OnePlus 11 launch date confirmed with two features returning

OnePlus has confirmed that its next flagship phone, officially called OnePlus 11 5G, will launch on February 7, 2023.

The company said in a press release that the device will be unveiled that day at an event in New Delhi which will also showcase the OnePlus Buds Pro 2 wireless headphones.

OnePlus also sent the media a teaser image for the event, called Cloud 11, which shows off the OnePlus 11’s circular camera module for the first time.

The OnePlus 11 will also reintroduce the Alert Slider, the three-position hardware switch that was on every OnePlus flagship phone ever made until it was discontinued on 2022’s OnePlus 10T.

At the time, OnePlus said the omission was due to space constraints. The return of the slider will likely be celebrated by OnePlus fans, but it’s odd that the company has fully embraced its return by producing a holiday-themed video that celebrates it.

Bad luck if you bought a OnePlus 10T, apparently a phone that also lacked the Hasselblad camera branding or software features of the OnePlus 10 Pro.

The video (embedded below) also sings of Hasselblad smarts returning with the OnePlus 11:

“We are thrilled to unveil these exciting new products that bring a fast and smooth experience to market,” said Pete Lau, senior vice president and chief product officer at Oppo and OnePlus.

“The OnePlus 11 5G, OnePlus Buds Pro 2 and other products are driven by our spirit of community co-creation and will be equipped with the most advanced technology to deliver a refined experience for our users.”

Beyond promoting the OnePlus 11 release date and two features found on the OnePlus 10 Pro (and the OnePlus 9 Pro, for that matter), the Chinese phone maker hasn’t revealed anything about the specs of the upcoming one. phone.

According to rumors and leaks, the OnePlus 11 will run the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset and the usual incremental design and spec updates we expect from annual phone line refreshes.

The teaser image shows off the circular camera design on the OnePlus 11, vaguely reminiscent of the round the company used fleetingly on 2019’s OnePlus 7T.

We’ve enjoyed OnePlus’ recent phones despite the slight confusion that there’s a OnePlus 10 Pro and 10T but no regular 10. Today’s announcement of a OnePlus 11 means the company is once again resetting the way it names and releases its phones.

As long as the handset is good enough (different enough?) to hold a candle to Samsung’s Galaxy S23 series due to launch around the same time in February, then the OnePlus 11 should be in contention to make our best list. smart phones.