The best OnePlus phone 2023on September 19, 2023 at 14:39 Tech Advisor

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OnePlus made its name with ‘flagship killers’ – phones that deliver the key specs of top-tier rivals while undercutting them on price.

That’s not really the company’s modus operandi any more, but don’t hold that against it. OnePlus still makes excellent Android phones, and now covers a price range from some of the most expensive around to super-affordable budget handsets.

OnePlus phones tend to excel at pure performance, along with extremely fast charging and a slick software experience that’s still among Android’s best – even if parent company Oppo is exerting more and more influence over the operating system.

Here we’ve ranked the ten best OnePlus phones we’ve tested from across the company’s range, with links to our full reviews for more detailed analysis.

Bear in mind that not every phone in the list will be on sale where you live, as OnePlus launches slightly different phones in different markets.

Best OnePlus phones 2023

1. OnePlus 11 – Best overall

Pros

Fast performance

Competitive price

Strong cameras

Five years of software support

Cons

No wireless charging

Not fully waterproof

Price When Reviewed:



£729

The OnePlus 11 is the company’s current flagship model – there’s no Pro this year – and it’s a winner.

If you want an Android smartphone with top specs in 2023 that’s designed to stay fast and will have software support till 2028, the OnePlus 11 is a great choice. It’s also one of the cheapest high-end phones to offer this.

The absence of wireless charging shouldn’t be dealbreaker for most people. After all, this phone has an excellent screen, top cameras, good battery life and truly fast charging, and the best performance of any Android phone to date. The lack of full waterproofing is more annoying to me.

OnePlus can’t just stand still, it also must evolve – luckily for us, the OnePlus 11 is a fine evolution and one of the best phones you can buy for a price that undercuts many competing products.

Read our full

OnePlus 11 review

2. OnePlus Nord 3 – Best mid-ranger

Pros

Good performance

Premium feel

Fast and bright screen

Competent camera

Cons

Unreliable battery life

No telephoto camera

Not available in US or UK

Price When Reviewed:



Not available in the UK

The OnePlus Nord 3 is the company’s top-end mid-ranger, though oddly you can’t buy it in either the US or UK – though it is available in the rest of Europe.

This is the most expensive – and premium – Nord yet, with a flagship Dimensity 9000 chipset, glass body, and up to 16GB of RAM for top performance.

The camera setup is solid for the price, though not jaw-dropping, and there’s no telephoto lens. You’ll also have to put up with unreliable battery life – it’s not bad per se, but it proved pretty variable in our review.

Read our full

OnePlus Nord 3 review

3. OnePlus 10 Pro – Best for wireless charging

Pros

Super-fast 80W charging

Great battery life

Powerful specs

Cons

Inconsistent camera

No IP rating

Price When Reviewed:



£799

The OnePlus 10 Pro is the company’s top flagship phone from 2022, and focussed specifically on photography. It’s since been outpaced by the OnePlus 11, but if you can find this for cheaper then it’s a great option – especially since it includes wireless charging, which the 11 doesn’t.

This is an impressive flagship, with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chip, impressive battery life, and nippy 80W wired charging alongside the aforementioned wireless option.

There are downsides. There’s no official IP rating (though a T-Mobile US variant with the same build quality does have the certification – make of that what you will) and while the camera setup is powerful, it’s also inconsistent – and at this price you’ll still find slightly better photography from Samsung or Apple.

Read our full

OnePlus 10 Pro review

4. OnePlus Nord 2T – Best mid-ranger (in the UK)

Pros

Excellent value

Great main camera

80W fast charging

Cons

No wireless charging

No waterproofing

Only 90Hz

Price When Reviewed:



£369 (8GB+128GB) | £469 (12GB+256GB)

The OnePlus Nord 2T is another affordable mid-ranger, and the best OnePlus phone in that price range if you live in the UK, where the Nord 3 isn’t on sale.

The Nord 2T takes what made the Nord 2 such a good phone and improves on it in two key areas: a more powerful processor and faster wired charging. And despite those upgrades, it’s officially cheaper than the Nord 2 (and 3) as well.

This is a great phone for anyone who can’t justify the full price of a OnePlus 11 or 10 Pro, but also among the best mid-range phone on the market from any company.

Read our full

OnePlus Nord 2T review

5. OnePlus 10T – Best for fast charging

Pros

Great 8+ Gen 1 performance

Absurdly fast 150W charging

Very good flat 120Hz display

Cons

No alert slider

No wireless charging

No IP rating outside US

Price When Reviewed:



£629

The OnePlus 10T is an affordable flagship that packs in the fastest charging OnePlus has to offer.

The design is similar to the 10 Pro, though it lacks niceties like the curved display or alert slider. Like that phone it has flagships specs though, and indeed even outpaces the Pro thanks to the inclusion of a Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 chipset and super-fast 150W wired charging – faster even than the newer OnePlus 11.

Where it falls back is on the camera – it packs basically the same photography setup as the Nord 2T, despite costing a fair bit more. It’s the best OnePlus option for gamers or those drawn to the fastest charging, but photography fans will get more from the 10 Pro.

Read our full

OnePlus 10T review

6. OnePlus Nord 2

Pros

Excellent value

Great main camera

Glass build

Cons

No wireless charging

No waterproofing

Only 90Hz

Price When Reviewed:



£399 (8GB+128GB) | £469 (12GB+256GB)

The Nord 2 was for a long time the best OnePlus phone for most people, with a brilliant balance of specs, features, and price – so much so that we named it the best mid-range phone of 2021. It may have been supplanted by the Nord 2T, but if you can find the 2 on sale then it’s an excellent value option.

Powered by a custom MediaTek chipset, the Nord 2 packs in fast 65W charging, a great main camera (borrowed from the flagship 9 series), and an understated glass design.

You won’t get top flagship features like waterproofing or wireless charging, which makes sense for the price. Perhaps slightly more surprisingly the display is limited to 90Hz rather than 120Hz – though this is a sacrifice we suspect few will mind.

Read our full

OnePlus Nord 2 review

7. OnePlus 10R

Pros

Great performance

Fast charging speed

Excellent display

Good value

Cons

Mediocre camera performance

Alert slider missing

Lacks IP rating and wireless charging

India & China-only




Best Prices Today:



₹38999 at OnePlus

The OnePlus 10R is only available in India, but if that’s where you are then it’s well worth considering.

This mid-range handset is similar to the OnePlus 10T in some respects, with the same 150W charging (though a cheaper 80W model is also available) and similar cameras.

It doesn’t pack the same Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 chip, but the MediaTek Dimensity 8100-Max found here is no slouch. It’s not quite top tier, but it won’t disappoint – and it keeps the phone handily cheaper than the 10T.

Note that the OnePlus 11R has since been announced – also an India exclusive – but we haven’t yet had the chance to review it.

Read our full

OnePlus 10R review

8. OnePlus Nord N300 5G

Pros

Great battery life

Decent cameras

Fast wired charging

Solid looking display

Cons

Only one major software update

Unreliably camera

US-only

Price When Reviewed:



Not available in the UK

Best Prices Today:



$229 at OnePlus

The OnePlus Nord N300 5G, exclusive to the US, is one of the cheapest OnePlus phones around at $229.

Despite that, it doesn’t feel like a cheap phone, with build quality that feels more expensive than it is.

It also benefits from great battery life, easily lasting a day or more and with fast charging once it does wear out.

There are a few negatives to the Nord N300 5G, including a weak vibration motor and the disappointing promise of only one future Android update, but overall there aren’t many better options at this price in the US phone market.

Read our full

OnePlus Nord N300 review

9. OnePlus Nord N20 5G

Pros

Solid performance

Good cameras

Quick 33W fast charging

Beautiful AMOLED display

Cons

Only 60Hz display

Only one major software update promised

North America-only

Price When Reviewed:



$299

The Nord N20 5G is a good device that provides decent bang for your buck if you’re in the US or Canada, the only countries where it’s on sale.

Despite costing just $300, it doesn’t feel cheap in the hand. The look and feel of the phone are in line with pricier phones like the Motorola Moto G Stylus 5G or Galaxy A53 – a real win for OnePlus.

There’s also the Snapdragon 695 chipset, which delivers solid performance even though it’s not the top-of-the-line chip from Qualcomm.

There are a few downsides of course, including the lack of a high refresh rate on the display, no official waterproofing, a weak vibration motor, and only receiving one Android update, but these won’t be dealbreakers for everybody.

Read our full

OnePlus Nord N20 5G review

10. OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite 5G

Pros

Rapid 67W charging

Solid battery life

Affordable

Cons

Mediocre performance

Only one good camera

LCD screen

Short software support

Price When Reviewed:



£299

The OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite 5G is a solid lower mid-range phone, but not as competitive in the market as other OnePlus options.

The new 108Mp main camera is decent, though it’s far from the best in its class – especially when the light drops. Meanwhile, the use of an LCD panel rather than an AMOLED feels like an oversight that’s hard to ignore.

There’s a question of value for money here, with the Nord CE 3 Lite 5G coming in more expensive than last year’s model. That might be justifiable with its faster charging and larger display, but rival handsets cast it in a less favourable light.

Factor in average performance and a short software support promise, and you have a phone that struggles to differentiate itself in a competitive field.

Read our full

OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite 5G review

OnePlus phone buying guide

1.

What are the different OnePlus ranges?

The OnePlus phone range is relatively simple. At the top end you get its numbered flagship series – currently the OnePlus 11 line, which for now only includes the OnePlus 11 and the India-only OnePlus 11R. The company is also rumoured to be working on its first flagship foldable, likely to launch later this year.

Below that you find the Nord series. These are cheaper, covering the gamut from budget phones up to the heart of the mid-range. The only complication here is that different markets get different Nord phones – models like the Nord 3 and Nord CE launch in Europe and Asia, while the US gets different phones with names like Nord N300 and N20.

2.

Is OnePlus the same as Oppo?

Sort of. OnePlus originally span off from Chinese phone giant Oppo several years ago, but was mostly ran as an independent company.

That’s now changed, and Oppo has brought OnePlus back into the fold. That means that OnePlus now uses Oppo R&D and software, meaning its products are more similar to Oppo’s than they used to be, and occasionally one company will essentially re-release one of the other’s phones with new branding.

Realme is part of the same family, so you should also keep an eye on Realme phones, which will also be quite similar.

3.

What software do OnePlus phones run?

OnePlus phones all run Android, with the company’s OxygenOS skin on top.

As mentioned above, the company now uses Oppo software, so OxygenOS now shares a code base with that brand’s ColorOS. That means the software from both companies is quite similar, though each retains one or two unique features and a slightly different aesthetic.

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