The next phone might mark the debut of real new camera hardware developed as a result of OnePlus’ collaboration with Hasselblad.

It should come as no surprise that OnePlus will soon release the OnePlus 11 5G. The new phone, which OnePlus began taking preorders for last week, will go on sale in China on Monday, January 9. The phone, which follows last year’s OnePlus 10 Pro, is scheduled to go on sale worldwide on February 7. It also follows the OnePlus 10T, which left us with a negative impression due to its dubious tradeoffs and perplexing value offer.

OnePlus fortunately gave us a sneak preview of the 11 back in December. The new phone is currently fully visible on the OnePlus China website. With the aid of Google Translate, I devoured it.

A statement from the movie Django Unchained with Leonardo DiCaprio comes to mind.

“Men, you piqued my interest. But you have my attention right now.”

Because the 11 would be the third generation phone to be introduced while OnePlus was partnered with the venerable camera manufacturer Hasselblad, I already had high expectations for it. Hasselblad’s impact has primarily been felt in the background up to this point, with camera adjustments and useful software tools like the Xpan panoramic style. The OnePlus 11 might be the first device to include real new camera hardware as a result of the collaboration.

Please remember that as you read on because it can be difficult to convey subtleties and intricacies in translation.

The OnePlus 11 appears amazing. 

The design of the 11 continues where that of the 10 Pro ended. According to the website’s translation, the design of the OnePlus 11 was motivated by a “black hole in science fiction.” However, the 11’s camera bump is circular on top with tapered edges that flow into the edge of the phone rather than the roughly square camera hump featured on the 10 Pro. It reminds me of a leather attaché’s clasp. The camera bump’s design resembles the outline of Darth Vader’s helmet when the phone is held in landscape orientation.

On the website, the phone is displayed in two colours. There are two colours: a matte green that isn’t quite British racing green and a textured black finish that is described as “silk glass” in the translated text. This, I assume, indicates that the surface appears textured but is actually just flat glass.

The front of the phone has yet to be shown in many pictures, but it has a waterfall-edged display that extends off the right and left sides of the device. On the top left side is a hole punch-shaped cutout that houses the front-facing camera.

In a product video on the website, which also features dazzling, stylised close-ups of the OnePlus 11, an alert slider is discernible. The button would reappear after being absent on the OnePlus 10T, according to a previous confirmation from OnePlus. The Nubia Red Magic 8 includes a similar mechanical slider for switching the phone into gaming mode, and the 11 follows suit.

The OnePlus 11 is equipped with the newest Android hardware.

A 6.7-inch AMOLED screen with a variable refresh rate that maxes out at 120Hz is included on the phone. The screen is an LTPO 3. The 10 Pro from last year had an LTPO 2 display. Low-temperature polycrystalline oxide, or LTPO, allows for high refresh rates on displays without draining your battery. The translated material claims that LTPO 3 is smoother and even more energy-efficient. According to a graphic, the display can slow down to 1Hz, the same refresh rate as the iPhone 14 Pro’s always-on screen.

The Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip from Qualcomm, which powers the 11 on the inside, boasts a 25% quicker GPU and a 35% faster CPU, according to a press statement from OnePlus.

One of the first phones to use the new Qualcomm chip is the 11. The 11 also has 256GB or 512GB of storage and 16GB of RAM.

Dual 2,500 mAh batteries with 100W quick charging support power everything. With the exception of US models, which were limited to 65W fast charging, the 10 Pro from last year had the identical dual-battery configuration and enabled 80W fast charging. The OnePlus 10T can charge 150W worldwide and 125W in the US. The iPhone 14 Pro supports 20W fast charging, for context. According to OnePlus, the 11’s batteries can charge from zero to one hundred per cent in 25 minutes.

The cameras are similar yet distinct.

Similar to the 10 Pro, the OnePlus 11 boasts a 50-megapixel primary and 48-megapixel ultrawide camera system. In contrast to the 10 Pro’s 8-megapixel sensor and 3.3x optical zoom, it also boasts a telephoto camera with a 32-megapixel sensor and a 2x optical zoom.

All of the image sensors, including the one in the new telephoto camera, were produced by Sony. But you have to question if the 32-megapixel sensor and short tele lens combination was chosen by OnePlus and Hasselblad because it produces better images than the tele on the 10 Pro. If so, this is the first instance in which camera hardware has been designed as a result of the collaboration between OnePlus and Hasselblad.

The new telescopic camera can reportedly take pictures with more realistic colour, according to translated language. According to the website of OnePlus China, shots taken in portrait mode have superior simulated bokeh that resembles the appearance of pictures made with Hasselblad’s XCD medium-format lenses.

Sample images from the 11 are pleasing to the eye, with well-balanced colours and highlights that fade for skin tones. Since practically every phone manufacturer’s website displays stunning shots taken with their phones, we should treat these pictures with a huge grain of salt. Ah, marketing! Unfortunately, it is not stated whether the enhancements to photos will also apply to video recording.

Is the OnePlus 11 Pro available?

The OnePlus 11 has the best specs of any OnePlus phone ever released, according to everything I’ve read on the website. In spite of the lack of a name, it appears to be the “pro” model this year. Its 6.7-inch screen is identical in size to the 10 Pros. In reality, in answer to a query on the Chinese social media site Weibo, OnePlus China President Li Jie stated that there is no “pro” version of the OnePlus 11.

That would continue OnePlus’ prior product strategy’s departure. Up until recently, OnePlus offered three variations of its flagship devices: a standard model, a “pro” variant, and a T model later in the year.2020 saw the release of the OnePlus 8, 8 Pro, and 8T, for instance. In comparison to the standard model, the pro models frequently have larger displays with greater resolutions and a third back camera with a telephoto lens.

The business did not produce a basic variant of the OnePlus 10 last year, only the OnePlus 10 Pro.

What will the OnePlus 11 do next?

China will begin selling the new phone on Monday, January 9. On February 7, OnePlus will also unveil the OnePlus Buds Pro 2 at a global launch event in India. I’m eager to use the phone personally, especially since it has a new telephoto camera.