OnePlus 115G

Unique photography features and smooth performance, but don't buy it if you tend to drop phones

- PHILIP BERNE

SCORE ✪✪✪✪

PRICE 16GB/256GB, £666 (£799 inc VAT) from oneplus.com

OnePlus' latest phone represents a return to the brand's defining formula: competitive specs at a competitive price. It's £70 cheaper than the OnePlus 10 was at launch, and there's only one model, with no upsell to a "Pro" version. Pricing starts at a reasonable £729 with 256GB of storage and 8GB of RAM, or you can buy a 512GB/16GB model for £799.

What you get for the money is a very nice-looking phone. I like the flat edges on the top and bottom, and the curved bump on the rear shines like a sports car. Fans of previous OnePlus phones will be pleased to note that the physical alert slider remains on the side. You can flick this up to mute the phone or down to turn the sound back on. It's wonderfully tactile, with a knurled face that makes it easy to find without taking the phone out of your pocket.

On the bottom edge, there's a USB-C port (the headphone jack is gone for good, it seems), as well as a SIM card slot - although the phone can alternatively handle an eSIM, or switch between the two.

The handset doesn't feel as polished as an iPhone or a Samsung Galaxy. Flip it over in your hand and you'll catch on the edges and seams, and the bezel isn't uniform around the display. Those with smaller hands may also find the 6.7in format unwieldy: it's as big as the Google Pixel 7 Pro, and there's no smaller model to match the standard Pixel 7.

A bigger problem is the glossy finish. It looks sharp, but it's so slick it slipped off my desk a few times, and I even managed to drop it on occasion. That's not great, especially since the phone is only IP64-rated, which means it's not guaranteed to survive an accidental dunk in the toilet. This is a phone that needs handling with care.

Shining example