After there was great confusion regarding the features of the flagship device (which is available for official purchase here in Israel as well) with regard to the protection from harmful hazards in its versions for the various countries around the world – the manufacturer announces with a welcome alignment everywhere
A few days after the launch of the Galaxy S23 models here in Israel, the OnePlus 11 also lands on its own tour as the second model (or fourth, depending on how you look at it) that is based on the powerful Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 – and now we get a retrospective update about protection IP64 water and dust that he brings to the competition against Samsung’s devices that all enjoy a more advanced official IP68 protection.
The OnePlus 11 received a lot of reviews during its official international launch, which positively noted the quality of its 6.7-inch LTPO3 AMOLED panel, the improved performance thanks to the flagship chip from Qualcomm (including a thermal array that manages to reduce the reduction of frequencies and performance during prolonged use in relation to other models on the market with the same S8G2), the updated design with the rounded camera island that replaces the square structure in the OnePlus 10 Pro and OnePlus 10T, the decent photography capabilities and the battery life and charging times that stand at only 25 minutes (or even 22 minutes in real tests ) from zero percent to one hundred percent – even though it is “only” 100 watt charging which is considered relatively slow in the terms of the Chinese manufacturers who have already crossed the 200 watt mark as I recall.
It seems that the OnePlus 11 has almost everything it needs (the software side is actually the one that received most of the negative criticism in the reviews) to compete with the Galaxy S23 Plus – where one notable shortcoming was the lack of the water and dust protection standard that exists in the opponent. For several years now, the top OnePlus devices have featured the use of rubber bands and similar sealing means in practice without declaring it publicly. To be more precise, the OnePlus 11 Pro did receive official resistance to the advanced IP68 standard as in the Galaxy S family – only in the model sold through the American cellular operator T-Mobile, even though this model was exactly the same as the models sold in other Western countries.
This whole issue created confusion among consumers and did not add any good points to OnePlus compared to Samsung, which makes sure to equip all its senior models (including the folding ones) with the IP68 standard in all markets without exception. Now, after the OnePlus 11 was also launched without any mention of water or dust protection – the company confirmed to the gsmarena website that all models of the smartphone in all countries come with IP64 protection in practice, which indicates complete impermeability to dust damage and basic protection for water jets that may encounter the device from time to time.
The device was not tested in full immersion in water as in the case of the IP68 standard and therefore it is definitely not recommended to jump with it for a swim (in fact, this is something that is really not recommended to be done even with a smart device with the IP68 standard) – but it should successfully survive an encounter with a spilled glass or bottle of water on him by mistake. Let’s hope that in the next incarnation OnePlus will decide to align with the standard in the big league and provide IP68 protection comprehensively, regardless of the country where the device was purchased.
The OnePlus 11 can be found on pre-order in Israel now, with delivery expected at the end of this week, at a recommended price of NIS 3,100 for the base version with 128GB of storage (UFS 3.1 standard) and 8GB of LPDDR5X memory, or at a price of NIS 3,600 for the version with 256GB of storage in the UFS 4.0 standard and 16GB of LPDDR5X – where the first is black, the second green, both with a 100 watt wall charger included in the case and both come with a gift set with a stated value of about NIS 350 which includes a fast 80 watt car charger and a dedicated protective cover .
How does this compare to the starting price of NIS 3,300 with which the Galaxy S23 Plus is offered now, or in relation to the starting price of NIS 2,600 with which you can get the OnePlus 10 Pro in Israel today? Feel free to write us what you think in the comments.