MAKING its debut last week as the latest flagship phone model from OnePlus, the OnePlus 11 5G looks set to impress with a sleek design, solid cameras and a smooth, functional Android experience.
Right out of the box, the OnePlus 11 5G feels weighty in your hand. It’s hardly what I would call heavy, but you can really feel the quality of the build. Turning it on and setting it up was also a breeze, and pretty soon, the phone was ready to go.
The 6.7in AMOLED LTPO 3.0 display (1440 x 3216 pixels, 525 ppi) somehow feels bigger than it looks, probably due to the fact that it curves slightly to the side. The colours are also bright and rich, even with the eye comfort mode turned on. The front display is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass Victus, which can reportedly survive drops from a height of 2m.
Under the hood, the device is powered by the latest Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 Mobile Platform with up to 16GB LPDDR5X RAM and 256GB ROM. This emphasis on performance is an advantage for the device’s Oxygen OS 13, which is based on Android 13. Apps pop up almost instantly, and when testing out a few mobile games, I noticed that the response time was rather quick.
With all this going on, your biggest concern might be how long the battery will last, but worry not, as the OnePlus 11 5G supports super fast charging. And the battery life is also quite impressive. The device can easily last to the end of a busy workday, and over a quiet weekend, I managed to stretch a full charge to almost 36 hours before having to charge it again.
The phone also features an array of Hasselblad camera lenses within a round silver display that is designed to look ‘clipped’ on to the back. It’s a small detail, but definitely makes it stand out when set alongside other smartphones. These are protected with Gorilla Glass 5, which is not as strong as the Victus glass on the front display, but should still be able to protect the fragile materials within.
The main camera has a 50MP IMX890 sensor with an optical image stabiliser (OIS) for steady shots. Supplementing the main camera are the 115° 48MP ultra-wide camera and the IMX709 32MP portrait lens.
As for the photos themselves, they definitely turned out quite well. On automatic mode, photos taken outdoors in natural light produced near true-to-life colours. However, photos taken indoors tended to look a little dim, but that can easily be remedied by fiddling with the controls.
The Portrait mode lets you adjust the bokeh level, allowing you to create professional snaps with ease. Selfies also looked pretty decent, and there is a range of filters that you can play with to live out your Instagrammer dreams.
There was one hardware feature on the phone that surprised me: a slider button on the upper right section of the phone that could turn the device on silent. While it might seem an unusual thing to have a dedicated button for, I admit that I did find myself using it on more than one occasion, and it turned out to be quire usedful after all.
There are a couple of things to note about the phone. I strongly recommend that you get a protective case, mostly to provide a flat back for the device. I nearly had a heart attack when I momentarily placed it face up upon an uneven table, and the phone began sliding towards the edge.
In addition, because of the curved screen, you might find yourself accidentally scrolling unintentionally when your fingers move while reading a webpage on your phone.
Aside from these quirks, the phone worked like a dream. It comes in two colours – Titan Black, and Eternal Green – and is priced from RM3,299. As far as price points go, considering the features and advantages that come with this device, the OnePlus 11 5G is the one for you if you’re looking for a solid flagship that doesn’t bust your budget.
