OnePlus 11 has launched— but you can't have it yet

OnePlus has now officially announced the OnePlus 11 flagship Android phone, as well as a new pair of wireless earbuds in the form of the OnePlus Buds Pro 2. It's just a pity that for non-Chinese customers, there's still a bit of a wait.

Both the phone and the earbuds arrive next Tuesday (January 9), but only in China for the time being. They'll be coming to the global market, including the U.K. and U.S., on February 7, though today's announcement make these new products look like they're worth waiting for.

We're still waiting to hear on pricing for the phone and earbuds, but here's what we know so far about the OnePlus 11 and OnePlus Buds Pro 2.

OnePlus 11 specs

Unlike the past few years, there's no sign of a OnePlus 11 Pro model — just this standard OnePlus 11 model. That said, it still looks like a Pro-level device that'll compete well against the Google Pixel 7 Pro and upcoming Galaxy S23 Plus.

For the  OnePlus 11's chip, OnePlus went with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, the flagship-grade silicon we're likely going to see in lots of premium Android phones this year. OnePlus touts the chip's 35% faster CPU and 25% faster GPU over last year's Snapdragon 8 Gen 1, while also claiming it'll still be more power efficient. Joining the Gen 2 is up to 16GB RAM, which should be plentiful memory for multi-tasking, although 

The display, a 6.7-inch 120Hz 2K AMOLED unit, is similar to the one the OnePlus 10 Pro used. OnePlus has upgraded to LTPO 3.0 though, which should mean the display refresh rate adapts better to what you're doing, keeping things smooth or power efficient when you need it.

Speaking of power, OnePlus should have another fast-charging phone with the OnePlus 11. The new device features 100W wired charging, which while not as fast as the 150W charging on the OnePlus 10T, beats the 80W/65W charging on the OnePlus 10 Pro. It also has 5,000 mAh of battery capacity, which hopefully means it'll last you a full day of use easily.

OnePlus looks serious about making this phone a camera-focused flagship. It features a 50MP main camera, a 48MP ultrawide camera and a 32MP 2x portrait lens. There's also a 13-channel color sensor, on the back, and the old reliable 16MP punch-hole selfie camera on the front. 

All those sensors benefit from the returning OnePlus x Hasselblad partnership, with color science from the Swedish camera company supposedly making for more accurate hues in your photos. We do know OnePlus' relationship with Hasselblad has paid off in the past, with recent OnePlus flagships featuring the phone maker's best-performing cameras ever.

Another returning feature, no doubt greeted with much rejoicing from OnePlus fans, is the alert slider. OnePlus removed the ring/vibrate/silent switch from the OnePlus 10T, but it's come back to again offer a handy basic phone feature that other Android phones have long since gotten rid of.

Taking in the phone as a whole, you can see what OnePlus is calling the 11's "Black Hole" design, with its big round camera block, surrounded with stainless steel, on the back. OnePlus basically changes the look of its flagship phones with every generation, but while it's hard to see the resemblance between this and last year's OnePlus 10 Pro and OnePlus 10T, it does look good.

The price is only announced in Chinese Yuan so far, but for comparison purposes, the basic cost of the OnePlus 11 is 3,999 yuan. That's $581 / £481 / AU$845 when converted, although it'll likely cost more when it's actually sold in the U.S., U.K. and Australia.

OnePlus Buds Pro 2 specs

Don't forget about OnePlus' new earbuds even with the exciting feature set of the OnePlus 11. The big news this time is that the OnePlus Buds Pro 2, the follow-up to the OnePlus Buds Pro from 2021, feature its own version of Apple's AirPods spatial audio, tracking your head movement to adjust the sound accordingly for a virtual surround sound effect. 

That's something Android users have not had access to before (outside of similar but non-identical tech from companies like Sony) so OnePlus could attract new customers, even those without OnePlus phones, who want to try out spatial audio without swapping to an iPhone and AirPods.

As with the OnePlus 11's Hasselblad partnership, OnePlus have also set up a team-up for the buds, this time with Dynaudio, to assist with tuning the dual drivers. Together the companies have created a "MelodyBoost" feature that the companies say will help with bringing out the best of your music's high and low notes, frequencies where earbuds often struggle to bring out a track's best.

Premium earbuds would be naked without active noise cancelation these days, and happily the OnePlus Buds Pro 2 feature ANC that can eliminate noise up to 48dB, with a personalization option for even more effective noise cancelation. OnePlus has also outfitted the Buds Pro 2 with Bluetooth 5.3, the latest in Bluetooth standards that makes the connection between devices more efficient and secure.

OnePlus 11 and OnePlus Buds 2 Pro outlook

Both the OnePlus 11 and OnePlus Buds 2 Pro look like they'll cause a big splash in their respective categories, with the possibility that they'll reach the top echelons of our best phones and best wireless earbuds guides. 

It's just a pity that OnePlus has decided to do this two-part launch for its new products. We'll be sure to give you our thoughts on the new phone and earbuds when we get our hands on them, although that could be a few weeks yet.