The OnePlus 11 Concept steals the Nothing Phone’s best trick

By Michael Allison February 20, 2023

OnePlus has teased a new special concept phone based on the OnePlus 11. The Oppo subbrand highlighted a slew of LEDs around the back of the phone as a standout feature. The LEDs were reminiscent of the approach used by Nothing, another phone brand built by former OnePlus CEO Pete Lau.

The company sent out a teaser of its concept phone showing off what appeared to be LED lightning around the back in a very striking image. “The images show the engineering breakthroughs of the OnePlus 11 Concept by highlighting the icy blue pipelines which run through the entire back of the phone, almost like OnePlus 11 Concept has its own series of blood vessels. OnePlus 11 Concept’s pipelines are housed inside a bold and futuristic unibody glass design inspired by the calm stillness and vast power of a glacial lake,” OnePlus said, as reported by The Verge.

OnePlus shows off a OnePlus 11 with rear LED lighting. — OnePlus

This concept strongly recalls the LEDs of the Nothing Phone 1, which debuted last year as a phone that drew attention primarily for its flashing LED rear and Glyph interface. It was a feature that’s more useful in theory than in practice, and the Nothing Phone 1’s strengths lay in everything else.

That said, there is a market for flashing, glaring features on tech. Anyone who has tried to purchase gaming PC accessories would tell you that. When it comes to phones, it’s not necessarily the biggest addressable market, but that’s why it’s a concept phone, after all.

Back of the OnePlus 11 Concept phone. — OnePlus

Meanwhile, as far as real phones go, OnePlus has recently launched the OnePlus 11, a phone that arrived to rave critical reviews. Digital Trends reviewed it (twice), and found the phone to be an excellent one that outcompetes the Pixel 7 and rivals the Galaxy S23 Plus. It’s even now competitive with the cameras of the best phones, something OnePlus struggled with in the past.

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