference handy tutorial that forces you practice when taking notes, marking up documents or just scribbling on the screen. It’s even better with the higher refresh rate. Samsung’s Notes app has been upgraded as well, with better handwriting support and annotated audio. I suspect you’ll be using your Note to take notes more often than with previous Notes.

The rest of the S Pen’s tricks aren’t nearly as impressive. The camera bump on the Note20 Ultra is very bumpy.

each of the new gestures, getting them to work while using the phone wasn’t so simple. I often triggered the wrong gesture or none at all.

I struggled to find a reason to use them. Even when I was using the S Pen, it was just as easy to tap the phone than wave my hand to The Note20 Ultra is impressively thin at 8.1mm, but the camera go back a screen or bump adds some girth. switch apps.

The new S Pen is joined by a new good thing. The 100X Space Zoom that version of One UI (2.5) that brings was plastered across the camera array minor camera and interface tweaks, as on the S20 Ultra has been lowered to Samsung continues to refine one of the 50X, and the DepthVision lens has been best Android skins this side of the Pixel. replaced by laser autofocus. Samsung has specifically designed One Both changes serve the Note20 UI to be friendlier to giant phones. The Ultra well. While the 108Mp lens is still menus, navigation, and layout all make largely unnecessary – I couldn’t tell the the Note20 a little easier to handle. You’ll difference between 108Mp pictures and still need two hands, but One UI is a 12Mp ‘binned’ images – the Note20 pleasure to use. Ultra is definitely Samsung’s best smartphone camera. It’s no coincidence Photography that it’s also the least gimmicky, The Galaxy Note20 Ultra has a camera eschewing features like Dual Exposure system rivalling that of any smartphone on the Note 9 for the things that matter: out there, but it’s not quite as improved night mode, lightning-fast extravagant as the S20 Ultra’s. That’s a focus and realistic zoom.

is its biggest advantage over Google and Apple (for now). Even with fewer megapixels in its telephoto lens (12Mp vs 48Mp on the S20 Ultra), the Note20 Ultra takes better zoom shots. The other big improvement is with autofocus. Focusing was an issue with the S20 Ultra that has never been satisfactorily resolved. For the new generation, Samsung added a laser autofocus sensor to the Note20 Ultra. It makes a huge difference over the S20 Ultra and is a far more useful fourth lens than a macro or depth one. I’ve never used a phone that focused The Galaxy Note20 Ultra has impressive zoom, seen here this quickly without (clockwise from top left) at 1X, 10X, 30X and 50X. needing to tap the screen, and it helps all

The zoom has its limits. When pushed aspects of the Note. to 50X, the Note20 Ultra still produces However, at times it works a little too noisy shots. Drop to 30X and they’re well. When the foreground is similar to usable, but 10X yields the best results. If I what’s behind it, the Note20 occasionally were in change of the Note 30’s camera, locked onto the wrong part of the in fact, I’d make 30X the upper limit and picture. Other cameras were smarter. work on perfecting it. Samsung’s zoom When it got it right, photos often had

The Note20 Ultra’s laser zoom is so fast and precise, the centre of subjects are often too in focus, leaving blurry edges.

Even without a dedicated time-of-flight sensor, the Note20 Ultra (left) takes portraits that are as crisp as the S20 Ultra’s.

an aggressive bokeh effect even without the Note20 Ultra on firm footing with using Live Focus. In the photo of the the night mode champ. Hands down, flower above, for example, the back the Galaxy Note20 Ultra is Samsung’s petals are out of focus. The same shot best camera phone. You’ll still get a with the Pixel 4a has everything in focus.

Night mode also improves on the Note20 Ultra, pulling it close to equal footing with the iPhone 11 and Pixel 4. Shadows and lowlights aren’t blown out as they are on other Galaxy phones. Pictures have less noise than on the S20 Ultra. It’s a great improvement and puts

whether you’re far away or shrouded in darkness.

Verdict

The Note20 Ultra (left) takes sharper, more balanced, and less over-exposed photos in Night mode compared to the S20 Ultra. (It was very dark when I took these shots.) Nothing I write here is going to convince you about a Note20 Ultra either way. If you have £1,179 to spend on a phone and want the very best of Android, you’ve probably already decided to order one. And if you’re a Note lover, it’s likely already on the way. For everyone else, however, it’s a tough sell. It’s undeniably the best phone you can buy, but it’s also probably more screen and power than most people need. No matter how you slice it, £1,179 is a lot of money to pay for a phone, even one as beautiful as the Note20 Ultra. Michael Simon

healthy serving of Samsung’s trademark oversaturation, and the app is still a bit more confusing than it should be. But more often than not, you’re going to take your phone out of your pocket and snap a great picture with very little fuss,

Specifications

• 6.9in (3,088x1,440; 496ppi) Dynamic

AMOLED 2X capacitive touchscreen • Android 10, One UI 2.5 • Exynos 990 (7nm+) processor

• Octa-core (2x 2.73GHz

Mongoose M5, 2x 2.5GHz Cortex-A76, 4x 2GHz Cortex-A55) CPU • Mali-G77 MP11 GPU • 8GB RAM • 256GB/512GB storage • Three rear-facing cameras: 108Mp, f/1.8, 26mm (wide), 1/1.33in, 0.8µm, PDAF, Laser

AF, OIS; 12Mp, f/3.0, 120mm (periscope OnePlus’s Nord is a great value phone. telephoto), 1.0µm,

PDAF, OIS, 5x optical zoom, 50x hybrid BEST AFFORDABLE: zoom; 12Mp, f/2.2, 120-degree, 13mm ONEPLUS NORD (ultra-wide), 1/2.55in, 1.4µm Price: £379 (inc VAT) from fave. • Selfie camera: 10Mp, f/2.2, 26mm co/2DNYVZJ (wide), 1/3.2in, 1.22µm, Dual Pixel OnePlus made its name undercutting

PDAF flagship phones, but over time the • 802.11a/b/g/n/ac/6 Wi-Fi dual-band brand slowly became exactly what it had • Bluetooth 5.0, A2DP, LE, aptX originally set its stall against. I loved the • GPS with A-GPS, GLONASS, BDS, OnePlus 8 Pro, but – like many others –

GALILEO noted that it is a flagship through and • NFC through, with the price to match. • USB 3.2, Type-C 1.0 reversible Enter the OnePlus Nord. Much has connector, USB On-The-Go been made of the company’s return • Fingerprint scanner (under display, to the mid-range market – even Apple ultrasonic) couldn’t generate this much hype • Non-removable 4,500mAh lithium- around an affordable phone when it polymer battery launched the iPhone SE – and it’s fair to • Fast charge 25 watts say that expectations were high. • 164.8x77.2x8.1mm So has OnePlus done it again? Well • 208g let’s put it this way: I moved from the

OnePlus 8 Pro to the Nord for this review, and even though that phone costs more than twice as much, I’m in no rush to go back. The notorious flagship killer has killed again.

Design

The best thing I can say about the design of the Nord is that absolutely The rear camera module has moved to the corner, but everybody I’ve shown it to otherwise things look much like the company’s flagships. has been shocked when I tell them it costs just £379. button, volume rocker and the always-

The Nord looks and feels just like welcome notification toggle, still rare any other OnePlus phone – which is on Android phones. saying something, given that OnePlus’s OnePlus has essentially made two flagships are among the best designed concessions to price here. The first is out there. It runs a little smaller, but not the frame, which is plastic rather than by much – I actually wish they’d shrunk it the metal of the flagships. I’ll be honest, down further, but OnePlus doesn’t really I didn’t even notice this until it was make small phones. pointed out to me, and if I hadn’t just

Available in two finishes – Blue told you I suspect you wouldn’t have Marble and Grey Onyx – the Nord looks noticed either. It may have some impact different to the flagships, but no less on the phone’s durability of course, but polished. There’s a shinier finish, rather the Gorilla Glass 5 finish on the rear and than the matte frosted glass of its big screen should help somewhat. brothers, but that makes it look different The bigger change is the move to – not worse. Expect fingerprints though. a flat display. This is really a matter of

The rear camera module has moved taste, and I know plenty of people who to the corner, but otherwise things look prefer a flat screen to a curved one, so much like the company’s flagships. it’s hard to chalk this up as much of a You get the same controls: power downgrade either.

There’s also no official waterproof rating for the phone, but OnePlus does claim that it will survive being submerged for up to 30 seconds in 30cm of water, which is longer than I ever intend to keep it underwater. I’ll admit I haven’t dared test that claim myself, though.

Finally, as per usual there’s no headphone jack. There’s also only mono sound through the speakers, but that’s par for the course at this price.

Display

Let’s talk about that display. At 6.44in it’s a touch smaller than the OnePlus 8, but it’s roughly comparable. That means it’s still a pretty sizable screen, though the 20:9 aspect ratio and slim bezels keep it usable.

The core specs are hard to complain about: FHD+ (2,400x1,080) with a pixel density of 408ppi, a 90Hz refresh rate and AMOLED to boot. To be blunt, this is a better screen than some flagships are shipping with – I’m looking at you, LG Velvet – and is quite possibly the best you’ll find anywhere near this price.

Yes, you can get a 120Hz refresh rate screen for less in the Realme X50 5G, but it won’t be AMOLED. Few people will notice or appreciate the jump from 90Hz to 120Hz, but the colour depth, brightness and accuracy of AMOLED is immediately apparent. OnePlus has made the right compromises here.

Performance

Speaking of making the right compromises, the biggest downgrade the Nord gets is in its chipset – and it really doesn’t matter at all. The Nord uses Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 765G chip, which brings with it the same 5G support you’ll find on flagships – though no Wi-Fi 6, sadly. OnePlus pairs it with either 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage, or a souped-up model with 12GB RAM and 256GB storage – the one I’ve been testing. Yes, there’s a performance gap between the 765G and the flagship 865, and it looks stark in benchmarking This is a better screen than some flagships offer. comparisons to the OnePlus 8.

But unless you’re playing the absolute most demanding mobile games around, you simply will not notice while you’re actually using the phone.

The Nord is just as fast, responsive, and reliable as any phone you can buy right now for day-to-day usage and will outpace many at this price.

Geekbench 5 (multi-core)

OnePlus Nord: 1,963 OnePlus 8: 3,400 Oppo Find X2 Lite: 1,845 Motorola Edge: 1,813 Realme X3 SuperZoom: 2,617 Huawei Nova 5T: 2,422

GFX Aztec Open Normal

OnePlus Nord: 22fps OnePlus 8: 48fps Oppo Find X2 Lite: 21fps Motorola Edge: 20fps Realme X3 SuperZoom: 40fps Google Pixel 3a: 11fps Huawei Nova 5T: 17fps

GFX Aztec Open High

OnePlus Nord: 13fps OnePlus 8: 31fps Oppo Find X2 Lite: 13fps Motorola Edge: 12fps Realme X3 SuperZoom: 26fps Google Pixel 3a: 7fps Huawei Nova 5T: 18fps

GFX Aztec Vulkan Normal

OnePlus Nord: 21fps OnePlus 8: 45fps Oppo Find X2 Lite: 21fps Motorola Edge: 19fps Realme X3 SuperZoom: 31fps Google Pixel 3a: 9fps Huawei Nova 5T: 13fps

GFX Aztec Vulkan High

OnePlus Nord: 13fps OnePlus 8: 30fps Oppo Find X2 Lite: 13fps Motorola Edge: 12fps Realme X3 SuperZoom: 323fps Google Pixel 3a: 6fps Huawei Nova 5T: 9fps

OnePlus Nord battery charge in 30 minutes

OnePlus Nord: 68% OnePlus 8: 57% Oppo Find X2 Lite: 68% Motorola Edge: 38% Realme X3 SuperZoom: 68% Google Pixel 3a: 47% Huawei Nova 5T: 54%

Photography

If there’s one area where the Nord’s budget limitations show through, it’s in the camera. Not because it’s bad, but because it’s a decidedly mixed bag. First up, the main lens is a 48Mp, f/1.75

shooter using the popular Sony IMX586 sensor – the same sensor OnePlus has used in phones since the 7 Pro, though this year’s 8 Pro upgraded to the more impressive IMX689.

This main lens is where the Nord shines. OnePlus has had the benefit of the best part of two years optimizing its software for this specific sensor, and the results speak for themselves. This won’t quite match a Pixel – or even the similarly priced iPhone SE – for sheer point-and-shoot performance, but it’s pretty darn close.

Colours are bright and accurate, exposure is even, and there’s both detail in contrast in spades. Especially once you factor in the price, this camera is a clear winner.

As for video, it’ll handle 4K footage at 30fps – disappointingly not at 60fps, though the selfie camera will – with OIS and EIS to keep things steady.

Things get a little murkier once you move to other lenses and shooting modes however. The 8Mp, f/2.25 wideangle inevitably loses some detail, but more than that the colour balance and contrast are off. Shots expose darker than through the main lens, with extra shadow eating up that detail even more. The results aren’t bad, but they aren’t great either. Those two lenses are bolstered by a depth sensor to help with

A shot taken using the OnePlus Nord’s main lens.

Here’s the same subject, but shot using the wideangle lens.

Another photo, this time using the 2x zoom.

Here’s an image taken using the phone’s Nightscape mode.

This selfie was taken using the default settings…

…this was taken with the wideangle lens …

… and here is a portrait selfie.

portrait shots, and a 2Mp macro camera that is clearly only here to make up the numbers. Like most low-megapixel macro cameras, this is absolutely terrible, with low detail, awful exposure and desaturated colour. There is no conceivable circumstance in which you’d ever want to use this camera, but the good news is that you don’t have to: take a shot with the main lens, crop in and you can get a fantastic close-up shot that way.

Low light photos are decent, but nothing to write home about – I suspect the 765G is slightly showing its limitations here. Still, my test shots were taken in near total darkness and the phone still managed to pick out colours spectacularly well, even if fine details are missing. Real low light shots outside at night or in dim bars should come out much better.

Finally, the front. In an unexpected twist you get two selfie cameras here, a trend that I thought had died out. In addition to a 32Mp main lens you get an 8Mp ultra-wide for group shots – both f/2.45. Unsurprisingly, the main shooter wins on detail and exposes for highlights a little better, but I’m actually impressed with the results out of both lenses – this is a great camera for selfie shots.

Battery

Battery life and charging speed have long been among the stronger elements of OnePlus phones, and the Nord is no exception. The 4,115mAh easily lasts a day’s use with room to spare, though it won’t quite make it all the way through the next one.

That’s alright though, as the Warp Charge 30T fast charging was enough to top the battery up by 68 per cent in half an hour in my testing – which is enough to last the day, when push comes to shove. There’s no wireless charging, but at this price the iPhone SE is pretty much the only phone out there that does include the feature, so that’s no real surprise.

OnePlus’s own counterparts. It’s a small touch that avoids duplication and gives users access to features like RCS messaging. There’s one final area where the Nord beats Oxygen is the best Android skin around right now. most of its Android rivals: Software updates. OnePlus is promising two years The Nord ships with Android 10, and of software updates and a third year of runs the same Oxygen OS 10.5 software security patches for the Nord, which is as the company’s other phones. the kind of commitment you’ll struggle to

If you haven’t used a OnePlus phone find outside of Apple. It’s a promise that before, Oxygen is arguably the best if you get a Nord, it should stick with you Android skin around right now. It’s clean for at least two years if you want it to. and simple to use, but packed with customization options if you want them, Verdict along with a few custom features like The OnePlus Nord is the best mid-range the distraction-free Zen Mode and the phone in the world right now. It looks Fnatic-sponsored gaming mode. and feels like a phone twice its price,

Disappointingly, OnePlus still hasn’t with a display and main camera lens to added an always-on display to its OS, match. The 765G processor more than but the company assures fans than one holds its own, and all of the camera is on the way, and it should be added lenses are solid except the forgettable within the next year. macro shooter.

OnePlus has actually stripped Oxygen More importantly, you won’t find back ever so slightly for the Nord by better at this price, or a better selection shipping the phone with Google’s of the priority features for most users Messages and Phone apps, rather than on a budget, with luxuries like wireless

charging or an OTT 120Hz refresh rate ditched in favour of a focus on the fundamentals. The Nord would be a good buy at £100 more – at this price, it’s a steal. Dominic Preston

Specifications

• 6.44in (2,400x1,080; 408ppi) Fluid

AMOLED capacitive touchscreen • Android 10, OxygenOS 10.0 • Qualcomm SDM765 Snapdragon 765G (7nm) processor • Octa-core (1x 2.4GHz Kryo 475 Prime, 1x2.2 GHz Kryo 475 Gold, 6x 1.8GHz

Kryo 475 Silver) CPU • Adreno 620 GPU • 6GB/8GB/12GB RAM • 64GB/128GB/256GB storage • Four rear-facing cameras: 48Mp, f/1.8, 26mm (wide), 1/2.0in, 0.8µm, PDAF,

OIS; 8Mp, f/2.3, 119-degree (ultrawide); 5Mp, f/2.4, (depth); 2Mp, f/2.4, (macro) • Dual selfie camera: 32Mp, f/2.5, (wide), 1/2.8in, 0.8µm; 8Mp, f/2.5, 105-degree (ultra-wide), 1/4.0in, 1.12µm • 802.11a/b/g/n/ac Wi-Fi dual-band • Bluetooth 5.1, A2DP, LE, aptX HD • GPS with dual-band A-GPS, GLONASS,

GALILEO, BDS, SBAS, NavIC • NFC • USB 2.0, Type-C 1.0 reversible connector, USB On-The-Go • Fingerprint scanner (under display) • Non-removable 4,115mAh lithiumpolymer battery • Fast charge 30 watts • 158.3x73.3x8.2mm • 184g