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Carl Pei reviews the OnePlus 11, calls it 'beautiful' but has 'no real identity'
- OnePlus co-founder Carl Pei has released a OnePlus 11 review.
- Carl Pei has a lot of good things to say about the “beautiful” phone but laments that it has “no real identity.”
- Pei also is confused by why Oxygen OS is so different now.
Carl Pei is the co-founder of OnePlus, but has since moved on to his own company, called Nothing. Previously, Carl dipped his toes into the world of smartphone reviews by checking out the latest iPhone. Now he’s back with a very interesting review of the latest phone from his former company: the OnePlus 11. To catch up on what you can expect from this phone, be sure to read our own OnePlus 11 review first.
In the 12-minute long OnePlus 11 review video (which you can watch above), Carl goes over his reactions to the hardware and software of the phone. At first, he has a lot of nice things to say. He calls the device “beautiful” and talks about the details of its design that most consumers might look over. This includes the subtle textures of the camera module and how the edges of the phone make it appear to be thinner than it actually is.
However, he also criticizes some obvious corner cutting. This includes how the camera module appears to be connected to the rails of the phone, but really isn’t, and some misaligned button placement. Carl does frequently come back to how impressed he is with the overall premium feel of the OnePlus 11, though.
The software is where Carl gets more critical. This is the first time he’s used Oxygen OS since it switched over to the codebase of Color OS. He says he’s confused by why the company would take something that worked and mess with the formula. He also points out numerous problems he has with the usability of the software, including problems opening the app drawer and text blocks that were obviously designed with Chinese characters in mind.
In the end, Carl says the phone is great overall but has “no real identity.” Physically, it doesn’t have the brand cohesiveness he looks for when it comes to the companies he supports. Additionally, the software isn’t as polished as he would want, even if it contains numerous helpful features.
While smartphone reviews are easy to find all over YouTube, it’s not every day that you see a person who had a major part in the beginnings of a company give an objective review of its latest device. Be sure to watch the whole OnePlus 11 review above!