As someone who\u2019s criticized OnePlus for being all over the place, and struggling to find its place in the smartphone world in the past 3-4 years, I almost feel a responsibility to acknowledge the company\u2019s successes. In fact, I\u2019ve already done so via several stories that talk about the awesome value of phones like the OnePlus 11 and OnePlus Nord 3.<\/p>\n
But it\u2019s time for a slightly more holistic take on \u201cthe state of OnePlus\u201d in 2023-2024, and compared to what this story would\u2019ve looked like a couple of years ago, the fan-favorite Chinese phone-maker has turned things around in full 180 style. And as a tech fan, I couldn\u2019t be more glad to see that.<\/p>\n
The OnePlus 11 (left) and OnePlus Nord 3 (right) are some of the best-value smartphones of the year. The former is a proper flagship, while the latter looks better than many flagship phones even though it\u2019s half the price.<\/p>\n
The excellent OnePlus 11 got OnePlus back on the \u201cflagship-killer\u201d track<\/p>\n
Luckily, OnePlus seems to be tracking back on some of its prior decisions, and the phone to start it all was the OnePlus 11. I already wrote about the excellent value offered by this phone in this story, looking at the OnePlus 11 \u201csix months later\u201d.<\/p>\n
In a nutshell, the OnePlus 11 did more than enough to justify its $700 starting price in a world of $800-$1,200 Samsung, Google and Apple flagships. It has excellent battery life and super-fast charging; an excellent camera system, which outright outperforms the likes of the Galaxy S23, iPhone 14, and Pixel 7 in several areas; a brilliant display; and incredible performance aided by OnePlus\u2019 clean take on Android.<\/p>\n
The OnePlus 11 put OnePlus back on the map when it comes to \u201cflagship-killer\u201d offerings, especially considering Google\u2019s aggressively priced Pixel flagships, aiming to become the new alternative to the big dogs (read: Samsung, Apple). However, when compared to the Pixel 7 and even Pixel 8 series, the OnePlus 11 holds up incredibly well in all regards.<\/p>\n
The OnePlus Nord 3 is a mid-range flagship-killer in its own right<\/p>\n
Another 2023 OnePlus phone that brings amazing value is the OnePlus Nord 3, which I also wrote about a while back. A serious candidate for mid-range smartphone of the year, the OnePlus Nord 3 brings a flagship-grade MediaTek SoC, the same primary camera as the OnePlus 11; and a large battery with fast charging.<\/p>\n
However, what makes the OnePlus Nord 3 truly stand out amongst other mid-range Android phones is the jaw-dropping design of the phone, with accent on the display, which comes with insanely thin borders, which make it look just as expensive as the iPhone 15 Pro Max, which costs 3x as much!<\/p>\n
OnePlus Open \u2013 the company\u2019s foldable flagship-killer has finally arrived (and the wait was worth it)<\/p>\n
Of course, we can\u2019t talk about the renaissance at OnePlus without mentioning the just-announced OnePlus Open \u2013 the company\u2019s very first folding phone. While I\u2019ll leave the verdict for our full OnePlus Open review, since this is an editorial story, I\u2019ll go ahead and say that the Open might be my favorite folding phone design (maybe) ever. In many ways, the OnePlus Open is what the Galaxy Z Fold 5 should\u2019ve been.<\/p>\n
From the bold, badass camera ring, to the super-premium faux leather on the back of the phone, the OnePlus Open looks like a million dollars \u2013 although it\u2019s \u201conly\u201d $1,700 (really, $1,500 after discounts).<\/p>\n
But the cherry on top might be the displays and camera system \u2013 the OnePlus Open now officially has the brightest displays we\u2019ve ever seen on any phone (not just a foldable), while the triple camera with large, high-res sensors and up to 6x optical quality zoom is totally capable of leaving the Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Pixel Fold in the dust.<\/p>\n
While the $1,700 starting price of the OnePlus Open leaves is (firmly) outside the flagship-killer category, OnePlus is currently running a sweet campaign, which lets you trade in any old phone you have laying around to get $200 off, which makes for a slightly easier to swallow $1,500 price tag. This seems more than fair, considering we\u2019re talking about what\u2019s (arguably) the most premium folding phone on the market right now.<\/p>\n
Watch out, iPhone 15 and Galaxy S24! The OnePlus 12 might be the dark horse in the race for best flagship phone of 2024<\/p>\n
The OnePlus 12 might be the dark horse in the race for best flagship phone of 2024. Especially if it costs less than $800. While discussing existing phones is certainly easier, I\u2019ll admit that talking about devices that aren\u2019t out yet is my guilty pleasure as far as tech is concerned. And one phone that I find low-key intriguing is the OnePlus 12.<\/p>\n
We\u2019ve already seen several design renders of the OnePlus 12, and while it doesn\u2019t look all that different from the OnePlus 11, the rumored specs of the OnePlus 12 are painting a picture of a very high-end flagship. By the looks of it, the successor to the OnePlus 11 is going to be another flagship-killer, but this time proving that premium flagships aren\u2019t reserved for OnePlus\u2019 sister company Oppo anymore.<\/p>\n
From the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 with up to 24GB of RAM (not a typo), to the ridiculous charging speeds, and all-new triple camera system with large, high-end Sony sensors, the OnePlus 12 might challenge not only Samsung and Google\u2019s $800 flagship phones but even the Pro and Ultra models, which cost much more.<\/p>\n
According to leaks, the OnePlus 12 will introduce a brand new Sony IMX 966 sensor with 50MP resolution, which is yet to go official. What makes the IMX 966 special is that it\u2019s supposed to be a \u201cdouble-stacked\u201d sensor. Those are mostly used in pro cameras, with the first phone to feature such a sensor being the Sony Xperia 1 V. Impressively, despite rumored to be a 1\/1.4-inch sensor, the IMX 966 should be able to gather just as much light as the 1-inch IMX 989 \u2013 all thanks to the double-stacked design, which helps with light-gathering.<\/p>\n
with light-gathering.<\/p>\n
Hot take: I\u2019d say\u2026 pretty good! Of course, the important question is whether the OnePlus 12 will be able to maintain the same $700 starting price as the OnePlus 11, considering the major upgrades to the camera OnePlus is reportedly planning.<\/p>\n
Welcome back to the flagship-killer stage OnePlus: Let\u2019s make Samsung and Google work even harder, and Never Settle (ever again)<\/p>\n
With the OnePlus 11 and OnePlus Nord 3 marking a comeback to the flagship-killer game for the company, the OnePlus Open and OnePlus 12 are about to take things to a new, more premium level. A couple of years ago, I pretty much wrote OnePlus off, and I wasn\u2019t necessarily wrong to do so.<\/p>\n
OnePlus was lacking a cohesive product strategy; Xiaomi started making more impressive flagship and mid-range phones, and Google was ready to steal OnePlus\u2019 spot as Android\u2019s \u201cflagship-killer\u201d, and frankly, did, thanks to the Pixel 7 series (in case you forgot, the Pixel 6 series was a bit too buggy to make a positive impression). But now\u2026 things have changed. Big time.<\/p>\n
The OnePlus 11 is arguably one of the best-value Android flagships of the year; the OnePlus Nord 3 looks like a $1,000 phone but costs only $400; and the OnePlus Open is an absolutely stunning first folding phone that rivals even the most expensive foldable phones on the market.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
OnePlus: The Return of the Flagship-Killer As someone who\u2019s criticized OnePlus for being all over the place, and struggling to find its place in the smartphone world in the past 3-4 years, I almost feel a responsibility to acknowledge the company\u2019s successes. In fact, I\u2019ve already done so via several stories that talk about the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":224671783,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wds_primary_category":255,"footnotes":""},"categories":[255],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-224671782","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-apple-tips-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/phonescanada.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/224671782","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/phonescanada.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/phonescanada.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/phonescanada.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/phonescanada.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=224671782"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/phonescanada.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/224671782\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/phonescanada.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/224671783"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/phonescanada.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=224671782"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/phonescanada.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=224671782"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/phonescanada.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=224671782"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}