So today has been a big day for OnePlus as they have been conducting their Launch event from New Delhi. Now that the event has wrapped up, we have much news to go through regarding what we saw that was expected and there were a few other teased details that have been clarified for us.
So let’s dive in for a look at what was talked about today: the big news, the phone release.
The OnePlus 11 5G.
So this phone has hardly been the best-kept release since the Chinese variety was released quite a few weeks ago. The phone is every bit as good-looking as the one that i have seen teasers of since the Chinese release. However, the beauty of this phone is not only skin deep with some serious processing power under those sleek curves. The base spec will feature 8+128GB variant at £729 and 16+256GB variant £799. These are awesome prices that will surely shale the market up upon its release on the 16th Feb when it goes on sale on the Oneplus.com website and Amazon.
Other than the awesome storage as shown above the phone features a powerful Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 Mobile platform and this brings the support of Ray tracing which is a feature normally found on Dedicated Graphics cards in large-scale Gaming PC’s and Laptops. This is a hardware-supported feature dynamic support for games that are designed to support this new feature. For those of you who are getting the phone and don’t want to have to wait to experience the effect of Ray Tracing Oneplus have you covered. By using the PhysRay app you will be able to experience what Ray tracing can do in Live wallpapers which will dynamically adapt to showcase. The two variants will both support LPDDR5X RAM for fast and efficient multitasking. In addition to that to further bolster the performance is RAm-Vita which is OnePlus’s own machine learning technology. This is a combination of CPU Bandwith acceleration, background application compression, AI Ram allocation and dedicated RAM assignment. all of this will work together to make the OnePlus 11 5G a beast when it comes to multitasking abilities. It will purportedly be able to keep 44 apps open all at the same time in the background without noticeable depreciation in the performance of apps functions.
OnePlus are also pushing the performance over time side of things by ensuring that the phone will be kept up to date for a longer time than previously seen. The Oneplus 11 5G will receive 4 major Oxygen OS updates and 5 years of security updates. This means that the phone will be able to, in theory, run Android 17 when it lands in the much further future. The phone also received a TÜV SÜD 48-month Fluency Rating A for its long-term system fluency. Essentially this is stating that the performance of the phone should not degrade over time with regular use. This is becoming more and more important in these days of awakening about sustainability.
The other big draw of the Oneplus 11 5G device is the new Hasselblad co-developed Camera array. This array composes of 3 rear cameras that can work in concert or independently of each other. These raw camera sensors are supported by specially developed Hasselblad software and image processing. At the forefront of the camera is the 50MP IMX890 sensor, with a wide dynamic range and optical image stabilisation (OIS) this is sure to capture some excellently detailed images. The large MP sensor will allow for more light to be exposed meaning a brighter and sharper image even in low light, this is also going to be true for the video performance. The Ultra-wide camera is a 115° 48MP number which a 1/2″ sensor size that allows for steller wide angle shots using the Sony IMX581 sensor. the last camera in the rear module is the Portrait lens which is backed by an IMX709 32MP camera that has been designed and optimised to capture great portraits. All of these sensors come equipped with 6 Element lenses with the main camera supporting OIS and EIS alongside PDAF + CAF autofocus technologies.
Of course, these cameras will also work for recording video as well and the video capabilities are what you would expect for a flagship-grade device. We have the following all available to us 8K video at 24 fps, 4K , 1080p and 720 video at 30/60 fps. For those who like to slow things down, you are covered as well with Super Slow Motion: 1080p video at240 fps, 720p video at 240/480 fps. Lastly, for those who like an artistic flair and don’t mind waiting then you have got Time-Lapse: 4K/1080p at 30 fps.
In addition to the standard video and camera modes, you would expect to see you also have the latest edition of TurboRaw HDR for the ultimate in HDR capture over a wide dynamic range. But it doesn’t end there as I mentioned this camera has been co-developed with Hasselblad. their input has been essential to the camera’s development and this is the 3rd year of this partnership. To mark this they are unveiling the new natural Colour Calibration with Hasselblad feature to deliver industry-leading colour science. Tie this together with a 13-channel multi-spectral sensor and light colour identification is greatly improved on the OnePlus 11 5G which should also result in this camera producing some great shots. Hasselblad has also considered the portrait shooters out there by integrating Hasselblad Portrait Mode which will give a near DSLR-like effect when used for close-up portraits. It is reported to give results similar to that of an Actual Hasselblad camera equipped with XCD 30mm and 65mm lenses. Some big claims it will be interesting to see the results in real life.
Up front, we have a glorious crisp and vibrant looking 6.7″ 2k 120hz SuperFluid AMOLED display that is one of the first in the industry to utilise an LPTO 3.0 display. This has been self-developed to allow energy saving and adaptive refresh rates according to what is being displayed. The screen will happily sit at 1 Hz refresh when using the Always on Display and ramp up as and when needed ie for fast-moving games. The colours look crisp and vibrant without being overbearing. On the edges is a subtle curve to the display to make the feel of the phone fit inwit the User interface’s new “Aquamorphiic design” ethos. in the top corner is where the Selfie camera is buried away and this again is quite subtle and non-intrusive with the hole punch not being too large.
Audio is something that has had a large focus from Oneplus for this phone and this ties in very nicely with another announced product from today but more on that later. We do of course have a front-facing speaker/earpiece right up at the top of the phone Which allows the phone to offer stereo speakers when used in combination with the bottom-firing unit. To help add to the immersion the speakers are being backed by Dolby Atmos in what OnPlus is calling Dual “Reality” Speakers. Fortunately, the audio effects on this phone don’t stop there as this is OnePlus’s first phone that supports Spatial Audio which i am very keen to check out in the near future.
I have already mentioned that the phone now comes with an “Aquamorphic design” on the UI and this falls under the latest version of Oxygen os 13 which boost the AI function of the UI and will anticipate your actions as you are using the phone in effect learning what you do with the phone in your daily use and adapting to that as required. A big part of this is the Hyperboost Gaming Engine which, via a Machine learning GPa frame rate stabilisation technology will learn and adapt to your game-playing habits and techniques. I am not much of a gamer but i am keen to test these gaming claims as this seems to be not just a phone that is all about the camera.
As for the hardware this gorgeously designed phone and it must be said that although I was a little bit anxious when I saw the first picture of the camera bump on the rear I am now warming to it, especially in the glorious Eternal Green Colour which has a smooth finish and the Titan Black which leans more to the traditional Sandstone effect that OnePlus pioneered with the OnePlus 1 back in the day.
As I mentioned at the top of this post the OnePlus 11 5G will be available for sale on the 16th of Feb from 9am UK time at OnePlus.com and Amazon. The device will retail at £729 for the 8+128GB variant and £799 for the 16+256GB variant. The Emerald Green variant will be exclusively available via Amazon for the 8GB+128GB for £729. If you are looking to get one and you are preordering as well then you will also receive a free gift in the form of either a Beosound A1 2nd Gen Bang & Olufsen Speaker or a pair of OnePlus Buds Pro 2 You can sign up to be notified of preorders opening here.
For more news on the other products that were released today then check out this companion article on Coolsmartphone.com