OnePlus Is Finally Building a Proper Hardware Ecosystem
The company announced the OnePlus 11 5G, the OnePlus Pad tablet, OnePlus Buds Pro 2, and a keyboard, and teased an entirely new device for MWC.
OnePlus’s new smartphone is a known quantity — we’ve seen the photos — but at the OnePlus 11 5G’s launch event today, the company made it clear that its plans for 2023 are a whole lot bigger. Alongside a new smartphone, OnePlus introduced its first tablet, the OnePlus Pad, a new pair of wireless earbuds, the OnePlus Buds Pro 2, a keyboard called the OnePlus Featuring Keyboard 81 Pro, and a tease of an entirely new concept device OnePlus plans to share more info on at these years Mobile World Congress.
The company is building out an ecosystem that’s on its way to being equivalent to the likes of Samsung, Google, and Apple, and making it globally available (OnePlus’ foray into TVs is exclusive to India, for example). We’ll have to wait for reviews to see just how well each of those new pieces works out for OnePlus, but in the meantime, here’s what we know:
OnePlus 11 5G
The OnePlus 11 5G has a giant circular rear camera array.
The OnePlus 11 5G (note that OnePlus is ditching the “Pro” distinction) is a modern flagship Android phone, with the specs you’d expect. The phone comes in green (with a fingerprint-resistant treatment) and matte black and features a distinctive circular “black hole” camera housing for the OnePlus 11’s triple camera array.
The screen on the OnePlus 11 is a “6.7-inch 2K 120Hz Super Fluid AMOLED Display with LTP0 3.0.” You might remember LTPO as the display tech that lets mobile devices offer dynamic refresh rates with minimal impact on battery life. LTPO 3.0 is apparently “self-developed” by OnePlus but it’s not entirely clear how it improves on the experience from the company’s previous high-refresh-rate smartphones. The OnePlus 11 5G also supports Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos.
Let’s cut to the chase and look at all of the technical details of the OnePlus 11 5G:
OnePlus 11 5G tech specs
- Chip: Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 Mobile Platform
- Memory/Storage: 8GB LPPDR5X RAM + 128GB storage / 16GB LPDDR5X RAM + 256GB storage
- Display: 6.7-inch, 2K, 120Hz AMOLED with LTPO 3.0
- Battery: 5,000 mAh dual-cell battery
- Cameras: 50MP main, 32MP portrait telephoto, 48MP ultra-wide, 16MP selfie
- Colors: black or green
The OnePlus 11 5G will be available on February 16 starting at $699 for the version with 8GB RAM, 12GB of storage, and $799 for the 16GB RAM and 256GB of storage variant. OnePlus says the phone will be available from its website, Amazon, and Best Buy.
OnePlus Pad
The OnePlus Pad’s centered rear camera is supposed to make it easier to take pictures with the tablet.
True to form, the OnePlus Pad looks like a big OnePlus phone — at least from the back. Made from an aluminum body and available in one eye-catching “Halo Green” option, the OnePlus Pad’s most unusual feature is probably the centered placement of its giant back camera. OnePlus claims this makes it easier to take photos with the OnePlus Pad without your hands getting in the way.
Besides being a capable Android-based tablet, OnePlus’ big pitch for the OnePlus Pad is how it can seamlessly connect with other OnePlus devices. The OnePlus Pad can piggyback off your OnePlus smartphone's cellular data without the need for a separate SIM card and data plan (think Apple’s Personal Hotspot feature on iOS and iPadOS). Not the most novel of integrations, but definitely helpful.
OnePlus Pad tech specs
- Chip: Dimensity 9000 (with 3.05Ghz Coretex-X2 core)
- Memory: 12GB RAM
- Display: 11.61-inch, 7:5 aspect ratio, 144Hz refresh rate, 2000p resolution
- Battery: 9,510 mAh battery
Some important details are missing in regard to the OnePlus Pad’s cameras and what the tablet will actually cost, but OnePlus has at least confirmed the tablet will be available to pre-order in April.
OnePlus Buds Pro 2
The OnePlus Buds Pro 2 should sound better and last longer.
OnePlus’ new true-wireless earbuds are a sequel to the already excellent OnePlus Buds Pro from 2021. The OnePlus Buds Pro 2 keeps the overall rounded look and matte finish of OnePlus’ previous earbuds and now fully supports the Spatial Audio features Google introduced in Android 13.
The OnePlus Buds Pro 2 have “deeper, fuller, and more texture[d] dynamic bass” according to OnePlus, and improved active noise cancellation up to 48db, with three separate ANC modes. Battery life has also improved with OnePlus claiming the OnePlus Bud Pro 2 can get up to 39 hours of battery life if you use the earbuds’ rechargeable carrying case.
The OnePlus Buds Pro 2 go on sale February 16 for $179 and will be available on OnePlus’ website and Amazon.
OnePlus Featuring Keyboard 81 Pro
It’s a OnePlus-ified Keychron keyboard.
Another unexpected addition from OnePlus? A branded mechanical keyboard that uses Keychron’s keyboard switches. The OnePlus Featuring Keyboard 81 Pro, while having a terrible name, seems like a pretty alright mechanical keyboard, if only because it seems to be drawing heavily from Keychron's existing Q1 Pro keyboard.
The Keyboard 81 Pro has an aluminum body, “marble-mallow” keycaps, a customizable rotary knob, and OnePlus’ overall color scheme. It’s designed to work with macOS, Windows, Linux, and even Android. As you might expect, it also has fully customizable RGB-lighting effects.
OnePlus hasn’t shared a release date or price date for the OnePlus Featuring Keyboard 81 Pro, but you can sign up on OnePlus’ website to be notified when the company has more to share.
Foldables... and the future
It seems like OnePlus is officially working on a foldable.
OnePlus isn’t stopping there, it’s also planning on introducing an entirely new smartphone concept at Mobile World Congress that it describes as having “an imaginative design with industry-first technology” and the company teased a foldable that is expected to share some similarities with the Oppo Find N 5G.
While late to the game of locking in customers, there’s really no reason OnePlus shouldn’t be trying to make more than wireless earbuds and smartphones. Oppo — OnePlus’ parent company — already does it in Asia. OnePlus might as well try too. More than that though, if Google’s plan to make Android tablets popular does actually work, OnePlus has a real chance to have a buzzy product in a way it hasn’t for a while. If there’s room for what Android is good at to change, there could be room for OnePlus as well.
