OnePlus 11R Review (long-term): The Perfect Value Flagship?

The OnePlus 11R has been creating a buzz in the Indian smartphone market with its combination of affordability and top-notch performance. The R-series seems to be a throwback to OnePlus’ earlier days of offering flagship-killer devices. One quick glance at the OnePlus 11R’s specs and price tag, and you’ll be reminded of the good old days of OnePlus. While the phone borrows the Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1 chipset from the OnePlus 10T, it’s been tweaked to meet the company’s latest design standards for smartphones in 2023.

The OnePlus 11R is designed to provide excellent value for its price point and, therefore, the company has left no cribbing point in its specs sheet. The phone packs a long-lasting 5,000mAh battery that charges at 100W. Optics-wise, it includes a triple camera setup including a primary 50MP camera, an ultrawide camera, and a macro lens. The phone runs on Oxygen OS 13 based on Android 13 and will receive three significant Android updates and four years of security patches, providing an additional year compared to its predecessor.

As we spend more time with the phone, we have come to appreciate its strengths and weaknesses. In this long-term review, we will delve into the details of the OnePlus 11R‘s features, design, performance, and overall value proposition. We will also evaluate how the phone holds up against its competitors and whether it delivers on its promise of providing a flagship-like experience at an affordable price. Join us as we take a closer look at the OnePlus 11R and see how it fares in the long run.

OnePlus 11R Review: Design

After using the OnePlus 11R for over a month, I can confidently say that the device looks nearly identical to its more expensive counterpart, the standard OnePlus 11. With the exception of the Hasselblad logo missing from the camera housing and the lack of a glittery pattern on the camera island, the two phones are virtually indistinguishable from each other.

The resemblance between the two devices gives the OnePlus 11R a more luxurious appearance, making it one of the most visually appealing phones in its category. Although the 11R is slightly taller, wider, and thicker than the OnePlus 11, these differences are hardly noticeable unless you have both devices side by side.

OnePlus has kept the iconic ‘Alert slider’ feature in the OnePlus 11R 5G, which allows users to quickly switch between notification settings without having to unlock their phone. Additionally, the device has an infrared (IR) emitter located at the top, a new addition to the OnePlus lineup.

The IR Remote app included with the phone enables users to control various electronic devices and appliances at home after a quick setup. The black variant of the 11R 5G features a matte-textured glass back that resists fingerprints with ease.

The OnePlus 11R mid-frame is plastic instead of the metal housing on the standard model. While this difference may only be noticeable when compared side-by-side with the OnePlus 11, it does make the 11R feel less premium. Additionally, the fingerprint sensor is located too low on the screen, making it awkward to use and necessitating the use of face unlock instead.

The 11R is also a bit heavier than other phones, weighing in at 204g, but this is to be expected given its larger 6.74-inch size and build materials. Despite this, OnePlus has done a great job distributing the weight throughout the device, resulting in a comfortable grip and excellent handling. In general, it’s a solid choice for anyone seeking a high-quality phone at an affordable price point.

OnePlus 11R Review: Display

The display of the OnePlus 11R is definitely noteworthy, even though it doesn’t offer the same QHD resolution as the OnePlus 11. The 6.74-inch Fluid AMOLED panel with FHD+ resolution (2772 x 1240) and 120Hz refresh rate is impressive, providing vibrant colors and the option to switch to a more natural color profile in the settings. It’s unfortunate that the phone doesn’t have an LTPO panel, but the LTPS panel still manages to automatically switch refresh rates to fixed intervals of 40Hz, 60Hz, 90Hz, and 120Hz. Users can also opt to lock the phone to 60Hz for better battery life.

The OnePlus 11R boasts HDR10+ and HLG support, although the advertised 1,450 nits of brightness for HDR content falls short in real-world usage. It lacks Dolby Vision support for multimedia content. It remains visible under direct sunlight. When comparing the 11R to the standard model, the latter consistently outshines it and presents better color management. Interestingly, OnePlus chose a Dragontrail protective glass solution over the Corning Gorilla Glass Victus used in the OnePlus 11.

OnePlus 11R Review: Performance

The OnePlus 11R comes running on the latest OxygenOS 13 version based on Android 13, which provides a smooth and pleasant user experience. Despite its visual and tactile similarities to Oppo phones, the OnePlus 11R’s interface is still cleaner and more polished. The UI is largely free of bloatware and easy to navigate. Although the OnePlus 11R isn’t eligible for the extended software support policy of the OnePlus 11, the company is still promising three major OS updates and four years of security updates for the device. It remains to be seen whether they can deliver on this pledge, but so far, we have no qualms with the OnePlus 11R’s performance and feature set.

The OnePlus 11R boasts impressive performance with its Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1 processor, a significant improvement over the MediaTek Dimensity 8100-Max found in its predecessor, the OnePlus 10R. It also offers up to 16GB of LPDDR5X RAM and up to 256GB of UFS3.1 storage, making it a formidable device for most tasks. Despite being a 2022 model, the chipset still delivers a powerful performance at a value-oriented price, making it a top choice for budget-conscious consumers.

The phone’s hardware credentials are not just for show as it delivers fast and smooth performance consistently without any perceptible throttling or overheating. The OnePlus 11R’s cooling system is efficient, ensuring that the phone remains surprisingly cool even during intensive activities. It handles games like Genshin Impact and multitasking with ease. The high-performance mode is available for those who want to push the phone to its limits, but it may generate more heat, so it’s best to use it sparingly. In everyday use, the phone delivers seamless performance without any signs of thermal throttling.

The OnePlus 11R demonstrated commendable resilience during our customary stress test, with little to no complications. Its ability to withstand our demanding usage is also reflected in the benchmark scores. When subjected to AnTuTu tests, the device produced an impressive score of 861,175, surpassing the OnePlus 10T’ but less than iQOO 9T, and OnePlus 11R. The device fared well on Geekbench 6 as well, securing scores of 924 and 3589 in single-core and multi-core tests, respectively.

OnePlus 11R review: Camera

The OnePlus 11R boasts a triple rear camera setup featuring a 50MP Sony IMX890 sensor with optical image stabilization (OIS) as the primary camera. Accompanying it is an 8MP ultra wide-angle shooter with a 120-degree field of view and a 2MP macro sensor. However, it’s worth noting that only the primary camera delivers exceptional results.

The camera app is similar to that of the OnePlus 11, but without the Hasselblad Color Science (HCS) and features such as XPan and Hasselblad Pro mode. The primary camera captures detailed images with pleasing colors, albeit leaning towards the cooler side compared to the OnePlus 11. Personal preference plays a role in choosing between the two. The camera focuses quickly, with no discernible shutter lag between shots.

Portrait shots are decent, though not exceptional, as the system occasionally fails to blur the background completely. As evident from the sample images, the background near the neck isn’t blurred, which could be attributed to the challenging environment with multiple books in the background. Nevertheless, the portraits turn out well in outdoor conditions, as evident from the flower samples.

Indoor-light performance is satisfactory, with the primary camera delivering detailed shots with minimal noise. It supports up to 10x digital zoom, but exceeding 2x is not advisable. The 8MP ultra-wide camera compromises image quality with more noise and reduced details, while the 2MP macro sensor is rather useless. These two sensors pull down the overall camera performance, but the 50MP primary camera is sufficient to capture excellent shots.

The 16MP selfie shooter on the front takes good shots with acceptable skin tones and minimal overprocessing.

Regarding videos, the OnePlus 11R supports 4K at 60 frames per second (fps) only with the primary camera, while the ultra-wide camera can only shoot up to 1080p. The video quality is average and unremarkable.

OnePlus 11R review: Battery

The 11R is powered by a 5,000mAh battery, which offers remarkable battery life. During our testing, we achieved over seven hours of screen-on time with moderate usage, including social media apps like Instagram and Twitter, as well as streaming services such as YouTube and Netflix, in addition to some photography. Based on our observations, it appears that the OnePlus 11R’s battery life can comfortably last for more than a day even with heavy usage. Furthermore, Based on our observations, it appears that the OnePlus 11R’s battery life can comfortably last for more than a day even with heavy usage. Furthermore, OnePlus emphasizes that their ‘Smart Battery Health Algorithm’ significantly extends the lifespan of the phone, even after four years of use.

The OnePlus 11R features a 100W SuperVOOC charger, which is a slight step down from the 150W brick that was included with the OnePlus 10R last year. However, this wattage is still impressive and should not be perceived as a downgrade. The same charger is used for the OnePlus 11, emphasizing OnePlus’s commitment to providing top-of-the-line features. With the 100W charger, it takes around 10 minutes to charge up to 45 percent and roughly 30 minutes to fully charge the battery from empty.

Review verdict: Should you buy OnePlus 11R?

The OnePlus 11R presents a compelling option that reminds us of OnePlus’ Flagship killer days. It manages to hit almost all the right notes, starting with its competitive price point. OnePlus has seemingly reduced the cost by using a lower-wattage charger, which is not a significant disadvantage in the grand scheme of things.

The phone has a premium look and feel, partially due to its resemblance to the OnePlus 11. The curved display is perfect for consuming content, especially when paired with the stereo speaker setup. Additionally, the primary camera performs admirably in most lighting conditions. All of these factors, coupled with exceptional battery life, make for a compelling package.

While the OnePlus 11R does not feature an IP rating and the ultra-wide angle camera is average, it remains an excellent choice for everyday users. In fact, we would even go as far as to say that the OnePlus 11R offers more value for money than the OnePlus 11.