OnePlus has just confirmed the OnePlus 11 launch date — and two key features are making a return.
As revealed in a customized Christmas carol video, there's a "Cloud 11" event taking place on February 7th 2023 in New Delhi. Listening to the modified lyrics of Jingle Bells and Deck the Halls, it's easy to figure out the teased features: an alert slider for switching the phone between ring, silent and vibrate modes, and Hasselblad camera tuning. A teaser poster for the announcement event also shows off part of the phone, showing the previously leaked circular camera design.
Both OnePlus’ alert slider and the Hasselblad color science were last seen on the OnePlus 10 Pro but were missing from the OnePlus 10T. Since the OnePlus 10 Pro was one of the best phones of this year — offering all the premium phone features you could ask for less than an equivalent Samsung Galaxy S handset — we’re glad to see two of its signature features return. However, there's no mention of other teased features for the OnePlus 11 like improved RAM and storage and a ceramic back.
The OnePlus 10T didn’t impress us quite so much, due to its worse-quality cameras and removal of features like the alert slider and wireless charging. That said, if OnePlus keeps the 10T’s speedy 150W charging for the 11, and updates the powerful Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1 for the latest Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, then the best parts of the T version will live on.
Alongside the new phone, OnePlus promises to show off a new pair of premium wireless earbuds — the OnePlus Buds Pro 2. We love the current OnePlus Buds Pro for their great sound and speedy charging, so a refresh is likely to win us over once again. However, OnePlus didn't tease any features for the Buds Pro 2, so we’re in the dark about any potential upgrades.
With that February 7 reveal date, OnePlus could be the first big phone launch of 2023, possibly beating the Samsung Galaxy S23’s rumored release window by a week or two. We just hope that OnePlus launches the phone worldwide at this point, as this year the OnePlus 10 Pro took two months from its announcement to get a release outside of China.
