OnePlus 11 5G had my curiosity, but now my interest

To no one’s surprise, the next OnePlus phone is called the OnePlus 11 5G. Last week, OnePlus started taking files Pre-orders for the new phone in Chinaand will be available there on Monday, January 9th The phone is scheduled to be launched globally on February 7 And it follows a very impressive last year OnePlus 10 Pro. It also comes on the heels OnePlus 10T that left a bad taste in our mouths due to its questionable compromises and confusing value proposition.

Lucky for us, OnePlus introduced the Peek at 11 back in December. And now, the new phone is on display in full on the OnePlus China website. Devouring it with the help of Google Translate, I remembered a line said by Leonardo DiCaprio’s character in Django Unchained.

“Gentlemen, you had my curiosity. But now you have my attention.”

I already had high hopes for the iPhone 11 as it will be the third generation phone that will be launched during OnePlus’ partnership with the famous camera company Hasselblad. So far, Hasselblad’s influence has been largely behind the scenes with camera tuning and nifty software features like the panoramic Xpan pattern. The OnePlus 11 may be the first time we’ve seen actual new camera hardware resulting from the partnership.

I should also note that details and nuances can get lost in translation, so please keep that in mind as you read on.

OnePlus 11 looks great

The 11’s design picks up where the 10 Pro left off. The site translated that the OnePlus 11’s appearance was inspired by a “sci-fi black hole”. But instead of the 10 Pro’s square camera bump, the 11’s is circular on top with tapered sides that taper into the edge of the phone. It reminds us of a clip on a leather accessory. When the phone is in landscape mode, the shape of the camera bump roughly resembles the silhouette of Darth Vader’s helmet.

The site displays the phone in two colors. There’s a matte green, that’s not quite a British racing green, and a textured black, which according to the translated text is “silk glass”. I gather this means the finish looks textured but only a flat glass touch.

There aren’t many pictures of the front, but it does have a screen with waterfall edges that cascade down the left and right sides of the phone. The front camera is located in a hole in the form of a hole in the upper left side.

An alert slider appears in a product video on the site that also shows flashy close-ups of the OnePlus 11. OnePlus previously confirmed that the button will return after its absence on the OnePlus 10T. The 11 joins the likes of the Nubia Red Magic 8, which has a similar hardware slider to put the phone into gaming mode.

OnePlus 11 has the latest Android hardware

The phone has a 6.7-inch AMOLED display with a variable refresh rate of up to 120Hz. The display is LTPO 3. Last year’s 10 Pro had an LTPO 2 display. LTPO stands for Low Temperature Polycrystalline Oxide, which allows displays to have a high refresh rate without killing your battery. According to the translated text, LTPO 3 is smoother and more power efficient. The graphic claims that the screen can go down to 1Hz, which is the same as the refresh rate It uses the iPhone 14 Pro for its always-on display.

Inside, the 11 runs on Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip which according to a OnePlus press release has 35% faster CPU performance and a 25% faster GPU. 11 is one of the first phones with the new Qualcomm chip. The 11 also comes with 16GB of RAM and either 256GB or 512GB of storage.

Everything is powered by dual 2,500mAh batteries that support 100W fast charging. Last year’s 10 Pro had the same dual-battery setup and 80W fast charging support, except US models were capped at 65W fast charging. OnePlus 10T supports 150W charging globally and 125W charging in the US. For perspective, the iPhone 14 Pro supports 20W fast charging. OnePlus says the 11 batteries can be charged from empty to 100% in 25 minutes.

Cameras are similar, but different

The OnePlus 11 has a 50MP main camera system and a 48MP ultra-wide camera system similar to that of the 10 Pro. It also has a telephoto camera with a 32MP sensor and 2x optical zoom compared to the 10 Pro’s 8MP sensor and 3.3x optical zoom.

Sony made all of the image sensors including the one in the new telephoto camera. But you have to wonder if OnePlus and Hasselblad chose the 32MP sensor and short telephoto lens combo because it produces better photos than the ones on the 10 Pro. If this is the case, then this is the first time we’ve seen the camera hardware design stemming from the OnePlus and Hasselblad partnership.

The translated text indicates that the new telephoto camera can take photos with more accurate colors. OnePlus China says that portrait-mode photos better mimic the bokeh effect that mimics the look of photos taken with Hasselblad medium format XCD lenses.

The sample images from 11 look good, with well-balanced colors and highlights that flatter for skin tones. We should take these photos with a big grain of salt because almost every phone maker’s website features great photos taken with their phones – oh, the marketing! Unfortunately, there is no mention of whether these photo improvements will apply to video recording.

Is there a OnePlus 11 Pro?

From everything I’ve read on the website, the OnePlus 11 is the best OnePlus phone ever made. It appears to be the “pro” model this year despite its lack of naming. Its 6.7-inch screen is the same size as the one on the 10 Pro. In fact, Li Jie, the Chinese president of OnePlus, said that there is no “professional” version of the OnePlus 11 in response to a question on Chinese social network Weibo.

That would mark a continued departure from OnePlus’ previous product strategy. Until recently, OnePlus released three models of its flagship phones, a regular edition, a “professional” edition, and later in the year the Model T. For example, in 2020, there were the OnePlus 8, 8 Pro, and 8T. Professional models usually have larger displays with higher resolutions and a third rear camera with a telephoto lens compared to the regular version.

Last year, the company only released the OnePlus 10 Pro without a standard model.

What’s next for the OnePlus 11?

The new phone will be launched in China on Monday, January 9. OnePlus is holding a global launch event in India on Tuesday, February 7, where it will also show off the OnePlus Buds Pro 2. I’m really looking forward to trying out the phone. For myself, especially that new telephoto camera.