Review it – Last year, I had the opportunity to review my first OnePlus phone, the OnePlus 10 Pro, and now a year later, they have sent me their smartphone, the OnePlus 11 5G. The 10 Pro wasn’t enough to make me want to switch from an iPhone as my daily driver. Let’s see if the OnePlus 11 does better than the 10 Pro in this regard.
What is it?
OnePlus 11 5G is the latest smartphone from OnePlus which is powered by OxygenOS which is based on Android 13 operating system.
What’s in the box?
- OnePlus 11 5G
- 80W SUPERVOOC Power Adapter
- USB Type-A to Type-C Cable
- Quick Start Guide
- Welcome Letter
- Safety Information and Warranty Card
- OnePlus notes
- Screen Protector (pre-installed)
- SIM tray Ejector
- USB Dongle (Type-A to Type-C)
Technical specifications
Operating System: OxygenOS 13.0 based on Android™ 13
CPU: Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ 8 Gen 2
5G Chipset: X70
GPU: Adreno 740
RAM: 8GB/16GB LPDDR5X
Storage: 128GB UFS 3.1/256GB UFS 4.0
Size: 6.7 inches (Measured diagonally from corner to corner.)
Display: 3216 X 1440 pixels 525 ppi
Aspect ratio: 20.1:9
Display Color: 120 Hz Fluid AMOLED with LTPO, Support sRGB, Display P3, 10-bit Color Depth
Display Cover Glass: Corning® Gorilla® Glass Victus
Battery: 5000 mAh (Dual-cell 2,500 mAh)
Main Camera Sensor: Sony IMX890
Sensor Size: 1/1.56″
Megapixels: 50
Pixel Size: 1.0µm
Maximum Length: 23mm equivalent
Aperture: ƒ/1.8
Dimensions: Width: 74.1 mm, Thickness: 8.55 mm
Weight: 205g
Design and appearance
OnePlus phones have unique features that are all their own. I personally like the design of the new OnePlus 11 5G because they changed the design so it doesn’t look like their previous model (I’m looking at you Apple).
The OnePlus 11 5G is available in black or Green like the one that was sent to me. Although I don’t have the black version of the OnePlus 11 5G, I’m told it has the same matte finish as the OnePlus 10 Pro. The green color of the OnePlus 11 5G is not matte. It’s slippery and slippery so I recommend a case. I spent less than $15 on it and it was easy to remove Spigen Liquid Air Armor case from Amazon it looks great and keeps me from leaving the phone.
The left side of the OnePlus 11 still has the same volume rocker as the previous OnePlus.
The other side of the phone has a curved mute switch at the top and a power button at the bottom. Does anyone out there love mute switches as much as I do?
On the top of the OnePlus 11 5G, you’ll find the speaker (hole in the middle) and the microphone (small hole on the left). You can also see the antennas in the picture above.
On the edge of the phone, you’ll find the SIM card tray, microphone, USB-C connector, and speaker.
Show it
To my eyes, the display of the OnePlus 11 5G looks equally clear, bright, and sharp compared to the previous model. It also has slightly curved sides like the previous model. My favorite is the flat screen, but the OnePlus tablet didn’t bother me. In the past, I’ve had problems with my palm when opening pictures or controls on phones with curves. I had no problem with OnePlus.
In the photo above, the photo was taken outside on a bright but cloudy day and both phones were set to the highest brightness. Would this display be too bright for outdoor use? Sure. But I had no problem reading texts or talking on the phone outside on sunny days.
You have the option to allow the always-on display to show the date, time, battery level, and notification images when the phone is locked.
Camera
Like the previous version of the OnePlus smartphone, the new 11 5G features three Hasselblad cameras. This time, there is a circular cyst instead of a linear cyst. Some people will like this change, while others will not. But regardless of how it looks, let’s look at some photo examples.
OnePlus 11 5G images
These images are straight out of the camera/phone without retouching, cropping, etc. I also used all default/auto settings for all images.
I would say that 80% of the photos I take are close-ups. I like to take a lot of pictures of flowers, and mushrooms that I find on my daily walks around my property. If the phone can’t get closer, that’s a problem for me. I’m happy to say that the OnePlus 11 5G does a good job of close-up photography.
I also love to take pictures of the beautiful buildings and architecture that have so many opportunities where I live in Columbus, Indiana.
A photo gallery wouldn’t be complete without a selfie and a cat photo! Feel free to click on any of the images above to view them in full.
Considering that my phone is also used as my main camera for all my daily shots, Gadgeteer product review shots, and video, it deserves a top notch camera. I think the OnePlus 11 5G does a good job. It doesn’t seem to have the same range of image quality as the 10 Pro, but it’s possible that some images will look a bit sharper (at least to me). As an everyday camera, this phone works but it didn’t impress me.
One big thing I don’t like about the front camera is that it made me look bad in the Marco Polo app (top left) that I use all the time. Everything has a red tint compared to how it looks on my iPhone (top right).
User interface and software
The operating system that OnePlus uses on their phones is called OxygenOS. It’s Android with an added interface on top similar to Samsung’s One UI. As last year I reviewed the OnePlus 10 Pro, I’ve been away from Android for a while, so I didn’t have much to compare OxygenOS with stock Android. But I remember using the OnePlus 10 Pro and what happened with the 11 didn’t change from what I remember. It still feels like regular Android but with some extra features.
OnePlus still has the Shelf screen which is accessed by pulling it down from the center of the home screen. This screen it can be customized with a number of widgets and as before, I kept activating it unknowingly which annoyed me. You can’t turn it off completely, but you can change the view to go to the global search or the notification/preferences display.
The phone has some hands that you can use to do various things like drawing O on a closed door to open the camera, answer the phone, turn the flashlight on and off, and more.
Some handsets allow you to create a split screen so you can run two apps at the same time one on top of the other where I have the Day One magazine app and below that is Instagram.
You can also create floating sidebars, and there’s a Smart Sidebar that’s a slide-in launcher that you can customize with the apps you use the most. I wish the iPhone had these options!
When it comes to bloatware, OnePlus doesn’t load the phone with a bunch of unnecessary apps like other phone manufacturers do, so that’s a big thumbs up for OnePlus.
I usually use face unlock on all my phones because I find it quick and easy, and I find that fingerprint readers don’t always work for me. With the OnePlus 11 5G, the face unlock worked well UNLESS I was in the dark. I had the same problem with the 10 Pro and I’m disappointed that OnePlus didn’t fix the problem with the new phone. I like to use the phone under the covers when I wake up in the morning but I don’t want to disturb my friend. I didn’t think to try the fingerprint reader as it doesn’t work for me but I decided to go ahead and try it and to my surprise it works for me. There! Another OnePlus show!
There is also a special feature that you can enable so that when you keep the fingerprint scanner on, it will pop up the app launcher and your favorite apps to allow you to open and launch them with one hand.
All to do with battery life
I have no complaints about the performance of this phone. All my favorite apps installed quickly, and navigating through websites and apps felt smooth.
When it comes to battery life, I had no problem getting through a full day using the OnePlus 11 5G for all my activities (email, reading ebooks, watching YouTube videos, Marco Polo episodes, scrolling through Instagram, etc.).
When it came time to charge the battery, I was disappointed that OnePlus removed the wireless charging capability. I mean, what! The only saving grace is that this phone runs fast if you don’t mind charging it using a cable and 80W SUPERVOOC charger. It can charge from 1% to 100% in about 25 minutes which is insane! I still need wireless charging.
Making and receiving calls with the OnePlus 11 5G
Making and receiving calls is probably the most underutilized function of cell phones for me, but I tested this and had no issues with all aspects of the calls I made or answered. Volume levels and clarity on both ends of calls were good.
OS and security updates
OnePlus promises 4 years of Android OS updates and 5 years of security updates twice a month.
Which I like
- Running high-speed wires
- Hands are fun and useful
- It comes with a pre-installed screen protector
- The actual fingerprint shown works for me!
- A good price for a mobile phone
What I would change
- Face ID needs to be adjusted to work in the dark
- Bring on wireless charging
Final thoughts
If you want an Android smartphone that isn’t from Samsung or Google, the OnePlus 11 5G is worth a look. I really enjoyed testing and reviewing the OnePlus 11 5G and I think it looks great, sounds great, charges in the blink of an eye, has unique apps that are useful and fun to use, has a great camera, and is a great value. This time, OnePlus 11 5G is the phone that can replace my iPhone. It has rekindled my love for Android.
PricePrice: $799.99
Where to buy: OnePlus and Amazon
Source: An example of this review was provided by OnePlus.