In terms of hardware specs, the OnePlus 11R does have a few specs that are lower than the flagship OnePlus 11. The 6.7-inch AMOLED screen is in a resolution of 1240 x 2772 pixels - the 11's is 1440 x 3216 pixels. Not that it looks it. Perfectly crisp and clear with good colours and brightness, the display is great for day to day usage. The bezels, although not quite as slim as those on the flagship, are still minimal, leaving the expanse of the display free for use. For some reason, the front camera punch hole is in the middle instead of to one side where it would have been less noticeable. Since there’s no logic to this placement it’s likely to just be a matter of differentiating. The 11R's display also has a 120Hz refresh rate, though less adaptive than its more expensive sibling's. The touch sampling rate, important for gaming, is also lower, though nevertheless good enough. Also missing is Gorilla Glass Victus. In this way, a number of hardware capabilities seem to have carefully been differentiated to be able to offer the device at a lower price.

Proven strength

The biggest hardware difference between the two new phones is the processor. The OnePlus 11 uses the newest Snapdragon 8 Gen2 while the 11R uses the 8+ Gen1, which is still recent enough to be on the majority of high-end phones. This generation difference sounds like a huge leap and indeed benchmark tests do show the Gen2 to be faster but performance on the OnePlus 11R is still smooth and speedy enough to suit the majority of users while those looking for some future proofing and cutting edge specs could turn to the OnePlus 11. Both phones use the same software: Oppo’s ColorOS flavoured OxygenOS 13 on Android 13. The software upgrades offered on the flagship are for four years while the OnePlus 11R gets three years.

Other miscellaneous features include the in-display fingerprint sensor on the 11R which one half expected to be mounted on the power button, again, for differentiation. It works expectedly fast.

The OnePlus 11R doesn't have a water resistance rating, a fact that annoys many users. It seems to have an IR blaster.

Both phones in this line-up come with a 5,000mAh battery which lasts very well through the day and which supports fast charging at 100W. The big charger is very much in the box. These phones charge from nothing to full in under 30 minutes, so there really needs to be no preoccupation with battery life.

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OnePlus 11R 5G is an affordable alternative to company’s flagship