iPhone 15 Plus vs OnePlus 11: one-five-plus or just one-plus?
Today we’re going to make a preliminary comparison between two phones with “plus” in their names. The iPhone 15 Plus will be the second iteration of the revamped “Plus” model that Apple launched last year, and the OnePlus 11 is considered by many to be a return-to-the-roots phone for OnePlus.
The iPhone 15 Plus is still hidden inside the super-secret Apple labs, but thanks to the usual leaks and rumors, we know pretty much everything about the upcoming large but affordable iPhone model. Join us while we dissect both phones in various categories to find which one is better and which one deserves your hard-earned money. Here we go!
Design and Display
Same size, different smoothness
The OnePlus 11 boasts a 6.7-inch curved OLED display with 1440p resolution and LTPO technology, enabling a dynamic refresh rate ranging from 1 Hz to a remarkable 120 Hz. This helps battery life and allows for a very efficient always-on feature. The nominal brightness is around 800 nits, and color reproduction is also very accurate on the OnePlus.
The iPhone 15 Plus is expected to feature a very similar display panel to its predecessor. The size is expected to remain the same at 6.7 inches, as is the 60Hz display refresh rate. Unlike the OnePlus 11, the iPhone 15 Plus is expected to have a flat screen. The brightness should be very similar between both phones.
The OnePlus 11 has an advantage here, thanks to the LTPO technology and its ability to switch between 1Hz and 120Hz (with everything in between), but your choice will also boil down to whether you like flat or curved screens.
In terms of design, there’s a very distinct difference between these two phones, one employs the flat back, flat front design with the square camera bump on the back (iPhone 15 Plus), while the other is much more rounded.
iPhone 15 Plus expected colors:
- midnight
- starlight
- (PRODUCT)RED
- dark pink
- light blue
- yellow
OnePlus 11 available colors:
Performance
A16 vs Snapdragon 8 Gen 2
The iPhone 15 Plus is expected to inherit the A16 Bionic chipset from this year’s iPhone Pro models, and that is not bad news. We’re tempted to include some benchmarks here, as we have the A16 results, but we’ll hold our horses until the iPhone 15 Plus comes out, as there are many variables to this equation. What we can say is that the A16 is a very potent chipset and still beats the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 in some tests.
Speaking of which, the OnePlus 11 comes equipped with the aforementioned Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, and there’s nothing wrong with it, it’s the best Qualcomm has to offer as of now. The RAM situation is very complex, the OnePlus 11 can be purchased with either 8GB or 16GB of RAM, while the iPhone 15 Plus is expected to retain the same 6GB of RAM its predecessor sported. As strange as it might sound, we don’t expect the RAM amount to account for a significant difference in performance between the two phones.
Camera
Different on paper
The OnePlus 11 comes with one additional camera on its back, compared to what we expect from the iPhone 15 Plus. There’s a 50MP main camera, a 48MP ultrawide, and a 32MP telephoto camera with 2x optical zoom. All this might sound like a lot of megapixels, but we’re not sure there’ll be a huge difference between the two phones in terms of real-life photos.
The iPhone 15 Plus is expected to come with an upgraded 48MP main camera, stripped down from this year’s iPhone Pro models. The ultrawide camera remains the same as the one in the iPhone 14 Plus, but all in all, we expect very similar results. We don’t see the 32MP telephoto as a huge plus (pun intended) for the OnePlus, the same results (or very similar ones) could be achieved by using cropping.
Of course, computational photography is king nowadays, and we’ll have to see what trick is hiding up Apple’s sleeve with the iPhone 15 Plus and iOS 17. If you’re choosing between these two phones, the camera system probably shouldn’t be the deciding factor.
Audio Quality
The OnePlus 11’s dual loudspeakers have new magnets and new NLC low-frequency algorithms, so the phone does sound better than its predecessors.
Will it sound better than the iPhone 15 Plus? We’re not sure, but the iPhone 14 Plus sounds incredible, and we’re expecting the same from the successor. iPhones have always had decent speakers, and the size of the Plus model sure helps with resonance and bass response.
Battery and Charging
Super-fast vs unknown
Here lies the big unknown for the moment, as the iPhone 15 Plus will be one of the first iPhone models to feature a USB-C port. Theoretically, this allows for better charging speeds. In practice, we don’t expect Apple to go all-in and slap a 100-watt charger on the iPhone 15 Plus.And we’re mentioning 100W because that’s the insanely fast charging capability of the OnePlus 11, and it’s hard to beat. Even capped at 80W (in the US), the OnePlus 11 is able to charge its 5,000mAh battery in half an hour. In comparison, the iPhone 14 Plus charges its 4,325mAh battery to 50% in 30 minutes. Even if Apple decides to bump up the speeds, we don’t expect the OnePlus 11 to lose that particular battle.
Specs
| iPhone 15 Plus | OnePlus 11 | |
|---|---|---|
| Size, weight | ||
| Screen | 6.7″ OLED 60Hz |
6.7″ AMOLED 1-120Hz |
| Processor | A16 Bionic 4nm |
Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 4nm |
| RAM, Storage | 6/128GB 6/256GB 6/512GB – LPDDR5* |
8/128GB 16/256GB – LPDDR5* |
| Cameras | 48MP main 12MP ultra – 12MP front |
50MP main 48MP ultra 32MP telephoto – 16MP front |
| Battery | 4325 mAh* | 5000mAh |
| Charging | USB-C 20W wired MagSafe |
USB-C 100W(80W) wired |
Summary
The iPhone 15 Plus and the OnePlus 11 are very different animals, despite their morphological similarities. On paper, the OnePlus 11 offers better bang for your buck and comes equipped with better features. It has an LTPO display, while the iPhone 15 Plus is expected to be stuck at 60Hz.
The camera system of the OnePlus 11 is also a bit more flexible with the dedicated 32MP zoom lens. Whether or not this will translate to a real-life advantage, it’s hard to say. When it comes to battery life and charging, things are looking even more gloomy for the iPhone 15 Plus.
At the end of the day, the deciding factors will probably be the price and the preferred platform (Android or iOS). If you’re coming from an iPhone device and looking to switch, the OnePlus 11 could be a decent choice, especially at its current price. If it’s the other way around, you have cheaper options with the vanilla iPhone 15.
The iPhone 15 Plus is actually a great upgrade if you’re coming from an older iPhone and want a big screen without the big price tag.