OnePlus 11 5G is for you

MANUFACTURE The OnePlus 11 5G, which debuted as OnePlus’ latest flagship phone model last week, seems to impress with a sleek design, solid cameras, and a smooth, functional Android experience.

Right out of the box, the OnePlus 11 5G feels heavy in your hand. It’s barely what I would describe as heavy, but you can really feel the quality of workmanship. Switching it on and setting it up was a breeze too, and pretty soon the phone was up and running.

The 6.7-inch AMOLED LTPO 3.0 (1440 x 3216 pixels, 525 ppi) display feels somewhat larger than it looks, probably due to the fact that it curves slightly to one side. The colors are bright and saturated even with the Eye Saver mode activated. The front display is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass Victus, which is reportedly able to withstand 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 a benefit for the device’s Oxygen OS 13, which is based on Android 13. Apps show up almost instantly, and while testing some mobile games, I noticed that the response time was pretty fast.

With all of this, 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 impressive. The device can easily last through the end of a busy workday, and over a quiet weekend I managed to extend a full charge to nearly 36 hours before needing to top it up again.

The phone also packs a set of Hasselblad camera lenses in a circular silver display designed to look ‘clipped on’ on the back. It’s a small detail but definitely makes it stand out when placed alongside other smartphones. These are protected with Gorilla Glass 5, which isn’t as strong as the Victus glass on the front display but should still be able to protect the fragile materials inside.

The main camera features a 50MP IMX890 sensor with Optical Image Stabilization (OIS) for steady shots. The main camera is complemented by the 115° 48 MP ultra wide camera and the IMX709 32 MP portrait lens.

As for the photos themselves, they certainly turned out quite well. In auto mode, photos taken outdoors in natural light showed near-lifelike colors. However, photos taken indoors tended to look a bit dark, but that’s easily remedied by fiddling with the controls.

Portrait mode lets you adjust the bokeh level so you can effortlessly create professional-looking snapshots. Selfies looked pretty decent too, and there’s a bunch of filters to play with to live out your Instagrammer dreams.

There was one hardware feature on the phone that surprised me: a slider on the top right of the phone that could be used to mute the device. While it might seem unusual to have a dedicated button for this, I’ll admit I’ve used it on more than one occasion and it ended up being very useful.

There are a few things to note about the phone. I highly recommend that you get a protective case, mainly to give the device a flat back. I almost had a heart attack when I laid it face up on an uneven table for a moment and the phone started sliding towards the edge.

In addition, due to the curved screen, moving your fingers while reading a webpage on your phone may cause you to scroll unintentionally.

Aside from those quirks, the phone worked like a dream. It’s available in two colors – Titan Black and Eternal Green – and starts at RM3,299. In terms of pricing, given the features and benefits this device offers, the OnePlus 11 5G is for you if you’re looking for a solid flagship that won’t break the bank.