Skip to main content

OnePlus 11 Pro leaked specs predict a zooming disappointment

OnePlus is apparently having a hard time putting a lid on leaks exposing its upcoming flagship. Days after rumored 3D schematic renders of the OnePlus 11 Pro popped up online, leaker OnLeaks (via 91Mobiles) has shed some light on the OnePlus 11 Pro’s core specifications. It’s a usual flagship affair from top to bottom, but there are a few interesting bits to unpack.

Starting with the subtly curved display, it’s a 6.7-inch OLED screen with QHD+ (roughly 3216 x 1440 pixels) resolution. There’s a circular cutout in the corner, while the screen refresh rate is 120Hz. Overall, things look identical compared to the OnePlus 10 Pro.

OnePlus 10 Pro alleged leaked render
SmartPrix / OnLeaks

Qualcomm’s upcoming Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset, which is expected to be announced in December, will be powering the OnePlus 11 Pro. It appears that the phone will be sold in two configurations: one that pairs 8GB of RAM with 128GB of storage, and an overkill version with 16GB of RAM and 256GB of storage.

What on Earth is that zoom camera?

The camera is quite interesting, and a tad disheartening, too. The main camera employs a 50-megapixel sensor, and if the OnePlus 10 Pro is anything to go by, it is going to deliver impressive results with all that Hasselblad tuning in tow. To handle ultrawide photography, OnePlus is going with a generous 48MP sensor.

For the telephoto zoom camera, OnePlus is reportedly deploying a 32MP camera, up from the 8MP camera we got on the OnePlus 10 Pro. The optical zoom output is reportedly going to be 2x, which is a weird downgrade compared to the 3.3x output on its predecessor.

Hasseblad branding on alleged OnePlus 11 Pro
SmartPrix / OnLeaks

It appears that OnePlus is focusing on the final image quality by cramming 4x more pixels in the zoom shots, instead of delivering a blurry, magnified mess. It would be interesting to see how the digital cropping pans out, and whether pixel-binning will be thrown into the mix to deliver brighter shots with more color depth.

The approach sounds novel, theoretically, that is. However, it is also antithetical to the very purpose of telephoto cameras, which should ideally focus on offering the highest optical zoom output to capture far-out objects without much digital loss. Take, for example, Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra, which goes up to 10x optical zoom with its telephoto camera and delivers surprising shots.

One reason, in particular, that the OnePlus 11 Pro’s telephoto camera hardware appears to be holding back is the innate hardware. The company is still sticking to the usual smartphone zoom formula with moving lens elements placed right in front of the sensor, instead of the newer and more powerful folded lens system that we know as a periscope zoom type.

Periscope telephoto camera mechanism.
The core design of a periscope telephoto camera seen on the likes of the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra.

Huawei first popularized the tech which is easily identifiable by a rectangular lens element instead of the usual circular look of the camera lens. Samsung has delivered great results ever since the tech first arrived on the Galaxy S20 Ultra, and other Chinese brands soon followed suit. OnePlus, for some reason, is missing the train, yet again.

At least it charges wickedly fast

While the zoom camera setup seems curiously disheartening, the charging situation is still miles ahead of the competitors in the U.S. market. The OnePlus 11 Pro will reportedly offer a 5,000mAh battery that supports 100W wired fast charging.

OnePlus 10 Pro leaked prototype
SmartPrix / OnLeaks

That’s four times faster than the peak charging rate attainable with an iPhone 14 Pro, and about three times as quick as mainstream Samsung and Google flagships. For comparison, the OnePlus 10 Pro maxed out at 80W, enough to fill the tank in just about 30 minutes.

Assuming OnePlus doesn’t make any downgrades in the wireless charging department, the OnePlus 11 Pro will also offer 50W wireless charging, or even higher. At that peak output, the upcoming phone’s 5,000mAh Li-ion unit should take around 45-50 minutes to go from empty to 100%. The OnePlus 11 Pro is expected to go official in the first quarter of 2023, but an official announcement is still awaited.

Editors' Recommendations

Nadeem Sarwar
Nadeem is a tech journalist who started reading about cool smartphone tech out of curiosity and soon started writing…
I’ve used Android phones for 10 years, and I hate these ones the most
pixel 4 xl rear sticking out

I’ve been using and reviewing Android smartphones for at least a decade, and during that time, I’ve spent time with a massive variety of devices that mostly fall into three distinct categories: good, passable, and bad. But what about the ones that have really stirred my emotions in a negative way? The phones that have elicited a visceral, guttural response? I’m not talking about the ones I love, but the ones I’ve downright hated.

Here are the six models that have irked me the most over the last 10 years of using and reviewing smartphones, and the reasons why they’ve made this list.
Google Pixel 4

Read more
How the iPhone became the most boring phone you can buy in 2023
iPhone 14 Pro Max in the middle with Galaxy S23 Ultra on the left and Honor Magic 5 Pro on the right.

It says a lot about a phone when the most-talked thing about its next iteration is its new volume buttons. That’s what the Apple iPhone is in 2023. It doesn’t fold, it doesn’t have a periscope zoom lens, it doesn’t fast charge, the design has been the same for years, it’s uncomfortable to hold, and its cameras are no longer the best — something proved most recently in our Galaxy S23 Ultra and iPhone 14 Pro camera test.

In the past few years, iPhones haven’t seen any kind of big new innovation. The Dynamic Island had the potential to be the innovation we'd been waiting for, but that hasn't come to fruition. When you add all that together, it makes the iPhone the most boring phone you can buy in 2023. Here’s why.
The iPhone has a folding problem

Read more
The best smartphones at MWC 2023: the 6 coolest ones we saw
The Tecno Phantom V Fold's open screen.

There are usually plenty of new smartphones announced in and around Mobile World Congress, and although the last few years have been a little lacking, MWC 2023 hasn’t disappointed with a wide variety of new and interesting devices.

From foldables, wild concepts, and "normal" phones that check all the right boxes, here are our picks for the best phones of MWC 2023.
Xiaomi 13 Pro

Read more