OnePlus 11 Review – When OnePlus first entered the market, it only had one goal: FLAGSHIP KILLER. OnePlus’ sole motive was to offer a smartphone with all of the top-specs at an affordable price. Remember the OnePlus One, Two, and X? Yes, those were the absolute flagship killers at the time. However, in recent years, OnePlus has altered its focus from being a flagship killer to a flagship maker. This strategy, however, was not as effective as they had planned, and the firm is now back to fundamentals with a more traditional formula: a phone with a top-of-the-line processor and a competitive price that undercuts many flagship models. Well, welcome back, bro!!

OnePlus has stated that there would be no Pro model this year, as the OnePlus 11 5G will be the company’s sole flagship model in 2023. But,  I believe they will issue a T model later this year, similar to how they do after 6 months after the first model launch. Right, enough on the intro, let’s get right into the review.

OnePlus 11 Specifications

• SoC: Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2
• Display: 6.7″ 1440p OLED, 120Hz
• RAM: 8GB, 16GB
• Storage: 128GB, 256GB
• Battery: 5,000mAh
• Operating System: Oxygen OS 13 (Android 13)
• Front camera: 16MP f/2.4
• Rear cameras(three): 50MP f/1.8 primary, 48MP f/2.2 ultrawide (115˚), 32MP f/2.0 telephoto with 2x optical zoom
• Colours: Titan Black, Eternal Green
• Charging: 80W (US), 100W (international)
• IP Rating: IP64

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OnePlus 11 Design & Build Quality

When it comes to design, the OnePlus 11 is certainly one of the sleekest-looking phones you can get for this price. It has a thin design, with only 0.34 inches, making it even slimmer than the Google Pixel 7 (one of the competitors for a near similar price), but not as thin as the iPhone 14 or the Samsung Galaxy S23 models. I assume the curved screen, combined with the slim edges, makes it appear more sleek than it really is.

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The OnePlus has a 6.7-inch screen with a sharper 3,216 x 1,440 AMOLED display and a 120Hz maximum refresh rate. One minor limitation is that it only has two refresh rate options: standard (60Hz) and high (120Hz). Although it is not a big deal, an adjustment at 90Hz could have an added advantage.

Also, it has Corning Gorilla Glass Victus, which is often found in the top flagship models and makes it extremely scratch-resistant. It also includes the Corning Gorilla Glass Victus, which is common in top flagship models, making this one extremely scratch resistant. The speckled and textured surface added by OnePlus to the phone’s Gorilla Glass 5 rear panel gives it a plastic-like feel. Still, the OnePlus 11 looks great thanks to the matte stainless steel with chrome accents on the camera housing and sides.

OnePlus 11 Software & Performance

The OnePlus 11 is a mid-range model that comes with the latest Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 Chipset, which is superior to the Google Pixel 7’s Tensor G2 and the Samsung Galaxy S23’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chip. That top-tier processor is combined with 256GB of storage and 16GB of LPDDR5X RAM to help manage a dozen (or up to 44) apps cached in the background. Seems like nothing in today’s world, right? Trust me, you will know when you use it real time.

OnePlus phones have also always been more tailored towards gaming than most other mainstream handsets, thanks to its built-in Hyper Boost Gaming Engine capabilities. If you’re already a OnePlus user, I’m sure I don’t need to explain that the “gaming mode” starts as soon as you start playing, freeing up Memory and optimising the device’s performance. The OnePlus 11 is especially enjoyable because of its 120Hz display and 1000Hz touch response rate. This phone will also attempt to maintain a consistent frame rate on the screen, similar to how variable refresh rate works on the Xbox Series X or PS5.

In terms of the operating system, it comes with Android 13, which OnePlus alters further and calls OxygenOS 13, which is essentially another iteration of its sister company’s ColorOS 13. I have to say this now! I miss the days when OnePlus had its own OxygenOS version that was a strong competitor to Android OS on Pixel phones. According to a post on the OnePlus community, the OnePlus 11 will receive four OS upgrades and five years of security updates.

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OnePlus 11 Camera & Other Specs

With the OnePlus 11, OnePlus continued their collaboration with Hasselblad on the software side of the camera to extract and deliver the best images from the 50-megapixel main camera, 48MP wide-angle, and 32MP Portrait Tele camera. The main camera also boasts Sony IMX890 optical and electronic image stabilisation which is now a default one all the top-end flagship models. It also comes with a 115-degree wide-angle field of view, and a special 13-channel Accu-spectrum Light Color Identifier sensor for accurate colour reproduction.

The images from the OnePlus 11 appear to have a very contrasty look when we look more closely at the camera section, with an emphasis on darker shadows over brilliant highlights. The combination of Hasselblad’s colour calibration and the phone’s ability to shoot in 10-bit colour makes photographs from this device sparkle. 

Instead of a telephoto camera, the OnePlus 11 includes a portrait-enhancing camera that has been tweaked by Hasselblad to mimic bokeh portraits from its XCD 30mm and 65mm camera lenses. It’s adequate, but it’s no replacement for a telephoto camera’s excellent zoom option. While other handsets in the OnePlus 11’s price range don’t even have a telephoto camera, it is very disappointing that the Google Pixel 7 Pro has a 5x optical zoom and the Galaxy S23 Ultra has a 10x lens.

OnePlus 11 Battery Life & Charging

The OnePlus 11 has a large 5000 mAh battery, which is currently standard for most high-end smartphones. Also, with this battery capacity, heavy users can expect a full day of use, while light users can extend this to two days. The phone has an LTPO display and a power-efficient processor to further improve battery life. 

Nevertheless, battery life isn’t the most important topic here. What’s important to note here is the OnePlus’s fast charging. I don’t think I need to explain this to OnePlus users. I’m sure we all leave our phones at 10% when we go for a bath and get 50 – 60% when we return from the bath after 20 minutes. With its 100W rapid charging capability, the OnePlus 11 is even faster. The phone’s battery can be charged from 0% to 100% in about 25 minutes. Even a 10-minute charge can recharge the battery to roughly 50%.

It’s also worth mentioning that the phone comes with a 100W charger in the box, which is a big deal nowadays. Lol! The only drawback is the absence of wireless charging support, which is surprising given that this is a flagship killer phone.  However,  if you want a phone with a long battery life and charging that is so fast that you don’t have to set aside time to do it, the OnePlus 11 is the phone for you.

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OnePlus 11 Pros & Cons

OnePlus 11 Pros

• Excellent specs, especially at this price
• Can produce some pretty good images
• Better battery life, even with heavy use
• Ultra-fast charging (I meant really fast!!)

OnePlus 11 Cons

• Camera performance is inconsistent when comparing to its competitors and the 2x telephoto lens isn’t worth much
• No wireless charging (Come on!! You are supposed to be a flagship killer bruh!)
• No IP68 Rating (Bruh! Why?)

OnePlus 11 Price In India, US, and UK

The OnePlus 11 comes in two different variants. The version with 8GB RAM and 128GB of storage costs $699/£729/€849/₹56,999, while the version with 16GB RAM and 256GB of storage costs $799/£799/€919/₹61,999. The phone is available at OnePlus stores (in-person or online) and Amazon. I’ve included the links below for your convenience.

OnePlus 11 Review: Our Verdict – Is OnePlus 11 Worth Buying?

Overall, the OnePlus 11 is a wonderful package at this price point, with impressive battery life, fast charging, and performance. Indeed, it falls short in some areas, such as camera performance, lack of wireless charging, and lack of an IP68 rating when compared to competitors.

Nevertheless, if you’re looking for a high-performance Android smartphone with top specs in 2023 that will be guaranteed to remain fast and have software support until 2028, then the OnePlus 11 is an excellent option I would strongly recommend!!

OnePlus 11 FAQs

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And there you have it! My thoughts on the new OnePlus 11. Did I leave anything out? If so, please add them to the comments section.

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Don’t forget to read the other articles in our platform from other authors. I’ll see you in my next article. Meanwhile, take care!!