The OnePlus 11 is now available, at least in China. Next month, the newest OnePlus flagship will reach Western shores, so while we wait, I considered the future and what to anticipate in 2023.
When it unveiled the OnePlus One in 2014, OnePlus made a major impression, and its popularity has grown ever since. The corporation as it is now is a far cry from the fledgling almost ten years ago, but that has been accompanied by an improvement in phone quality.
Last year’s OnePlus 10 Pro was by far the company’s best product to date, largely because it began to reduce the gap between it, Samsung, and Google.
However, OnePlus is still trailing Google and Samsung in two crucial categories: software and cameras. In order to outperform its top Android phone competitors, OnePlus must succeed in this area.
Software
I’ll tell it straight up front. Over the past year or so, the software at OnePlus has drastically deteriorated. The most recent OxygenOS version is a frustrating experiment in poor user experience. It is disorganized, awkward, and the antithesis of what made OxygenOS brilliant in its prime.
In terms of timely release of updates, OnePlus also trails behind Samsung and Google. Although comparing it to Google isn’t precisely apples to oranges, it’s considerably slower. However, Samsung releases updates for its most recent phones at a breakneck pace; even its older phones often receive updates in a month or two.
I would anticipate that OnePlus would release upgrades much more quickly given the support of its sibling firm given the kind of merger with Oppo. Although I can already observe progress in this area, there is still time before OnePlus releases the update after a significant Android upgrade.
Cameras
Although OnePlus has typically lagged behind its rivals in the area of photography, we recently got to witness the first camera samples from the OnePlus 11. I believe Google and Samsung should be on the lookout, supposing they are authentic and haven’t been substantially changed.
I elaborated on a few of the best OnePlus 11 images from the collection we received via Twitter. They impressed me, especially the images taken in low light. Even as recently as the OnePlus 10 Pro, OnePlus has typically had difficulty handling circumstances like this. That phone frequently produced photographs in low light that had a sickly, yellowish tint.
But OnePlus will have a tough time defeating Samsung, let alone Google. The post-processing algorithms used by those two businesses to create the final photos need a significant investment of time and money. In recent times, OnePlus has performed better in ideal circumstances, releasing images with generally accurate colors and high dynamic range.
However, I believe 2023 might be the year when OnePlus righted the photography ship and provided more than a competent camera phone, as it is the third year of the Hasselblad relationship.
OnePlus 11 outlook
Over the past many years, OnePlus has steadily developed. For instance, the business is mirroring Samsung’s update strategy on the software front by providing future “select” smartphones with four years of Android upgrades and five years of security patches, presumably referring to the OnePlus 11.
The fact that I wonder whether OnePlus has taken some of my complaints of its cluttered portfolio to heart makes me eager to see what it accomplishes in 2023. (OnePlus China’s president confirmed there won’t be a OnePlus 11 Pro.) I don’t want to think I had such a big influence, but regardless of the cause, I’ll accept a better organized product lineup.
The main smartphone conflict zones nowadays are cameras and software. They are not far behind in terms of battery life, an area where OnePlus does well. However, the phone manufacturer must master these two areas if it is to compete on an equal footing with Samsung and Google in 2023.
