OnePlus 11 six months later: Sneakily, the best value, most underrated Android flagship of 2023?

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OnePlus 11 six months later: Sneakily, the best value, most underrated Android flagship of 2023?

Although it flew under everyone’s radar due to incredibly tough, far more popular, and flashier competition, as well as OnePlus’ questionable choices in recent years, the OnePlus 11 has proven to be one of the best Android phones/deals around for the first half of 2023…

Sure, the Galaxy S23 Ultra can zoom all the way into the moon, and the iPhone 14 Pro has… iMessage, but when it comes to the entire smartphone package, the OnePlus 11 might be a better value device than most/any of the flagship phones released in 2023 (so far). Like for real.

Moreover, unlike the more expensive competitors from Google, we haven't heard complaints about major bugs, while in the meantime, the Chinese company has been working hard to make the OnePlus 11 even more stable through several software updates.

In a nutshell, I really do see the OnePlus 11 as the biggest underdog of 2023. It’s an excellent phone you should consider buying even today. OnePlus really is back but while I’ll discuss this in a future story, I’d like to take a moment and use this one to give the OnePlus 11 the spotlight it always deserved…

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OnePlus 11: The most underrated phone of 2023 might be the best value flagship for most people

A brand new OnePlus 11 can be yours for as low as $500, which is one of the best Android flagship deals around.

First of all, yes… I really do think the OnePlus 11 was and is the most underrated Android flagship of the year (so far), and I’ll try to explain why in just a few bullet points…

For starters, even six months later, the OnePlus 11 still boasts a great 120Hz, LTPO display that’s bright enough to view outdoors and smooth enough to make every non-Pro iPhone and the 90Hz Pixel 7 feel a bit sluggish in comparison

As one of the first Android flagships with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip, the OnePlus 11 doesn’t skip a beat when it comes to day-to-day tasks like social media scrolling, or even heavy gaming; quite simply, it’s as fast as any other Android flagship on the market right now, regardless of price; not to be that guy but the same can’t be said about a phone like the Pixel 7 Pro (which is prone to throttling despite being more expensive)

Depending on how you look at it, the OnePlus 11 might actually be the battery life champion of 2023 as it boasts excellent battery life, similar to the Galaxy S23 Ultra; but where it absolutely steals the show is in the charging department - a full charge on the OnePlus 11 takes about 20 minutes (come on now!), and when you compare that to the 1h it takes to charge the Galaxy S23 Ultra, or the 2h for a full charge on the iPhone 14 Pro Max and Pixel 7 Pro, the OnePlus 11 is an absolutely game-changer; it can literally and actually change the way you use/charge your phone… forever

The cherry on top of the OnePlus cake comes with the form of a Hasselblad camera system on the back of the OnePlus 11, which excels at color accuracy (with Hasselblad's Natural Mode enabled), managing to take more natural photos than the oversaturated, overprocessed snaps you’ll take with an iPhone or a Galaxy; the OnePlus 11 can also take some outstanding portrait photos thanks to its 2x optical zoom camera, while night photography is also great; HDR is another strong side of the OnePlus camera, often outperforming every other internationally available phone - iPhone, Galaxy, or Pixel

In a nutshell, even six months after its launch, the OnePlus 11 keeps up incredibly well when compared to every other Android flagship on the market - old or new. In pretty much every department! Sure, it might not have an official IP rating for water and dust-resistance, and it doesn’t support wireless charging, but those are fair omissions, considering how premium the phone manages to feel in all other areas.

If you’d like to find out more, check out our full OnePlus 11 review, as well as detailed comparisons with other flagships (which you can find with a simple search on our website).

OnePlus 11 proves the “flagship-killer” is back - not with the perfect Android phone but with the perfect package

I’ll be honest with you… In the beginning of 2023, I wasn’t sure about the direction OnePlus was going to take after all the back-and-forth in the past few years, but it now seems like the “vintage OnePlus” really is back… Knock on wood.

Apart from making an excellent flagship phone at a great price, what signifies OnePlus is serious about making great flagship phones (once again) might be the promise for extended software support. Android phone makers are slowly realizing that it’ll take apples to compete with Apple, which is famous for its long and reliable iPhone/iOS support.

OnePlus recently announced plans to extend the software support of the OnePlus 11 (and future OnePlus flagships) to 4 years of Android updates and 5 years of security patches, matching the industry standard (on Android) set by Samsung, and flying past Google. That being said, OnePlus hasn’t exactly been the gold standard when it comes to update frequency, so just keep that in mind.

Of course, the other (and probably biggest) standout “feature” of the OnePlus 11 is the price, which is more or less unbeatable if you want an Android flagship that feels every bit as premium as the $1,200 phones out there. A $700 price at launch, and $550-600 on sale (available right now - scroll up) for a proper flagship with a solid display, superb performance, amazing battery experience, and a great camera - come on now!

OnePlus 11 and the new OnePlus 12 could steal the show from Galaxy and Pixel 8 because the old OnePlus is back

Despite the similar design, OnePlus 12 is expected to be a big upgrade over the OnePlus 11 - but is it going to cost the same?

In the end, the OnePlus 11 might not be the best Android phone money can buy but this was never OnePlus’ goal in the first place. The company already had a relatively unsuccessful run at making “Pro” flagships that cost significantly more, which makes the decision to go back to its “flagship-killer” roots totally justified - at least in my book.

Sure the OnePlus 11 doesn’t have an official IP rating, wireless charging, or a long-range zoom camera, and the Oppo-influenced version of OxygenOS might not be everyone’s cup of tea - although it’s far more customizable than the “OG OxygenOS” ever was... But at $550 for 8/128GB or $600 for 12/256GB?! That’s literally half the price of the iPhone 14 Pro Max, and significantly cheaper than any Galaxy flagship even when those are on sale.

Anyway… With the homage to the excellent OnePlus 11 paid, I’m now looking forward to the new OnePlus 12, which (conveniently) just leaked in crisp 5K renders. You can already tell the design isn’t a huge departure from what we have now, but that’s fine by me. I plan to get into more detail regarding the OnePlus 12 in a future story but if there’s one thing OnePlus must change with the OnePlus 12 is to make it available in more color options!

Seriously, have you seen the red leather version of the OnePlus 11? And the “Jupiter Rock” edition? De-li-cious! Those are exclusive to China, which must not be the case with any of the OnePlus 12 color variants! Come on, OnePlus? See, even the fact that the first “upgrade” I have on my mind for the new OnePlus 12 is “more color variants” shows that OnePlus has already made an excellent phone with the OnePlus 11…

Of course, many would like the OnePlus 12 to get an official IP rating, and wireless charging, but OnePlus already played the “premium flagship” game with the OnePlus 10 Pro, and this one didn’t work out that well because the price went way up, and less people were interested. So, I’ll take “more colors” and the rumored periscope zoom lens coming to the OnePlus 12 if that means the price will stay at $700. You got a deal, OnePlus!

Don’t forget that you also got a deal on the excellent OnePlus 11, peeps! $550 and $600 for 8/128GB and 12/256GB. De-li-cious!

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Martin, a tech journalist at PhoneArena, brings a unique blend of humor and insight to his work. His fascination with smartphones began with a Galaxy Young and evolved through a series of trades and upgrades, making him a self-proclaimed smartphone nerd. Martin's content often combines current analysis of market trends with historical references and future predictions. Whether it's a deep dive into technical issues or a first-person commentary on industry events, Martin's articles are designed to inform and engage. His critical perspective is driven by genuine curiosity and a desire to keep readers informed, not by any corporate sponsorship.