Sometimes we get a smartphone in to review and you know it's a winner straight from the get-go, and this was the case with the OnePlus 11 Pro 5G which after a month of daily use is the phone I'm coming back to time and again. It's simply that good. And you should buy one. I could end the review right there, but that would be neglectful of a phone that simply deserves to have its story told. And before you ask, there are indeed one or two things I would change, but we'll get to those later on.
Join us after the break for our review of the OnePlus 11 5G.
Design
We still aren't quite sure why the OnePlus 11 5G isn't the ‘Pro' model but honestly, what's in a name? Build quality is exactly what you would hope for from a premium, flagship smartphone. On the outside, the OnePlus 11 5G carries on where last year's OnePlus 10T left off with its frosted glass finish although its rear camera housing is now circular instead of square. It's a move that works, presenting a less jarring image to the eye and helping it to stand out against other brands. Unlike the OnePlus 10T, there is an alert slider right where it should be, on the right-hand edge above the power button.
The top and bottom edges have been squared off while the left and right edges are curved. All-in-all, the OnePlus 11 5G is comfortable to hold although as with most shiny glass designs, it's slippery as hell so you really should get a case slapped on it when you take it out of the box. That being said, my unit has slid off the arm of the couch more times than the OnePlus engineers would like to know, but so far there has been no damage done. Being glass, the rear panel does attract fingerprint smudges like a magnet, which is another reason to slap a case on it.
Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 Performance
Powered by Qualcomm's new Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor, the OnePlus 11 5G is a dream to use. Battery life is the best I've ever experienced with a OnePlus handset and is steps above what the OnePlus 10 Pro was capable of. It's possible to get a couple of days of usage of the OnePlus 11 5G without resorting to any extreme power-saving methods. This is also helped by the fact that OnePlus has actually under-clocked the processor, which combined with the new cooling chamber, leaves the phone running cooler than the previous generation of chipsets.
And gaming? The Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip handles it with aplomb, as it does with pretty everything on the phone. The 16GB of LPDDR5x RAM of the review unit definitely helps to keep the user experience moving slickly, as does the speedy new UFS 4.0 storage technology. OnePlus claims that you can keep 44 apps active in the background without the need to redraw or re-open an app when multi-tasking. Yup, even when using the Chrome browser.
Benchmarks:
The vibrant 6.7-inch QHD+ AMOLED display with a 1-120Hz refresh rate features LTPO 3.0 technology. This means that you won't notice the screen refreshing when swiping your finger, nor will you see any color shifting. My only criticism would be that it's not the brightest display you'll see on a flagship phone. Those who experience migraines from displays with low PWM dimming rates will be disappointed by the display being rated at 360Hz PWM dimming.
Battery
As mentioned in the lead paragraph, the battery life on the OnePlus 11 5G is excellent. With my normal usage, I'm getting to midnight with around 40% left in the tank which is enough to get me through the next workday with a little bit of care such as reducing the refresh rate to ‘normal' and changing the screen resolution to FHD+. And, when the OnePlus 11 5G battery does hit zero, that sweet 100W wired charging makes a mockery of what some brands call ‘fast charging'. A 25-minute charge will charge the battery to 100% thanks to the 100W (80W in the US) SuperVOOC charging technology. A five-minute charge while showering will result in a 28% bump in battery life. Unlike Samsung and a few other brands, there is an 80W/100W SuperVOOC charger included in the box.
Wireless charging isn't present on the OnePlus 11 5G and while that's not a deal breaker for me, it will be for some users although the pricing might be persuasive enough to get over its omission.
Haptics
Haptic motors aren't usually given their own segment but with the OnePlus 11 5G, I thought it was prudent to focus on the component and the overall experience it delivers. I have a single word to describe the haptics on the OnePlus 11 5G and that is Smooth. It's possibly the best haptic experience I've had with an Android smartphone.
Software (And Updates)
OnePlus has committed to 4 years of OS updates and 5 years of security patches for its phones launching from 2023 onwards, which means that the OnePlus 11 5G will be the first handset to benefit from the extended software support. While the software runs under the OxygenOS moniker, there's little to tell it apart from Oppo's ColorOS and that's no bad thing in my opinion.
Some OnePlus enthusiasts might be upset about the ‘Oppo-fication' of the OnePlus software experience. OxygenOS 13 is slick, there are loads of options to customize it both cosmetically and in terms of user experience without cluttering up the Settings menu. Unlike earlier versions of OxygenOS, version 13.0 feels fully optimized and reliable and will thus appeal to a broader range of consumers.
Camera Quality
Unlike the OnePlus 10T, the cameras on the OnePlus 11 5G benefit from the brand's partnership with the Hasselblad camera company. There is a trio of rear cameras consisting of a 50MP main sensor, a 48MP ultra-wide, and a 32MP portrait lens, all of which offer their own unique function. The main camera is Sony's 50MP IMX890 sensor which boasts OIS and is capable of taking wide dynamic images. It lets in more light which results in brighter, sharper images and video capture in low-light conditions. A 13-channel multi-spectral sensor is also present to assist with light-color identification.
The 48MP ultra-wide camera has a 115° FoV to capture those panoramic shots of landmarks and landscapes, it also doubles up as the macro lens for close-up imagery. The 32MP dedicated portrait camera has been benchmarked against Hasselblad's optical standards to “achieve portraits in perfection”, OnePlus has also equipped the camera setup with its TurboRAM HDR algorithm to capture scenes with pristine HDR clarity and dynamic range.
In terms of video, the main camera is capable of 8K recording @ 24fps, the 48MP ultra-wide supports 4K@30fps, while the portrait lens makes do with 1080@30fps.
But how do the cameras perform?
In a nutshell, very very well. Each of the rear cameras is capable of taking great shots, reliably so in fact. Colors are a little over-saturated than they appear to the naked eye, but not to excess. Low-light photography is excellent, without turning darkness into a summer's day. Last year's OnePlus 10 Pro was by no means a bad performer but the OnePlus 11 5G offers a vast improvement and will give other 2023 flagships a run for their lunch money. While the telephoto lens is limited to 2x optical zoom, it's focused on taking portrait images which it manages to do quite well, without the automatic beautifying process found on Samsung's flagships.
The color tuning is identical on all three sensors which results in a consistent image regardless of which camera you shoot with. Focusing is fast and reliable which means you won't miss out on those important memories.
Worth it?
I've enjoyed my time with the OnePlus 11 5G and while I'm certain that it's going to do well in terms of sales, it's not quite a perfect swing and hit from the brand. As mentioned in the section below, there are a couple of omissions that would have rounded out the OnePlus 11 5G nicely. In compensation, the OnePlus 11 5G is priced lower than previously with an RRP of $699/£729 for the 8/128GB variant and $799/£799 for the 16/256GB option. If you are looking to upgrade the OnePlus 11 5G offers much of what Samsung's new Galaxy S23 and S23+ do but at a lower price and with the same commitment to OS upgrades and security updates.
Sat between the ‘premium' mid-range market and the likes of the Galaxy S23/S23+, the OnePlus 11 5G has found the sweet spot by offering high-end specs at a great price with no real compromises to worry about, other than the items mentioned below. In basic terms, OnePlus is back, baby.
What would I change?
The OnePlus 11 5G doesn't have wireless charging, which isn't a big deal because of the excellent battery life and the super-quick charging. While the phone does have an actual IP rating (IP64) this time around, it would have been better if it was IP68 certified. Finally, the display is of E4 quality which means it isn't quite as bright as the E6 displays used in other flagships.
Availability
Pre-orders for the OnePlus 11 5G are already live with the offer of a Bang & Olufsen Speaker or the new OnePlus Buds Pro 2 bundled in as a reward. You'll be able to pick up the OnePlus 11 5G in Titan Black and Eternal Green colorways from 9 AM on 16 February via the OnePlus Store and Amazon, with the 8/128GB variant priced at $699/£729 and just an extra $100/£70 for the 16/256GB version.
