OnePlus 11 Review 

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A few years ago, OnePlus had a reputation for being a “Flagship Killer” by releasing very powerful phones at incredibly affordable prices. With the OnePlus 11, the Chinese phone maker is living up to its original reputation by offering flagship features and top-notch hardware for only $699.

Pre-orders started during the global launch event that was hosted in India on Feb 7th, 2023. The OnePlus 11 comes in two colors, Titan Black and Eternal Green, and is available for sale since Feb 16th, 2023. The 8GB+128GB version costs $699, and for $799 you will get the 16GB+256GB model, the unit we used for this review.

Thanks to the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, which also powers the recently launched Samsung Galaxy S23 Series, the OnePlus 11 got a significant boost in performance over the OnePlus 10 Pro and the OnePlus 10T.

Price and competition comparison

At $699, the Oneplus 11 comes between the $899 Pixel 7 Pro and the $599 Pixel 7, with better performance, a significantly faster charging time, a similar Ubergizmo Camera HW score (178) as the Pixel 7 (178), and a main rear shooter of similar quality as the Pixel 7 Pro, except for the optical zoom.

The higher 191 Camera HW score of the Pixel 7 Pro is due to the presence of a 5X telephoto camera, as the OnePlus 11 features a 2X telephoto, which is reflected in the $200 lower price. 

For that price ($699), you also get a fast-charging 80W adapter in the U.S. (~$40 value – 100W for international versions). 

You need to buy a Google charger to get the advertised slower charging speed for both the Pixel models. With a non-compatible charger, the Google phones’ charging speed will be even slower.

At a similar price, you can opt for the Xiaomi 12T Pro (€799 /￡699 / ~$600 on Amazon), which features a similar Camera HW score of 176,  with a great 6.7” 120Hz AMOLED display,  a 200MP main sensor, a provided ultra-fast charging 120W adapter and the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1, (only IP57).

You can check our specifications comparisons between the OnePlus 11 vs. Galaxy S23 Ultra, OnePlus 11 vs. Xiaomi 12T Pro, and OnePlus 11 vs. Google Pixel 7 Pro.

Design

Our OnePlus 11 unit comes with a smooth “Eternal Green” Gorilla Glass 5 back cover that does a good job of repealing fingerprints.

The large black circular Hasselblad-branded camera unit on the back gives the OnePlus 11 a unique flair that sets the “flagship killer” apart from its competition, design-wise. The phone is covered with curved glass front and back, with uber-durable Gorilla Glass Victus on the front.

With its nicely curved body and subtle curved metal accents on glass, the OnePlus 11 feels high-end and looks much more stylish than the flat iPhone 14 Pro Max, which features a similar large-size camera module on the back (square for the iPhone).

We regret the absence of the waterproof IP68 certification that the competitors offer, which allows for up to 30 minutes of immersion, up to 1.5 meters underwater. With IP64, the Oneplus 11 is merely splash resistant and sealed for dust (IP6) like all the other flagships.

The Alert Slider is back!

The absence of the iconic Alert Slider in the OnePlus 10T was heavily criticized by OnePlus fans. The phone maker heard them, and the button is back. The Alert Slider lets users instantly set the phone to silent or vibrate.

Sound Quality

We tested the Oneplus 11 live against the much more expensive Galaxy S23 Ultra and iPhone 14 Pro Max.

The Oneplus 11 can deliver audio loud enough that people nearby might complain, and at the maximum volume, there is no distortion. During our test, we heard a very subtle echo that was not present in the expensive phones, but overall the sound quality is very good, better than the Pixel 7 Pro, which is less powerful and has a slight lack of bass.

Display

The gorgeous large 6.7-inch WQHD (3216×1440) AMOLED display features an upgraded LTPO 3.0 adaptive refresh rate technology that dynamically selects the best refresh rate from 1Hz to 120Hz, depending on the user’s activity.

Similarly to LTPO 2.0, LTPO 3.0 operates at variable refresh rates from 1 to 120Hz but is supposed to offer an improved power efficiency.

The LTPO (low-temperature polycrystalline oxide) technology enables the Always-On Display that you also find in the iPhone and Samsung phones that provide 1-120Hz dynamic refresh rates. To enable the feature on the OnePlus 11, you need to go to Settings and select the Always-On Display in the Wallpapers & style menu.

By default, the OnePlus 11 screen resolution is set in Full HD+ (2412×1080) to save battery life. If you need the maximum Quad HD+ resolution, you must change it in the Display & Brightness Settings menu. 

The Dolby Vision-enabled panel offers a very responsive under-screen fingerprint scanner. We measured the standard brightness in full daylight at 820 NITs which is not the brightest mobile display on the market but is sufficient to use outdoors. In theory, there is a 1300 NITs peak brightness, but we did see it goes above 820 NITs even in direct sunlight.

"THE ONEPLUS 11 OFFERS TREMENDOUS CAMERA PERFORMANCE FOR THE PRICE"

OnePlus 11 Camera

Camera Specification Highlights:

• Main camera: 50 MP f/1.8 with OIS
• Ultrawide: 48 MP f/2.2
• Telephoto: 32 MP f/2.0
• Selfie: 16 MP f/2.45 with fixed focus

When it comes to the camera, the OnePlus 11 offers tremendous performance for the price.

With an Ubergizmo CAMERA hardware score* of 178, the latest OnePlus flagship is among the best camera phones on the planet, on par with the Google Pixel 7 (178) and the Xiaomi 12T Pro (178) and almost as good as the more expensive  Google Pixel 7 Pro (191), which get extra points from its 5X telephoto zoom as the OnePlus 11 provides only a 2X optical zoom.

• the selfie camera is not included in our score

Main wide camera – good

The triple rear shooter features a 50 MP f1/8 Sony IMX890 sensor with a size of 1/1.56” (1 µm/pixel), which has a smaller surface than its competitors’ primary sensors, including the Google Pixel 7 Pro, Pixel 7, and Xiaomi 12T Pro.

We can see the difference in image quality. When comparing shots from the Pixel 7 Pro and the OnePlus 11, we noticed that the HDR is too strong for the latter, with areas in the shade appearing a little too bright. Compared to the Google camera, the OnePlus main shooter loses some contrasts, and the picture feels a little more “flat.”

The processing style is different: the OnePlus 11 delivers more saturation than the Pixel 7 Pro. This is a matter of taste rather than image quality. Overall the image quality is good.

OnePlus 11 main camera wide – CROP

Pixel 7 Pro main camera wide – CROP

Ultrawide camera – very good

The ultrawide secondary camera is where the OnePlus11 shines: the 32 MP SONY IMX709 features the largest sensor surface and the best optical system compared to the current flagships’ ultrawide shooters (Pixel 7 Pro, Galaxy S23 Ultra, iPhone 14 Pro Max).

The image quality reflects the superiority of the hardware, and the OnePlus 11 ultrawide shots deliver more details and retain the colors of the buildings in the background while the other display monochrome buildings.

The texture on the red shack is better captured by the OnePlus than the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra and the iPhone 14 Pro Max.

Night shots – very good

Similarly, for night shots, the OnePlus 11 delivers the best image quality with its ultrawide camera compared to the Pixel 7 Pro, Galaxy S23 Ultra, and iPhone 14 Pro Max. The OnepPus 11 captures the details and the textures better than the other phones, which deliver blurrier details.

OnePlus 11 Ultrawide night shot CROP

Pixel 7 Pro Ultrawide night shot CROP

Regarding the main sensor, the main wide camera, the Pixel 7 Pro provides better-defined details and texture capture than the OnePlus11. That said, the OnePlus 11 image quality shot with the 50 MP f1/8 Sony IMX890 sensor at night is very good, although slightly too brightened (image processing filter). The HDR capture is well done because no part of the image is washed out.

Performance

Like the Samsung Galaxy S23 Series (S23 Ultra, S23+, and S23), the OnePlus 11 is powered by Qualcomm’s latest Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 platform, which we have benchmarked profusely. You can read our complete Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 overview to learn the key functionalities and new features.

GeekBench 5: very good CPU performance

As we have seen in our benchmarks of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, the Apple SoC A16 Bionic featured in the iPhone 14 Pro Max leads on the GeekBench 5 CPU benchmark, both in multi-core and single-core performance. It is worth noting that Qualcomm managed to reduce the gap compared to previous years. Such CPU performance enables faster app initialization and shorter wait times for a wide array of tasks.

"IMPRESSIVE GRAPHICS PERFORMANCE"

GFX Bench: impressive graphics performance

The Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 shines on the GFX benchmark, as it delivers impressive graphics performance. Both the OnePlus 11 and the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra are way ahead of the Apple device and significantly better than the Xiaomi 12T Pro which features Qualcomm’s previous-gen SoC, the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1. Such graphics performance means that the SoC can handle the most complex games on the current mobile market, including the ones using advanced raytracing techniques.

Performance per dollar

Battery & Charging Speed

The 5000 mAh battery capacity has become the standard in the large high-end Android smartphone market. Like the Galaxy S23 Ultra and the Pixel 7 Pro, the OnePlus 11 offers such a capacity with the added value of a super fast charging 80W SUPERVOOC adapter provided in the box.

We measured the charging speed at 0 to 63 % in 15 minutes, 1 to 80% in 19 minutes, and 26 minutes for a full 100% charge.

By comparison, the Samsung Galaxy Ultra was slower at 39% in 30 minutes, the Pixel 7 Pro was even slower at 37% in 30 minutes and the iPhone Pro Max was the slowest at less than 30% in 30 minutes. We did not use those brands’ chargers, as it is recommended to buy on the specification pages by Samsung, Google, and Apple, to get 50% charge in 30 minutes.

When stressed with a heavy workload, playing simultaneously 3D graphics over the web while streaming a 4K movie in a small overlay window, the OnePlus 11 sustained a good depletion rate of about 0.26% per minute. It means the battery will drain in about 6h40 minutes under a heavy workload. The test produced similar numbers with competitive devices.

Conclusion

As we have objectively demonstrated, the OnePlus 11 has lots of qualities and a great market positioning, but is it for you?

The OnePlus 11 is an amazing smartphone when it comes to the “performance per dollar” ratio, and it shines for its impressive graphics performance and excellent charging speed. These characteristics are an excellent foundation to attract many potential buyers.

OnePlus didn’t spare any efforts to sway buyers: it offers four years of Android updates and five years of security updates. At the same time, it packs a 5000 mAh battery capacity, which is the highest people can get in a thin, light phone. Its 120 Hz LTPO display is super-smooth and power-efficient at the same time.

If you run low on battery, the 80W charging (with included charger) beats big brands by a wide margin when it comes to charging speed.

The OnePlus 11 was not designed to be perfect, but rather to be perfectly attractive to people who want to get the most for their hard-earned money. And at that, it is phenomenal, that is why we are awarding the OnePlus 11 an Editor’s Choice.

Eliane Fiolet
Categories: Cellphones
Tags: Android, android 13, Camera HW, Editor's Choice, MWC, MWC 2023, OnePlus, OnePlus 11, Smartphone Reviews, snapdragon, Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, Social Hit