OnePlus 11: what we want to see

GTonline

2 years ago

The OnePlus 10 Pro (Image credit: Future)

The OnePlus flagship coming in 2023

The OnePlus 11 will be the next big flagship phone from popular Chinese phone company OnePlus, and because we were such big fans of the OnePlus 10 Pro from 2022, we’re already looking to the future and speculating on what the next version will bring with it.

This will likely be the first OnePlus phone of 2023, though we may see more entries to the company’s Nord line in the meantime. It’s also likely to be one of the best Android phones of the year, going by the last few entries in the family, though we’ll need to wait and see.

We haven’t heard a huge number of rumors about the OnePlus 11 so far, but we are starting to hear some whispers. You’ll find all the leaks and rumors below, then under that we’ve written a wish-list of what we want from these phones.

Cut to the chase

What is it? The 2023 entry in OnePlus’ flagship line
When is it out? Likely the first few months of 2023
How much will it cost? Probably just under $899 / £799 (roughly AU$1,400)

OnePlus 11 price and availability

Going by precedent, we’ll likely see the OnePlus 11 family debut in the first few months of the year – maybe staggered by region, like the OnePlus 10 Pro was, but hopefully at one big launch event, as was the case for the company’s previous phones.

It’s harder to judge price though, and that’s because there wasn’t a ‘standard’ OnePlus 10, with a premium-but-not-super-premium price.

So we can make a good guess at the OnePlus 11’s price – it’ll likely cost around $899 / £799 (roughly AU$1,400), which is how much its predecessor set you back. The rumor is that while the Pro name will be ditched, this will in fact be the Pro-level handset (keep up at the back).

We did also get the OnePlus 10T in 2022, which started at $649 / £629 (around AU$940), but as yet it’s not clear whether or not a OnePlus 11T will follow.

OnePlus 11 leaks and rumors

First up it’s worth noting that there might only be one OnePlus 11 model, and that according to a leak it might be called the OnePlus 11 – but have the sort of specs you’d expect from a OnePlus 11 Pro.

That said, other early leaks refer specifically to the OnePlus 11 Pro, so the naming remains uncertain, but it looks likely that we’ll get a pro-grade model, whether or not it has pro in the name. Whether there will be a lower spec model as well is less clear, but not looking super likely.

In any case, leaker @OnLeaks has shared what’s apparently an official render of the OnePlus 11, in collaboration with GadgetGang .

Since then, the same leaker has shared more complete OnePlus 11 Pro specs, saying that the phone will have a 6.7-inch QHD+ 120Hz AMOLED screen, up to 16GB of RAM, up to 256GB of storage, a Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset, and a 5,000mAh battery with 100W charging.

It’s also said to have a 16MP front-facing camera, and a triple-lens rear camera with a 50MP main sensor, a 48MP ultra-wide, and a 32MP telephoto offering 2x optical zoom.

More recently, another leak has again mentioned that 16GB of RAM, adding that the OnePlus 11 will also have a ceramic finish, as well as upgraded UFS 4.0 storage – significantly faster than the UFS 3.1 tech used in the best phones of 2022.

The OnePlus 11 will probably also be supported for a long time, as OnePlus has announced that “select devices launched in 2023 and beyond” will get four major Android updates and five years of security patches. The OnePlus 11 isn’t named, but it’s an obvious candidate for this.

OnePlus 11: what we want to see

After testing the OnePlus 10 Pro and other handsets from the company, and the wider Android world, here are some changes we want the OnePlus 11 to bring.

1. A non-Pro version

Is the OnePlus 10 Pro really ‘Pro’ if there isn’t a standard version? No, not really, we’d say – but for some reason, OnePlus’ only flagship phone of 2022 had that suffix.

Since there’s only one phone in the family, OnePlus can only put out a handset at a certain price tag. This means people wanting a more affordable alternative, or super-premium version, don’t have anything to buy.

We’d like to see the OnePlus 11 come with at least two members of the family, and maybe a third too – be it a Lite, Ultra or Pro Plus version.

2. A less convoluted launch

When phone makers launch their devices with lots of pomp and fanfare, it can really drive up excitement for the mobile… but the exact opposite happened for the OnePlus 10 Pro.

The device originally launched in January, but that was just for the Chinese market – it was launched for the global market in February at MWC 2022, and then saw yet another unveiling event in April, which actually was followed by a release for certain markets.

That’s very confusing for the average buyer and meant that, by the time it was actually available to buy, the OnePlus 10 Pro was old news. We’d like this whole procedure to be more condensed in 2023 so we’re not waiting months to buy the OnePlus 11.

3. Charging equality

The OnePlus 10 Pro had lovely 80W fast charging, ensuring the device could go from 0% to 100% in the same time it takes you to watch an episode of your favorite sit-com….

… that is, unless you live in the US. The OnePlus 10 Pro there only powers at 65W, which is still fast, but definitely not 80W fast.

We’d like the charging speeds to be equal for the OnePlus 11, so people in the US aren’t getting an inferior phone.

4. A better zoom camera

The OnePlus 10 Pro isn’t the best phone for zoom photography – though its 3.3x telephoto lens lets you zoom further than some similar-priced rivals, we do like seeing ‘Pro’ devices that get you 5x or even 10x further away (though maybe that latter is more of an ‘Ultra’ feature).

What’s not as great is the 8MP sensor that accompanies this lens – not only is that a little low-res for a smartphone camera, but it reduces the possibility of digital zoom beyond the optical limit.

We’d like to see more of a focus on zoom photography in the OnePlus 11, to give photographers the opportunity to shine.

5. A smaller alternative

The OnePlus 10 Pro is a big phone, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing, as you get lots of screen space – but it does make the device hard to hold for people with smaller hands.

If the OnePlus 11 does come with multiple versions as we’ve already wished for, we’d like one to be smaller, to cater for people who don’t want a giant monster.

We saw Xiaomi make this move with the Xiaomi 12, offering a smaller handset than it had previously made, and Samsung has done it for a while too. Hopefully, then, OnePlus will follow suit.

By Tom Bedford