Tested OnePlus Nord CE

T E ST E D O N E P L U S N O R D C E 5 G

Where’s Nord from here?

Big new prints Don’t go thinking the CE doesn’t have classy touches – few rivals can match its excellent in-screen fingerprint scanner.

Totally mired

The main camera flattens textures into blocks of colour and mushes up fine detail in darker areas. It’s a step down from the Nord, if not a catastrophic one. The ultra-wide is basic, but OnePlus gets away with it by jacking up the colour.

OnePlus tones down its Stuff five-star-rated Nord smartphone to tempt those of us in the cheap seats, and it works… mostly

from£299/stuff.tv/NordCE

The OnePlus Nord CE 5G is a cheaper version of the original Nord. Is it better? Hell no. The back is plastic, the main camera is worse, the processor doesn’t have as much gaming power and you’ll only save £30… but we’re not sure how much longer the proper Nord will be available.

‘CE’ stands for ‘core edition’ . Really it’s all about creating a friendly face to mask something that’s not quite as good. Still, it looks more sophisticated than your average sub-£300 5G phone.

It has a 64MP primary camera, an 8MP ultra-wide and a 2MP monochrome. We assume a OnePlus employee found a few million of these black-and-white cams discarded in a skip, because it’s totally pointless, but the CE can shoot lovely images.

You will find phones with more power for less cash, and a blast through Fortnite shows the CE isn’t as strong as the original Nord: the visuals are capped at ‘medium’ rather than ‘epic’ . The two have similar CPU power, but the older model’s chip has more 3D grunt.

This doesn’t mean performance has been overlooked – the CE feels slick, never missing a beat as you jump between apps. The battery makes it through the day just fine and you get 30W fast charging to take you from flat to 61% in half an hour.

Telephone zing

The mid-size 6.43in display is a OnePlus staple: sharpness, colour and contrast are all great, but some cheaper rivals like the Oppo A54 do look marginally peppier on sunny days – despite OnePlus’s claims of 1000-nit brightness. Techspecs

Screen 6.43in 2400x1080 90Hz AMOLED Processor Snapdragon 750G RAM 6/8/12GB Storage 128/256GB OS Android 11 Cameras 64+8+2MP rear, 16MP front Battery 4500mAh (USB-C) Dimensions 159x74x7.9mm, 170g

STUFF SAYS A solid 5G phone that breezes past Samsung in the value stakes

It’s a good deal, but if you want more you’ll have to pay your rates Andrew Williams

Don’t buy the Nord CE 5G expecting the sort of red-hot bargain that made OnePlus famous. The company has taken the original Nord and made it cheaper to produce (and, yes, a bit worse) but hasn’t drastically cut the asking price. It’s smaller, lighter and thinner than most affordable 5G phones, and looks more elegant than just about all of them, but that may not be enough to satisfy the old-school OnePlus crowd.

THE RETURN OF FIDELIO: A FEAST FOR YOUR EARS

IMAX power Not only is the B97 the world’s first IMAX Enhanced soundbar, but the wireless detachable speakers allow for true ‘Surround on Demand’ rather than a virtual version from the front only.

How it started to how it’s going – don’t call it a comeback, because Philips’ audio prowess has been here for years

W

hen Philips first established its Fidelio brand, it was with the express intention of doing the ‘premium’ thing a little differently.

And those Fidelio headphones and soundbars certainly stood out from the crowd, thanks to an unbeatable combo of premium materials, premium performance and a most un-premium ease of use – because unlike its competitors, Fidelio never considered complexity or wonky ergonomics to be virtues.

And now the brand is back, ready to build on its reputation and ready (again) to redefine what ‘premium’ really should mean where materials, performance and accessibility are concerned. The new soundbars and headphones embody the whole Fidelio philosophy: they look, feel and sound superb.

X gon’ give it to ya

The X3 open-backed over-ear headphones are a brilliant example of what Fidelio stands for. Their mix of metal, sustainable Muirhead leather and Kvadrat acoustic cloth brings tactility, longevity and sophisticated good looks; and the 50mm neodymium driver in each earcup has multiple polymer layers and a damping gel in order to deliver deep, balanced and accurate sound from any source.

The Fidelio philosophy is even clearer with the extraordinary B97 soundbar – if for no other reason than that there’s plenty more of it. In fact, the description ‘soundbar’ is to understate the Fidelio B97’s capabilities somewhat. Yes, at first glance it’s a good-looking, well made soundbar. But there’s a bit more to it than that.

With speaker drivers facing forwards, angled out from the ends and firing upwards too, the B97 can deliver all the sonic width and height that a Dolby Atmos or DTS:X soundtrack demands. Its discreet wireless subwoofer adds the sort of low-frequency punch every blockbuster needs; and for when only truly full-on surround sound will do, the end modules detach to become wireless rear speakers.

As well as performing brilliantly with movies, the Fidelio B97 is also an accomplished system for music. It has wired and wireless inputs, so any source can be supported – and of course, it’s perfect for the spatial audio that so many streaming services are beginning to offer.

The power of 3

It’s with the Fidelio L3 headphones, though, that Philips has made its biggest statement of intent. At every turn, these wireless noisecancelling over-ears set standards: they’ll run for over 30 hours on one charge and can manage six hours of playback after just a 15-minute top-up, while aptX HD Bluetooth 5 means solid wireless connectivity and superb sound from their triplelayer 40mm drivers.

The four mics monitor external conditions to deliver the most effective noise-cancellation available; and, of course, the Fidelio L3s use a combination of soft, sustainable Muirhead leather, memory foam and aluminium to create a pair of headphones that’s as big a pleasure to look at as it is to wear and listen to.

Fidelio by Philips is back. And if you want an audio device that looks, feels and performs like a premium product but doesn’t have premium-style complexity or cost, Fidelio by Philips has you covered.

Hitting the hi notes The Fidelio L3s let you connect to any source, wireless or wired, and enjoy the very best in hi-res audio with AAC support for iOS and aptX HD for Android or Windows.

STUFF PROMOTION

Nice touch Touch controls and buttons take care of music, calls and ANC settings, while two mics in each earcup reduce background noise so phone conversations are crystal-clear.

In the moo’d Plastic is pared back in favour of an aluminium frame, while Muirhead leather adorns the cushioned headband to keep you comfortable in longer listening sessions.