OnePlus 11R 5G review: a complete package, almost | 91mobiles.com

The OnePlus 11R, announced alongside the regular OnePlus 11 (review) earlier this month, is finally available for purchase in the Indian market. With a starting price of Rs 39,999, the handset competes with offerings from the likes of iQOO, Realme, and more. Looking at the device’s specs on paper, the 11R stakes a solid claim to become your affordable flagship of choice. There’s a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 chipset housed inside along with compelling hardware all geared towards providing a fruitful smartphone experience. In this review, let’s decode how good the OnePlus 11R actually is and if it is worth your consideration.

Verdict

If you are searching for a performance-focused and premium-looking handset with a reliable battery backup in the sub-Rs 40,000 segment, the OnePlus 11R can be the way to go. While its ultra-wide and macro sensors don’t provide the best utility, the primary sensor’s point-and-shoot experience should be more than enough for your needs. The handset delivers in most other aspects as well.

The lowdown

• It’s hard to spot any significant design difference between the OnePlus 11R and 11. That is mostly a good thing since I appreciated the premium nature of the latter’s build quality in my review of the device. The curved screen may not really be for everyone but in my opinion, it looks quite svelte in the hand. My review unit’s colour scheme is called Sonic Black which utilises a Sandstone-like matte finish across the back, and manages to avoid smudges or fingerprints well. 

• The signature alert slider is on the right side and retains the same functionality seen on the 11R’s predecessors. Apart from that the camera housing and its layout are identical to the OnePlus 11, although the absence of Hasselblad branding does stand out. The 11R also weighs the same and has pretty much the same dimensions as its more expensive sibling. I can say with satisfaction that both devices are sturdy in their construction and elegant in their appearance.

• Even the display is basically the same as the OnePlus 11, with some minor differences. The 11R has a Super Fluid AMOLED panel that measures 6.7 inches diagonally but has FHD+ (1,240 x 2,772) resolution instead of QHD+. While it does keep the 120Hz refresh rate, the technology employed on the panel is not LTPO 3.0 but something called ADFR 2.0 which lets you shift between 40Hz, 45Hz, 60Hz, 90Hz, and 120Hz when required.

• Other than that you have your standard WideVine L1 and HDR10+ certifications although there is no Dolby Vision capability. The screen can get to a brightness level of 1,450nits which I feel is more than enough for outdoor usage. Finally, I’m also quite happy that even with the curved edges, accidental touches to the screen are fairly minimal. The bezels that surround the display are quite slim, giving you an expansive screen-to-body ratio.

• As far as image-taking capabilities go, the OnePlus 11R has the Sony IMX890 sensor as the primary shooter, the same as the OnePlus 11. However, the secondary snapper is an 8MP ultra-wide along with a 2MP macro shooter. If I have to put it in one sentence, the 11R is a great device for standard point-and-shoot photography needs. The fast shutter speeds and focusing capabilities allow the camera to get a lot of details very quickly, especially for fast-moving objects. OnePlus’ colour science definitely does a lot of good in most daylight shots in terms of saturation levels and dynamic range. Highlights around the subject remain prominent and exposure levels are not overblown. 

• The same can be said for the low-light capabilities of the device, which are delightful, to say the least. Detailing and shadows are pulled from a dimly lit scene amicably while the noise is kept under control. I also like how the AI-based Night mode makes valuable additions to the overall image when lighting is very low. From the multitude of images I took, I believe there is no real need for improvements in the sensor’s ability to snap night shots.

• However, I do feel that the 8MP ultra-wide lens should be able to take images that are substantially more detailed. The macro sensor is not suitable for any photography that isn’t being done in bright sunny conditions. Finally, I appreciate the job being done by the 16MP selfie camera in terms of skin tonality and facial features.
• Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 is the silicone of choice on the OnePlus 11R, like it was on last year’s OnePlus 10T (review). There’s little doubt in my mind that even in 2023 and for a couple more years after it, the 11R will remain a capable, performance-focused handset. On Antutu V9, the 11R got an overall result of 1,055,843 which is just shy of what the latest 8 Gen 2 can reproduce. I also ran the Geekbench 5 synthetic benchmark and the single-core and multi-core results were actually higher than what I saw on the 10T.

• In terms of throttling, the device can be considered above average as it maintains about 70 percent of its peak performance. The phone also uses the fastest RAM on the market ie. up to 16GB LPDDR5X and also 256GB of UFS 3.1 dual-channel storage. In short, my usage of the OnePlus 11R was efficient, fast, and lag-free whether I was just browsing social media or playing a heavy-duty game. To that end, OnePlus has introduced a General Performance Adapter on the software front to stabilise the frame rate count. There’s also the standard graphite cooling solution and a large vapour chamber as hardware options for better heat dissipation. 
• Other notable features of interest on the phone include a powerful stereo speaker setup that’s easily audible even in a noisy environment. The in-display fingerprint sensor works without issue, as does the 2D facial recognition feature. As far as 5G is concerned, the device has the support of all popular NSA and SA bands.

• OxygenOS 13.0, based on Android 13, is running on the device and offers a good usage experience. There’s very little bloatware, if any, on the UI, and navigation through the interface is generally a breeze. There are a few gripes that I have, one of which is the distinct similarity with OPPO’s ColorOS. I also don’t particularly enjoy the fact that notifications can only be swiped away from the right and not from the left as well. Other than that, the device’s software experience is pleasant and non-intrusive.
• The 5,000mAh cell on the OnePlus 11R delivers a splendid battery life, quite akin to the OnePlus 11. It seems that OnePlus has implemented some battery-saving optimisations that force background tasks to consume less battery. There’s also something called Battery Health Engine tech which uses a custom chip to keep the cell from degrading over repeated charge cycles. OnePlus says the 11R can last through four years of usage without any significant hit to battery’s health. 

• I can tell you that I got upwards of seven hours of screen-on time with moderate usage on the device. PCMark’s Battery test failed to run on the phone but from my usage, the OnePlus 11R is easily a one-day phone or even a two-day device on light usage. For charging needs you have the same 100W SuperVOOC charging solution as seen on the OnePlus 11 and it will juice up your battery from 0 – 100 in less than 30 minutes. 

Final verdict

The OnePlus 11R looks like a reasonably good option below the Rs 40,000 mark and its performance levels are certainly impressive. I also like how clean and refined the phone’s design style is. As for the viewing experience, there will be few phones in the segment that can offer the kind of display hardware that the 11R has. Perhaps the phone’s secondary cameras are not the best but they are offset by a more-than-capable primary shooter. Overall, an option definitely worth considering. 

Editor’s rating: 4 / 5 

Pros:

• Great performance
• Premium design
• Good battery life
• Decent primary camera

Cons:

• Ultra-wide and macro sensors can be improved