The latest from Nothing or the flagship from OnePlus… Which one to choose?
Nothing Phone (2) Vs. OnePlus 11 – KEY TAKEAWAYS
- Nothing Phone (2) takes the cake with the design, with its transparent back and glyph interface!
- OnePlus 11 has the better display, a curved LTPO3 AMOLED display with 2K resolution, and a 120Hz refresh rate.
- The Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 SoC in the OnePlus 11 means it is faster than the Nothing Phone (2) with Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1.
- Both phones have similar 50MP Sony IMX890 primary camera sensors and similar high-megapixel ultrawide cameras, but OnePlus 11 has a 32MP 2x telephoto lens that the Phone (2) lacks.
- OnePlus 11 has a bigger battery at 5,000 mAh and faster charging tech, at 100/80W, and also it comes with a charger bundled with the box, unlike Nothing Phone (2).
- Phone (2) has a 4,700mAh battery and support for up to 45W charging, but you must buy the charger separately. It does have wireless charging and reverse wireless charging support to compensate for that.
- Bottom line? The OnePlus 11 is a better phone; it has more power, will get more Android updates (five years), and it has better overall specs and features.
PinNothing Phone (2)
Nothing Phone (2) is an incremental upgrade over Phone (1), with the key improvements being a better chipset and improved cameras.
Pros
- Stand out design
- Good performance
- Good cameras
Cons
- No charger bundled in the box
PinOnePlus 11
OnePlus 11 offers everything a flagship needs at a lower price. It has a great screen, superb performance, and a good set of cameras.
Pros
- Great performance
- Great display
- Good cameras
Cons
- No wireless charging
I’d argue the OnePlus 11 is an excellent option over the Pixel 7. OnePlus matches Google’s support level, the OnePlus 11 has a better CPU than the Tensor 2 used inside the Pixel 7, so performance will be better, and, speaking personally, I think it is a much nicer looking phone.
For me, the ONLY reason why you’d get the Pixel 7 over the OnePlus 11 is because you want that Pixel-grade camera quality. If you can live without that and are more interested in overall performance in general, then, yes, the OnePlus 11 is totally worth it in 2023.
- Big & Bold Design
- Excellent Software + Support
- New Price ($699) Makes It Better Value
- Very Decent Camera
- 100W Fast Charging
Design
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PinPinIf there’s one thing Nothing has nailed with its products, it is the design aesthetics it follows, which makes them stand out from anything else in the market. Nothing Phone (1) became such a successful product for Nothing with its stand-out design and Glyph interface, which was never seen before in a smartphone. Nothing Phone (2) follows the same design, with slight tweaks. It still has a transparent back, flat frame, and glyph interface that looks slightly different.
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PinOnePlus 11 looks fresh with its circular camera array that wraps around the frame. It is an evolution of the design of the OnePlus 10 Pro. But it’s less eye-catching than Nothing Phone (2)’s transparent back design!
Displays
PinNothing Phone (2) has a flat 6.7-inch AMOLED display with a refresh rate 120Hz and a resolution of Full HD+. The display can go up to 1600 nits in peak brightness and is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass; Nothing doesn’t mention which version of Gorilla Glass it uses in this phone, though.
PinOnePlus 11 outclasses Nothing Phone (2) with a true flagship-grade display. It has a 6.7-inch curved AMOLED display, an LTPO3 panel with a resolution of 2K, and a refresh rate of 120Hz. It can go up to 1300 nits in peak brightness and is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass Victus.
Performance
Nothing Phone (2) is powered by Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 SoC, the previous flagship chipset from Snapdragon. It is still one of the best-performing chipsets in the market currently and can easily run anything you throw at it.
But Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 in OnePlus 11 is the absolute beast currently. It makes the OnePlus 11 faster than Nothing Phone (2) and renders it one of the fastest smartphones on the Android side. OnePlus 11 beats Nothing Phone (2) here too.
Camera
PinNothing Phone (2) comes with a dual camera setup, a primary 50MP camera that uses the Sony IMX890 sensor with OIS support, aided by another 50MP ultrawide sensor with a field of view of 114°. To the front, the phone uses a 32MP selfie camera.
PinOnePlus 11 uses the same primary camera as Nothing Phone (2), the Sony IMX890 sensor with OIS. The phone has a 48MP ultrawide camera with a field of 115° and a telephoto sensor of 32MP that zooms 2x. The phone uses a 16MP selfie camera on the front. OnePlus 11 has superior camera hardware, aided by Hasselblad camera tuning.
Battery
Nothing Phone (2) comes with a 4,700mAh battery that supports 45W wired fast charging. But the fast charger is not bundled in the box, so you must buy it separately. The phone also supports 15W wireless charging and 5W reverse wireless charging.
OnePlus 11 is backed up by a 5,000mAh battery, supporting 100W/80W super fast wired charging. It comes with an 80W charger in the box in the US, while every other region gets a 100W charger. The phone doesn’t come with wireless charging support, but it more than makes up for the fact that the super-fast charger is bundled in the box, and you don’t need to spend extra just to get a charger.
Software
PinNothing Phone (2)’s software skin Nothing OS takes inspiration from the original OxygenOS, OnePlus’ skin. Nothing OS 2.0 is close to stock Android skin with some useful additions on top of stock Android and follows mostly stock Android design principles.
PinOxygenOS now isn’t what it started to be. Back then, OxygenOS was what NothingOS was; now, it has changed. OxygenOS 13 is based on Oppo’s ColorOS 13 and is heavily skinned Android skin with many useful features. But it is a clean experience with no bloatware, unlike ColorOS or Realme UI.
Specs Comparison Table
| Specification | Nothing Phone (2) | OnePlus 11 |
|---|---|---|
| Dimensions | 162.1 x 76.4 x 8.6 mm | 163.1 x 74.1 x 8.5 mm |
| Weight | 201.2 g | 205 g |
| Build | Glass front, glass back, aluminum frame | Glass front, glass back, aluminum frame |
| SIM | Dual SIM (Nano-SIM, dual stand-by) | Single SIM (Nano-SIM) or Dual SIM (2x Nano-SIM, eSIM, dual stand-by) |
| IP rating | IP54 | IP64 |
| Display size | 6.7 inches | 6.7 inches |
| Display type | AMOLED | AMOLED |
| Resolution | 1080 x 2412 pixels | 1440 x 3216 pixels |
| Refresh rate | 120Hz | 120Hz |
| Display Certifications | HDR10+ | HDR10+ |
| Protection | Corning Gorilla Glass (version unspecified) | Corning Gorilla Glass Victus |
| Processor | Snpadragon 8+ Gen 1 | Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 |
| CPU | Octa-core (1×3.0 GHz Cortex-X2 & 3×2.5 GHz Cortex-A710 & 4×1.80 GHz Cortex-A510) | Octa-core (1×3.2 GHz Cortex-X3 & 2×2.8 GHz Cortex-A715 & 2×2.8 GHz Cortex-A710 & 3×2.0 GHz Cortex-A510) |
| GPU | Adreno 730 | Adreno 740 |
| RAM | 8 GB / 12 GB | 8 GB / 16 GB |
| Storage | 128 GB / 256 GB / 512 GB | 128 GB / 256 GB |
| Main camera | 50 MP, f/1.9, 24mm, 1/1.56″, 1.0µm, PDAF, OIS | 50 MP, f/1.8, 24mm, 1/1.56″, 1.0µm, multi-directional PDAF, OIS |
| Ultra-wide camera | 50 MP, f/2.2, 114˚, 1/2.76″, 0.64µm, AF | 48 MP, f/2.2, 115˚, 1/2.0″, AF |
| Telephoto camera | N/A | 32 MP, f/2.0, 48mm, 1/2.74″, PDAF, 2x optical zoom |
| Selfie camera | 32 MP, f/2.5, 1/2.74″, 0.8µm | 16 MP, f/2.5, 25mm, 1.0µm |
| Battery capacity | 4700 mAh | 5000 mAh |
| Charging speed | 45 W | 80 W (US) 100 W (Rest of the world) |
| Wireless charging | 15 W | N/A |
| Reverse wireless chargin | 5 W | N/A |
| Operating system | Nothing OS 2.0 based on Android 13 | OxygenOS 13 based on Android 13 |
| Price | Staring from $599 / CAD 929 / £579 / €679 | Starting from $649.99 / CAD 899 / £729 / €849 |
Price And Value For Money
Here are the prices of Nothing Phone (2) across regions:
- 8 GB + 128 GB – $599 / CAD 929 / £579 / €679
- 12 GB + 256 GB – $699 / CAD 999 / £629 / €729
- 12 GB + 512 GB – $799 / CAD 1,099 / £699 / €849
- You can check the cost in your region here.
These are the prices of the OnePlus 11:
- 8 GB + 128 GB – $649.99 / CAD 899 / £729 / €849
- 16 GB + 256 GB – $749.99 / CAD 899 / £799 / €819
The phones are priced very close; the 8GB RAM and 128 GB internal storage variants are just $50 apart in the US, with OnePlus 11 costing more. But the higher variant of the OnePlus 11, the 16 GB + 256 GB variant, costs $50 less than the highest variant of Nothing Phone 2. OnePlus 11, with its better feature and specifications list, offers better value for money.
Conclusion
Nothing Phone (2) is a really good smartphone; it improves on its predecessor while using a similar design. It comes with an improved display, chipset, cameras, and more. But these improvements come at a cost, putting it directly against OnePlus 11.
OnePlus 11 might not look as cool as Nothing Phone (2), but it has a better display, chipset, cameras, and battery & charging.
The price difference between the phones is so minimal that you’re better off choosing OnePlus 11 when you look at all the better features and specs it offers over Nothing Phone (2). In some markets, you even get the OnePlus 11 cheaper than the Nothing Phone (2)!
I’d argue the OnePlus 11 is an excellent option over the Pixel 7. OnePlus matches Google’s support level, the OnePlus 11 has a better CPU than the Tensor 2 used inside the Pixel 7, so performance will be better, and, speaking personally, I think it is a much nicer looking phone.
For me, the ONLY reason why you’d get the Pixel 7 over the OnePlus 11 is because you want that Pixel-grade camera quality. If you can live without that and are more interested in overall performance in general, then, yes, the OnePlus 11 is totally worth it in 2023.
- Big & Bold Design
- Excellent Software + Support
- New Price ($699) Makes It Better Value
- Very Decent Camera
- 100W Fast Charging
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