Picking the device to start your smartphone journey is a massive decision. One’s experience of the device could well end up determining how one not only uses phones in the future, but also technology in general. After all, as per surveys, the smartphone is the first device on which many people access the Internet. What makes the decision even more difficult is the sheer variety of smartphones in the market, often leaving you confused between the option to spend a few extra bucks to get some extra features or leave more in the bank for a rainy day by investing in a relatively inexpensive device, which however might not work as well. 

Well, if you are tangled up over the choice of your first smartphone, we have a suggestion for you. It is a steady performer, looks sleek, brings a number of premium features to the table, is future proof, and most important of all, does not come with a hefty price tag. Not surprisingly, it comes from the brand that showed the world that great performance need not come with a massive price. We are talking of the most affordable OnePlus device in tech town, the OnePlus Nord CE 2 5G. 

Launched earlier this year, the the OnePlus Nord CE 2 5G has everything that you would need from your first smartphone. It looks smart, with a glass front and back,that give it a premium feel. The attention to design shows in the rear cameras, that seem to grow out of the back, instead of seeming stuck on to it. It comes in two beautiful shades, Bahama Blue and Mirror Grey, and at a mere 7.8 mm, is impressively slim. Your first phone should be on that you are happy to see even when it is switched off.  And the Nord CE 2 5G is certainly a looker.

It is a joy to see when switched on as well. The phone comes with a super 6.43 inch full HD+ fluid AMOLED display with a 90 Hz refresh rate, which delivers brilliant colours and details, while letting you scroll endlessly with buttery smoothness. Smoothness is a constant theme of the performance of the OnePlus Nord CE 2 5G, thanks to a powerful MediaTek Dimensity 900 processor with RAM and storage capacities of 6 GB/ 128 GB and 8 GB/ 128 GB. The OnePlus Nord CE 2 5G packs in enough power to run most games and also let you switch smoothly between multiple apps. The phone also comes with a dedicated micro SD card slot, letting you expand storage to a massive 1 TB. What’s more, it comes with a 3.5 mm audio jack, letting you use your trusty wired earphones – no need to invest in wireless audio (unless you want to). 

The phone also packs in top-of-the-line cameras, with a powerful main 64 megapixel sensor, an 8 megapixel ultrawide camera and a 2 megapixel macro camera on the back, and a 16 megapixel selfie camera in front. The rear cameras not only deliver excellent detail and life-like colours in photographs, but also enables you to shoot richly detailed 4K videos. The selfie camera gets you top notch social network worthy selfies. The phone comes with video and photo editing options on board too, letting you edit content without having to transfer it to a computer. Whether you are a content creator or just a resident of Instagram, the OnePlus Nord CE 2 5G packs in everything that you need to deliver great videos and photography. 

OnePlus’ OxygenOS interface makes the OnePlus Nord CE 2 5G effortlessly simple to use. There are no confusing menus or commands, no bloatware or unnecessary apps to trip you up. You get a clean, intuitive and super easy to use interface, allowing you to do more without ever having to seek help from anyone.  Keeping everything secure is a speedy in-display fingerprint scanner that ensures that your phone responds only to you. A large 4500 mAh battery keeps the phone running for more than a day, and a 65W SuperVOOC recharges it in a mere 35 minutes. The phone comes with support for 5G, so when the network does come to India (hopefully later this year) , the OnePlus Nord CE 2 5G will work just fine with it.

All of which are available for a starting price of Rs 23,999. At that price you get not only a smartphone that looks stunning and works outstandingly well, but also promises to do so for a long time. Which is why the OnePlus Nord CE 2 5G is perhaps the perfect first smartphone for most people. In fact, it is so good and future proof that it might be the only smartphone they need for years.