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Today we're going to make a comparison between two phones with "plus" in their names. The iPhone 15 Plus is the second iteration of the revamped "Plus" model that Apple launched last year, and the OnePlus 11 is considered by many to be a "return-to-the-roots" phone for OnePlus.
The iPhone 15 Plus is now official (Apple officially unveiled the new iPhone 15 family on Tuesday, September 12th, 2023), and we have the necessary pieces of the puzzle to complete this comparison.
We've subjected these devices to our meticulous testing procedures, including both a slew of synthetic benchmarks, and also many real-life oriented tests. Join us while we dissect both phones in various categories to find which one is better and which one deserves your hard-earned money.
Here we go!
iPhone 15: save up to $630 via trade-in credit at Apple
Get the fantastic iPhone 15 straight from the source and save up to $630 with a trade-in. Your minimum trade-in credit amounts to $30. Don't miss out.
iPhone 15 Plus: up to $630 off with a trade-in at Apple
Looking for the bigger-sized iPhone 15 model? In that case, we suggest you consider the iPhone 15 Plus. The Apple store offers $620 off as a trade-in credit on a new iPhone 15 Plus.
UPDATE: The OnePlus 12 is now official, so stay tuned for another comparison, as the latest OnePlus flagship is much better equipped to take on the iPhone 15 Plus (and the Pros for that matter).
iPhone 15 Plus vs OnePlus 11 expected differences:
Both phones have 6.7-inch displays
60Hz refresh rate on the iPhone vs 120Hz on the OnePlus
The OnePlus 11 boasts a 6.7-inch curved OLED display with 1440p resolution and LTPO technology, enabling a dynamic refresh rate ranging from 1 Hz to a remarkable 120 Hz. This helps battery life and allows for a very efficient always-on feature. The nominal brightness is around 800 nits, and color reproduction is also very accurate on the OnePlus.
The iPhone 15 Plus features a very similar display panel to its predecessor. The size remains the same at 6.7 inches, as is the 60Hz display refresh rate. Unlike the OnePlus 11, the iPhone 15 Plus boasts a flat screen with ceramic shield on top. In the brightness department, Apple boasts some improved numbers with 1,600 peak HDR brightness, and a whopping 2,000 nits peak outdoor brightness.
The CIE 1931 xy color gamut chart represents the set(area)of colors that a display can reproduce,with the sRGB colorspace(the highlighted triangle)serving as reference.The chart also provides a visual representation of a display's color accuracy. The small squares across the boundaries of the triangle are the reference points for the various colors, while the small dots are the actual measurements. Ideally, each dot should be positioned on top of its respective square. The 'x:CIE31' and 'y:CIE31' values in the table below the chart indicate the position of each measurement on the chart. 'Y' shows the luminance (in nits) of each measured color, while 'Target Y' is the desired luminance level for that color. Finally, 'ΔE 2000' is the Delta E value of the measured color. Delta E values of below 2 are ideal.
The Color accuracy chart gives an idea of how close a display's measured colors are to their referential values. The first line holds the measured (actual) colors, while the second line holds the reference (target) colors. The closer the actual colors are to the target ones, the better.
The Grayscale accuracy chart shows whether a display has a correct white balance(balance between red,green and blue)across different levels of grey(from dark to bright).The closer the Actual colors are to the Target ones,the better.
The OnePlus 11 has an advantage in the refresh rate department, though, thanks to the LTPO technology and its ability to switch between 1Hz and 120Hz (with everything in between), but, on the other hand, the iPhone 15 Plus can get much brighter. Your choice will also boil down to whether you like flat or curved screens.
In terms of design, there's a very distinct difference between these two phones, one employs the flat back, flat front design with the square camera bump on the back (iPhone 15 Plus), while the other is much more rounded. This year the iPhone 15 Plus also sports a textured matte back, which is kinda similar to the surface of the OnePlus 11, albeit as we already pointed out - flat. The dimensions and weight of both phones are similar (201 grams for the iPhone vs 205 grams for the OnePlus). The color situation is as listed below.
iPhone 15 Plus colors:
Black
Green
Pink
Blue
Yellow
OnePlus 11 available colors:
Eternal Green
Titan Black
During our real-use tests we found the OnePlus 11 much easier to handle, due to its more compact (narrower) size and rounded back. Of course, a case would mitigate most of the design differences, so you shouldn't take this as the most deciding factor in our comparison.
Performance and Software
A16 vs Snapdragon 8 Gen 2
The iPhone 15 Plus inherits the A16 chipset from last year's iPhone Pro models, and that is not bad news. Last year's Apple top silicon is still very potent and can give its Qualcomm flagship competitor a run for its money. Speaking of which, the OnePlus 11 comes equipped with the aforementioned Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, and there's nothing wrong with it, it's the best Qualcomm has to offer as of now.
The RAM situation is very complex, the OnePlus 11 can be purchased with either 8GB or 16GB of RAM, while the iPhone 15 Plus retains the same 6GB of RAM its predecessor sported. As strange as it might sound, the RAM amount doesn't lead to a significant difference in performance between the two phones in real-life scenarios.
The iPhone 15 Plus runs iOS 17 out of the box, and you can check out our full iOS 17 review for a deep dive and learn about cool new features such as NameDrop, iMessage, Phone and FaceTime updates, and more. Apple recently rolled out the latest iOS 17.1 and iOS 17.2 versions, bringing to the users features such as AirDrop over the internet, bug fixes, StandBy updates Spatial Video capture and more.
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The OnePlus 11, on the other hand, runs on Android 13 but will get the upcoming Android 14 very soon, so be sure to check out our Android 14 hub for more details about all the upcoming changes.
Camera
Different on paper
(Image credit - PhoneArena)
The OnePlus 11 comes with one additional camera on its back, compared to the system on the iPhone 15 Plus. There's a 50MP main camera, a 48MP ultrawide, and a 32MP telephoto camera with 2x optical zoom. All this might sound like a lot of megapixels, but the real-life situation is much more similar than one might suspect.
The iPhone 15 Plus comes with an upgraded 48MP main camera, stripped down from last year's iPhone Pro models, and the resulting shots default at 24MP after being pixel binned to 12MP and then enhanced. The OnePlus 11 uses a Sony IMX890 50MP sensor to catch the photons after they pass through the main lens, and the results are quite pleasing. The main difference is in color tonality, the iPhone 15 Plus tends to snap warmer photos, while the ones shot with the OnePlus 11 look neutral. The level of detail is good on both phones.
We don't see the 32MP telephoto as a huge plus (pun intended) for the OnePlus when it comes to 2X zoom. The same results (or very similar ones) could be achieved by using cropping, which is exactly how the iPhone 15 Plus handles telephoto, by using 2x crops from the main 48MP sensor. Apple calls it Optical-quality 2x telephoto. However, at higher zoom levels, the optics of the OnePlus 11, combined with some pretty aggressive post-processing algorithms produce clearer shots.
The iPhone 15 Plus comes with upgraded Portrait mode to complement the new 2X crop zoom, and this results in some pleasant portraits. The level of detail is good, as well as the background blur. The OnePlus 11 also snaps good portrait shots, a bit brighter and colder, again maintaining the difference we saw in the main camera comparison section.
Earlier this year, when we tested the OnePlus 11, we were impressed by the quality of the ultrawide camera. The 48MP sensor outputs 12MP pixel-binned shots, and they look pretty good. The iPhone 15 Plus is no slouch either, despite using last year's 12MP ultrawide camera from Apple's previous gen iPhones.
The selfie situation is also quite interesting. Judging images is a subjective exercise to some extent, but we kinda like the selfies taken with the iPhone 15 Plus more. The OnePlus 11 tends to soften and wash out the object too much, to the point where selfies look unnatural and even "beautified."
Video Quality
Do you see a big difference in video quality between the two?
Audio Quality
The OnePlus 11's dual loudspeakers have new magnets and new NLC low-frequency algorithms, so the phone does sound better than its predecessors.
The iPhone 15, on the other hand, features the same drivers and Taptic engine as its predecessor, which is a good thing. The sound quality is great, with rich mids, deep bass, and clear sound even at high volume levels.
Neither of these phones sport a 3.5mm audio jack, so you'll have to use an adapter or settle for Bluetooth earbuds/headphones ("Never Settle," wasn't this the moto of OnePlus...oh, well).
Battery and Charging
Super-fast vs same old
Everyone's hopes were pretty high when Apple announced the USB-C port on the iPhone 15 series but it was a short-lived celebration. The iPhone 15 Plus does come with a USB-C port but it's limited to USB 2.0 transfer speeds, and the charging speeds seem to have remained the same - Apple cites 50% in 30 minutes with a 20W fast charger. Which is pretty far from let's say 100W wired, right?
And we're mentioning 100W because that's the insanely fast charging capability of the OnePlus 11, and it's hard to beat. Even capped at 80W (in the US), the OnePlus 11 is able to charge its 5,000mAh battery in half an hour. You can find the charging profiles of both phones below.
As for the battery life, one would assume that a 5,000mAh battery will last longer than a 4,383mAh one but it's not that simple. In reality, the iPhone 15 Plus outperforms the OnePlus 11 when it comes to stamina, probably due to the fixed 60Hz display refresh rate and also better optimization, efficiency and lack of thermal throttling.
The iPhone 15 Plus and the OnePlus 11 are very different animals, despite their morphological similarities. On paper, the OnePlus 11 offers better bang for your buck and comes equipped with better features. It has an LTPO display, while the iPhone 15 Plus is stuck in the past with the old school 60Hz.
The camera system of the OnePlus 11 is also a bit more flexible with a dedicated 32MP zoom lens. When it comes to charging, things are looking even more gloomy for the iPhone 15 Plus. Even though it now sports a USB-C port, charging speeds seem to have remained the same. If you want a phone that can charge to full in half hour, then the OnePlus 11 is the undisputed winner.
At the end of the day, the deciding factors are the price and the preferred platform (Android or iOS). If you're coming from an iPhone device and looking to switch, the OnePlus 11 could be a decent choice, especially at its current price. If it's the other way around, you have cheaper options with the vanilla iPhone 15.
The iPhone 15 Plus is actually a great upgrade if you're coming from an older iPhone and want a big screen without the big price tag, the phone starts at $899, the same starting price as its predecessor, so kudos to Apple for keeping the price unchanged.
Mariyan, a tech enthusiast with a background in Nuclear Physics and Journalism, brings a unique perspective to PhoneArena. His childhood curiosity for gadgets evolved into a professional passion for technology, leading him to the role of Editor-in-Chief at PCWorld Bulgaria before joining PhoneArena. Mariyan's interests range from mainstream Android and iPhone debates to fringe technologies like graphene batteries and nanotechnology. Off-duty, he enjoys playing his electric guitar, practicing Japanese, and revisiting his love for video games and Haruki Murakami's works.
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