Clouds over the Horizon: This is the OnePlus 11 event in a nutshell.

Oh, aside from the online event, they’re also inviting fans LIVE!

February is a pretty huge month for smartphone companies, and OnePlus’ event is one of the biggest yet. Today, they just revealed the OnePlus 11 5G after several leaks and teaser images posted by OnePlus themselves.

For those who missed the event, you could rewatch it through their social media portals. For the purpose of this article, we will be redirecting you to the global event on YouTube.

While the event took place in New Delhi globally, OnePlus Philippines had the event set up for local users to enjoy, and the official public event is live in Bonifacio Global City. Aside from the phone, OnePlus will also be introducing their first-ever tablet (flagship specs at that) and the Buds Pro2.

OnePlus 11

The main highlight of this event, and the reason why it’s called “Cloud 11”. This flagship phone takes its lessons correctly from its predecessor, the OnePlus 10 Pro, and further enhanced it, all the while making the phone more affordable than its rivals like the Galaxy S23 Ultra and the Pixel 7 Pro. Unlike the OnePlus 10 series, the “Pro” suffix has been dropped. That moniker is overrated and overused anyway.

The display is a full-on flagship. The phone sports a 6.7″ 4K (3216x1440px) LTPO3 Fluid AMOLED screen with 120Hz adaptive refresh rate. It is protected by a first-gen Corning Gorilla Glass Victus and has 1300nits of peak brightness. Also, the alert slider is back after being absent starting with the OnePlus 9 Pro. One evidence of OnePlus cutting corners is the phone being only IP64 rated instead of IP68 rated, so the phone can survive splashes and mists but will definitely die out when dunked in a pool.

As expected of flagships, the phone is equipped with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset with a 2nd-gen 4nm process. It is paired with 8 or 12GB LPDDR5X RAM and 128 or 256GB UFS 4.1 storage respectively. It does not have any MicroSD card slot following tradition, so high MP photos could fill a considerable amount of space. Not to mention, the phone now has proper 8K video capabilities.

The phone is equipped with three actually useful cameras including the new 50MP Sony IMX890 primary camera with OIS. This is an improvement over the beloved Sony IMX766 which its predecessor uses. The Hasselblad collab is here to stay. There are two other cameras. These are the 48MP Sony IMX581 ultrawide lens and the 32MP Sony IMX709 telephoto lens with 2x zoom and OIS. The front camera once again is situated at the corner (which makes it less distracting actually) and uses a 16MP sensor.

There is the usual 5000mAh battery inside coupled with 100W fast charging (North American buyers get 80W). The phone has no wireless charging capabilities which is one of the main reasons why it’s priced slightly lower. You have to place budget cuts somewhere and thankfully it’s here.

The phone is pretty sustainable too as it is the first time OnePlus is dedicating four years of major Android upgrades and five years of security updates. Other phones in the series may follow suit, including the OnePlus Ace/11R and the 10T.

Titan Black and Eternal Green are the only available colours to choose from. In the US, the 8/128 configuration starts at USD 699 (~Php 38.5K) while the higher-end 12/256 costs USD 799 (~Php 44K). The phone would be available by 21st February in the Philippines and the price and RAM/storage configuration would also be announced.

OnePlus cut some corners to keep its affordable price while remaining a full-fledged flagship. ‘Flagship killers’ was their philosophy when they debuted . These corners (IP64 rating, lack of wireless charging) are not detrimental however, and OnePlus carefully chose which corners to specifically cut, making it a great flagship phone in many respects. Return of core features such as the alert slider are also welcomed well by the community.

Is OnePlus back? Not yet, but they are on the right track since the disaster that’s the OnePlus 8 through 10 Pro.

SPECS:

• 6.67″ QHD+ (3216x1440px) LTPO3 Fluid AMOLED, 120Hz refresh rate, Dolby Vision, 1300nits peak brightness
  • IP64 splash/dust resistance
• Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 (4nm)
• CAMERAS:
  • 50MP (Primary), f/1.8, 24mm, 1/1.56″, OIS, Sony IMX890
  • 48MP (Ultrawide), f/2.2, 115°, Sony IMX581
  • 32MP (Telephoto), f/2.0, 48mm, 2x optical zoom, OIS, Sony IMX709
  • FRONT: 16MP
  • Hasselblad Colour Calibration (3rd Generation)
• OxygenOS 11 based on Android 13
  • Four years of Android upgrades (up to Android 17)
  • Five years of security updates
• 5000mAh, 100W Fast charging, USB-A to USB-C (Global)
  • 80W fast Charging, USB-A to USB-C (North America only)
• USB-C, Alert Slider, Stereo Speakers, Dual Nano-SIM Slot
• 5G services, Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.3, NFC
• Titan Black, Eternal Green
• PRICE:
  • 8/128: USD 699 (~Php 38.5K)
  • 12/256: USD 799 (~Php 44K)

OnePlus Pad

The OnePlus Pad was expected to be just a clone copy of the Oppo Pad Air. It was also expected to be a budget device, like the Pad Air. Unfortunately for those leaks, they are wrong. The OnePlus Pad is actually a flagship tablet with MediaTek Dimensity 9000 at the helm. This makes it one of the rare times OnePlus opted for a MediaTek chipset for flagships instead of a Qualcomm one.

This tablet is no joke. Although we don’t like the circular camera hump situated in the middle. It feels cheap to look at and something that one would see on a more affordable tablet. Nonetheless, the iconic Emerald Green colour (Halo Green for the OnePlus Pad) remained and looks beautiful as ever, learning from experiences taken from the OnePlus 9 Pro.

The tablet has what the company calls “AutoConnect”, a seamless connectivity feature. Cellular Data Sharing is taken from here. When you connect any of your phones through AutoConnect, the tablet will also share its LTE signals. If the concept sounds familiar, that’s because a Wi-Fi counterpart of it is available called Hotspots. Although, OnePlus claims this method is far more efficient as it drains less battery. This is one way to compensate for the tablet’s lack of LTE features.

The tablet has a large 10″ 2.5K (2800x2000px) IPS LCD screen with a 144Hz refresh rate. OnePlus is also boasting its 7:5 aspect ratio which makes reading much more convenient and comfortable, at least according to company wording. OnePlus has also added a few bells and whistles here, such as the Intelligent Brightness feature which has 2048 brightness levels. In short, this is OnePlus’ version of auto brightness. The display is also curved, supports Dolby Vision, and has 500 nits of peak brightness.

As mentioned, the tablet comes with a MediaTek Dimensity 9000 chipset, further debunking leaks stating it would be equipped with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip. This comes with up to 12GB RAM and 512GB UFS 3.1 internal storage.

The tablet also has stylus support. With that, you could purchase a separate pen dedicated to it. Aside from that, of course, there’s a magnetic attachment for wireless keyboards.

The tablet comes with a pretty large 9510mAh battery inside and charges adequately with its included 67W SuperVOOC fast charging. OnePlus claims that the tablet is equipped with a “Battery Health Engine” that monitors and studies your tablet activities to optimize battery usage, making it last longer. OnePlus even boasts a 1-month total standby time which is ridiculously long.

The tablet comes with a quad speaker system with an “Omnibearing Sound Field”. These speakers are also finetuned through Dolby Atmos so you could have a theater-like experience on the go.

The tablet comes in its signature Halo Green colour. The company did not yet disclose availability and pricing. Stay tuned for that.

SPECS:

• 10″ 2.5K (2800x2000px) IPS LCD, 144Hz refresh rate, Dolby Vision, 7:5 aspect ratio, 2.5D curved glass, 500nits peak brightness
• MediaTek Dimensity 9000 (4nm)
• CAMERAS:
  • 13MP (Primary)
  • FRONT: 8MP
• OxygenOS 11 based on Android 13
• 9510mAh, 67W fast charging
• USB-C, Quad Speakers with Dolby Atmos, Magnetic Connector, Stylus support (Stylo sold separately)
• Wi-Fi 6/6e, Cellular Data Sharing, Cross Screen Transmission
• Halo Green
• PRICE:
  • TBA

OnePlus Buds Pro2

The OnePlus Buds Pro2 is a flagship TWS earbuds co-developed with Danish speaker manufacturer DynAudio with their MelodyBoost 11mm+6mm dynamic dual drivers.

As with many flagship buds, these buds offer spatial audio support. With Dolby Head Tracking available on OnePlus 11, combined, allows for an immersive 3D audio effect when you turn your heads as if they are gesture controls through apps like YouTube, Spotify, or streaming apps like Netflix and Disney Plus.

Of course, it has noise cancellation features with up to 48dB of noise cancelled. This feature is also TUV-Rheinland certified. Transparency mode is also available that disables the noise-suppressing effect so now you could hear background conversations and the nice busy sounds of the city.

OnePlus claims that the buds last 39 hours in total with ANC off. These could be charged in two ways, either wirelessly through Qi Charging or through a USB-C cable via the case.

These buds come alongside the OnePlus 11 but also are sold separately. It comes in Black and Green, matching the colour scheme of the phone. Individually, it is valued at USD 179 (~Php 9.9K). Its availability is yet to be announced in the Philippines.