Looking for a budget-priced flagship phone?
You will be spoilt for choice as the festive sale season starts.
Here’s why Ashish Narsale thinks OnePlus’s 11 5G or the 11R 5G would be good options for you to consider.
Since their launch in Delhi this February, OnePlus’s 11 5G and 11R 5G have been my primary picture takers; I even took them on my vacation to Kashmir to find out if these two OnePlus phones match up to the hype.
They made me feel I was not on a vacation.
Let me explain why :).
It was because my backpack was not weighed down by my DSLR, tripod and laptop.
OnePlus 11
Design
The OnePlus11 is a sleek 205-gram glass bar that slips comfortably into your pocket.
Unfortunately, this makes the phone — the curved Gorilla Glass Victus in front merges with the rim and the rear, too, is Gorilla Glass 5 — slippery in sweaty hands.
This 6.42 (height) x 2.92 (width) x 0.33 (thickness) inch phone is easier to grip only when it is has an additional cover.
The review piece came with a matte-frosted glass back; the other available colour variants are Eternal Green and Marble Odyssey.
I liked the matte finish because it prevents fingerprint smudges on the back of the phone but I do wonder why mobile companies make attractive glass backs when you have to keep the phone in a case.
While it comes certified with IP64 dust and water protection, this rating is not high as its counterparts. Nevertheless, the phone performed well in snow and slight drizzles.
The alert slider, which was missing in its predecessor, returns.
The front punch-hole selfie camera is well placed at the top corner, which reduces distraction while watching a video.
OnePlus has worked on the placement of its in-display fingerprint reader; it is ergonomically placed a notch higher, offering better reach for the thumb now.
Display
The display — it measures 6.7-inch (measured diagonally) — is crisp and vibrant.
It has an AMOLED panel with LTPO (basically, a more power efficient OLED display) that has a resolution of 3216 x 1440 (QHD+), 525 ppi.
The 120 Hz refresh rate gives a smooth scrolling experience.
Not to mention I had no trouble using the phone under bright outdoor lighting conditions.
Camera
The OnePlus 11 5G includes a medium format Hasselblad camera-like features (a camera with a sensor larger than a 35mm or a full frame DSLR camera).
It also has a noteworthy triple camera setup embedded with Sony sensors at the rear.
The main snapper has a 50MP IMX890 Quad-pixel sensor with an f/1.88 aperture; it also supports OIS (optical image stabiliser).
The ultra-wide camera sports a 48MP 1/2 inch IMX581 sensor with a 115 degrees wide FoV (field of view).
And the third Portrait Tele has a 32MP IMX709 RGBW sensor that supports 2x optical zoom.
All three cameras support auto focus.
They perform quite well in rainy and dull lighting conditions.
The only niggle is that, when the light is dim, moving subjects cause motion blurs; I also felt there was a little lag in shutter speed.
But when shooting still subjects like portraits or night landscape, the camera works like charm provided you hold the phone steady.
It would have been really great if OnePlus had included a higher optical zoom like its competitors; beyond the 2x optical zoom, the 20x digital zoom is useless.
The portrait mode in the camera does well while shooting under streetlight or during the day, which I felt is a plus point.
It makes use of computational photography to simulate the DSLR and offers the bokeh effect in portrait photos.
Shooting in the RAW or XPAN mode gives you the feeling that you have shot it using a DSLR or Hasselblad camera.
Mind you, this does not mean it replicates the quality of a DSLR; photos shot on OnePlus 11 are good for social media postings or to view on any handheld device.
The front 16MP selfie camera is nice as well; it supports Electronic Image Stabilisation, portrait mode and night mode.
However, the field of view should be wider so that it can accommodate larger group selfies.
You can take good videos, upto 8K at 24fps; the built-in OIS for stabilisation in the main camera shoots smooth videos.
I shot a video while travelling in a car and it turned out well.
Hardware
The phone is equipped with the best of android SoC — the Qulcomms 8 Gen 2, coupled with LPDDR5X RAM and UFS 4.0 ROM for storage.
The combination gives a smooth experience without any stutter.
Gaming
Asphalt 9, NFS No Limits, Real Racing 3 and Shadow Fight 4 performed flawlessly.
I did not notice any heating as such, though my sessions didn’t last beyond 60 minutes.
Sound
The stereo speakers are loud and dialogues/conversations can be heard clearly.
To enjoy the phone’s surround sound effect, one should listen and watch the opening scene of Stranger Things Season 4’s episode 1 on Netflix; it’s immersive.
Battery
Another feature I liked is that the phone’s 5000 mAh battery charges in just less than 30 minutes from zero to 100 per cent.
And it lasted all day even though I shot videos and photos and answered calls.
The charger supports USB Type A and Type C cables.
Tech nerds will definitely miss the wireless charging option though.
Software
The Operating System OxygenOS, which is based on the Android 13 version, is smooth but you will spot traces ofOppo’sColoOS that has been used to customise the product.
Verdict
If you are looking for a phone with flagship features, an impressive camera and hardware specifications and a price tag under Rs 60,000, then the OnePlus 11 is for you. It ticks all the boxes for a sleek budget flagship phone that is a solid performer as well.
OnePlus 11R
You may call the OnePlus 11R 5G a humshakal with no Hasselblad branding.
While it is powered by last year’s flagship Qualcomm 8+ Gen 1 SoC, it is still more powerful than today’s mid-rangers.
It has three cameras at the rear, with 50MP as a primary shooter coupled with 8MP ultrawide and 2MP macro.
But the primary camera won’t disappoint you; it can click good pictures with natural colours.
For portraits, the phone adds little AI to make the subject look brighter.
When it comes to low light or night performance, it generates good output for still subjects and landscapes.
It is powered by a 5000 mAh battery, which can be charged with a 100watt charger; the starting price is Rs 39,999.
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