These days, if you aren't looking to buy a great new smartphone from Google or Samsung — and you aren't interested in Apple's walled garden — OnePlus is likely your best bet. The one-time startup has continued growing over the last decade, becoming a popular choice for Android enthusiasts and eventually finding its way into carrier stores like T-Mobile.

With a new year comes a new smartphone launch, and OnePlus was among the first companies to launch its 2023 flagship device. The OnePlus 11 5G builds on the back of last year's OnePlus 10 Pro and OnePlus 10T in some interesting ways, with a slight design refresh, an all-new processor, and some interesting new priorities. Here's everything we know so far about the OnePlus 11, but If you want our full impressions of this device, make sure to read our OnePlus 11 review.

OnePlus 11: Name, design, and specs

The model names used by OnePlus can often be pretty confusing. Consider two of its best entries in the Nord series; the N200 and N20 5G. Both phones were sold simultaneously, with the N300 serving as the successor to the former's lineage. We've also seen flagship phones affected by this pattern; the OnePlus 10 Pro was released without a "plain" model, while the OnePlus 10T was, by all accounts, the original plan for a mid-range device.

All of this is to say that OnePlus can be pretty confusing when it comes to its plans for devices. This year, we're only getting one flagship phone in early 2023: the OnePlus 11 5G. Aside from the company's upcoming foldable, don't yet know what other OnePlus devices we'll see later in the year and whether there will be a follow-up "Pro" device. What we do know is that there won't be a OnePlus 11 Pro. In response to questions on the social network Weibo, the president of OnePlus China given an outright denial.

Despite the lack of any suffix, this device still features high-end specs, with more power under the hood than its T-series predecessor. It's a confusing switch, but one that should pay off down the road if the company sticks to this naming scheme.

Last year, OnePlus used a similar design for both the 10 Pro and the 10T, each recognizable by the stovetop-esque camera layout on the back. This year, the company is looking to shake things up, swapping out the squared-off camera bump for a rounded module with a ringed border. It's an interesting look, but one that's bound to be divisive. The grid of camera lenses — along with the flash — remain present, though, sharing some design DNA between generations.

The company itself first shared official renders more than a month out from its global unveiling, showing us everything we needed to know. These images really highlight how the metal frame bleeds into the back of the phone. It's reminiscent of recent Google and Samsung phones alike (as well as the OnePlus 10 Pro itself), but with such a wide gap between the device's edge and its camera module, it might look too extreme for some shoppers.

Those renders showcase the two main colors for the OnePlus 11: matte black, featuring the slick sandstone finish the company is known for, and glossy green. It's difficult to see in this particular image — the green hue looks practically frosted — but the final version is glossy, meaning it's much more slippery and attracts fingerprints like nobody's business.

Aside from these small changes, this is a fairly standard OnePlus release. Specs include a 6.7" QHD+ AMOLED display returns from the OnePlus 10 Pro (the 10T used a lower-quality 1080p panel), guaranteeing an excellent experience for gaming, streaming, and more. 8GB or 16GB of RAM and a starting point of 128GB of storage help to make for a futureproof device. In China, there's a 512GB version of the phone, but there's no sign yet of that coming to the US or other markets.

Most important, though, is the alert slider. After disappearing from the company's last mid-range flagship, OnePlus reassured buyers its iconic mute toggle would return in future releases. At last, here it is.

Despite the lack of a "Pro" in its name, the OnePlus 11 is an early contender for the most powerful flagship in 2023. It's powered by Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, the company's newest chipset that builds on the successes of the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 before it. OnePlus confirmed it planned to use the chipset on the very same day as its announcement, cementing it as one of the first next-gen phones we know about.

We might also see a limited edition version of the OnePlus 11 — one teased with a mysterious image of Jupiter — in the coming weeks. Early rumors seem to suggest a post-launch ceramic edition of this year's device, though it's unclear whether it would be made available outside China. Still, it's exciting to see the company releasing new versions of its latest smartphone as 2023 pushes forward, rather than releasing another hardware iteration.

Otherwise, look for much of what we expect from a modern flagship. A 5,000mAh battery paired with 100W fast-charging, Wi-Fi 7, and UFS 4.0 storage capable of reaching read and write speeds as fast as 4,200MB/s and 2,800MB/s, respectively. If you plan on recording a ton of high-quality 4K video, the faster your phone can perform, the better.

OnePlus 11: Camera

Although photography has never been an area of expertise for OnePlus, the company has continued working towards better results over the last few years. Thanks to a partnership with Hasselblad, its color tuning is fairly unique among modern smartphones. Despite missing from the OnePlus 10T, that branding is back for 2023, appearing smack in the middle of the lens grid. Make no mistake — this logo isn't just for show. You'll also find the signature Hasselblad color grading in the camera app.

On the hardware side, look for a 50MP Sony IMX890 primary sensor paired with a 48MP ultra-wide and a 32MP telephoto lens capable of capturing 2x shots. Compared to devices from Samsung and Google, it's a relatively weak optical zoom, but software tricks might be able to assist. In fact, the software is likely to be the make or break for the OnePlus 11's camera lineup; last year's OnePlus 10 Pro managed to capture some impressive shots, but it was wildly inconsistent. Although it's not perfect, the company did manage to iron out several of these bugs.

OnePlus 11: Software

OnePlus can often be a little slow to update its smartphones, but Android 13 has gone pretty well this year. From the OnePlus 10T to the OnePlus 8 series, all the company's recent flagships are now running the latest version of Android. While we can't be sure this pace will keep up forever, we do know the OnePlus 11 ships with OxygenOS 13 based on Android 13 out of the box. It's even started receiving security patches, a good sign for its reliability.

What's more, thanks to the company's new update schedule, this device will be the first of the brand to receive four major OS upgrades alongside five years of security patch support. Basically, OnePlus 11 owners can look forward to Android 14 later in 2023 and further updates all the way through to Android 17 in 2028. Of course, we'll have to wait and see how that Android 14 rollout goes before we start speaking about OnePlus in the same breath as Samsung and Google.

OnePlus 11: Price and release date

The days of "flagship killer" pricing for OnePlus phones are long gone, with the Nord series taking its place as the budget king in carrier stores. Instead, the company usually prices its phones similarly to the competition. The 10 Pro, for example, started at $900, while the 10T and its downgraded specs came in at a much more reasonable $650.

While we expected the OnePlus 11 to err closer to the 10 Pro in terms of pricing, the company surprised us with a much lower cost, something more in line with the 10T. This phone starts at just $700, only $50 more than its predecessor, all while packing a much more impressive specs sheet. The top-tier version — complete with 16GB of RAM and 256GB of storage — costs just $800. The equivalent Samsung Galaxy S23 comes with 12GB of RAM for $800.

This year, the phone is only available through Amazon, Best Buy, and the company's own website, so if you're a T-Mobile customer looking to upgrade, you'll need to shop elsewhere. No carriers will be selling the OnePlus 11, or at least, not at launch.

We've got a selection of the best OnePlus 11 deals for you to peruse. After just a couple of months on the market, we've already seen the phone drop as low as $550 at locations like Best Buy with activation. Don't forget that shopping holidays like Prime Day and Black Friday are coming up throughout the rest of this year, which could present even more opportunities for huge discounts.