Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

MacRumors

macrumors bot
Original poster
Apr 12, 2001
63,194
30,135


Chinese smartphone company OnePlus today announced the official debut of the OnePlus 11 5G, which is the company's latest flagship smartphone. The device was already announced in China, but today marks the global launch so we thought we'd compare the OnePlus 11 5G to the iPhone 14 Pro Max to see how the camera measures up.


Apple's iPhone 14 Pro Max is equipped with an f/1.78 48-megapixel Wide lens that uses a Sony sensor, while the OnePlus 11 5G is equipped with an f/1.8 50-megapixel main camera that also uses a Sony sensor. Both smartphones include optical image stabilization, along with additional cameras.

oneplus-11-3.jpg

The OnePlus 11 5G has a 48-megapixel 115-degree ultra wide camera, while the iPhone 14 Pro Max has a 12-megapixel 120-degree field of view camera. The iPhone 14 Pro Max has the wider field of view, but it can't compete with the higher megapixel count on the OnePlus. Both devices support macro photos using their respective ultra wide lenses.

oneplus-11-5.jpg

The OnePlus 11 5G has a more advanced telephoto lens in some ways, as it is equipped with a 32-megapixel portrait telephoto lens that uses Hasselblad technology, while the iPhone 14 Pro Max is limited to a 12-megapixel telephoto lens. It is worth noting, though, that the OnePlus 11 is limited to 2x zoom, while the iPhone 14 Pro Max supports 3x zoom. For those unfamiliar with the brand, Hasselblad is a Swedish camera maker that has been developing camera technology for OnePlus smartphones since the OnePlus 9.

oneplus-11-6.jpg

OnePlus says that the device features DSLR-like depth tracking, natural bokeh, and light flare, simulating professional portraits captured by an actual Hasselblad camera. All three lenses are advertised as using Hasselblad color calibration for a more natural look, and OnePlus has also included a "13 channel multi-spectral sensor for light-color identifying," which is supposed to provide more accurate color and white balance.

oneplus-11-7.jpg

As for camera quality, the telephoto lens produces portraits with excellent background lighting and blur, but there is a skin smoothing algorithm for people that can make images look unnatural. There's too much post-processing going on, which means side-by-side, the iPhone portrait pictures turn out more true to life.

oneplus-11-8.jpg

With the standard camera in good lighting, you're not going to see much difference in image quality between the OnePlus 11 and the iPhone 14 Pro Max, which is typical of smartphone cameras these days. Images are sharp and detailed, with a neutral color palette, but the ultra-wide lens trends toward yellow tones, while the telephoto lens is cooler, which ultimately means images can look inconsistent across the three cameras.

oneplus-11-9.jpg

There are useful Hasselblad-designed filters that you can apply to photos, and there's a pro mode for DSLR-style customization. Night photos are fine, but nothing impressive, and the same goes for video. The iPhone definitely produces better quality video.

oneplus-11-10.jpg

Other OnePlus 11 5G features include a 6.7-inch display with a 120Hz refresh rate, always-on display technology, the same Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 platform used in Samsung's latest S23 devices, up to 16GB RAM, 5G connectivity, Wi-Fi 7, and a 5,000mAh battery. It runs "OxygenOS," which is based on Android 13, and is available for pre-order starting today.

oneplus-11-.jpg

Make sure to check out the video to see the full camera comparison, and let us know what you think about the OnePlus 11 5G in the comments below.

Article Link: Camera Comparison: Apple's iPhone 14 Pro Max vs. OnePlus 11 5G
 
  • Like
Reactions: 5105973

Mc0

macrumors regular
Nov 6, 2017
188
369
Some people don’t like the color accurate photos captured by iPhone 14PM. Personally, I love them but my friends prefer the unnatural/saturated colors of other brand phones. They even criticized my phone from producing dull looking photos 😅 But I’d rather face the reality than the over processed beautification filled photos.
 

Unregistered 4U

macrumors G3
Jul 22, 2002
9,795
7,699
Aren’t there any phone rigs made commercially that ensures you’re taking the same pic on both cameras? Or are those all custom made by the sites that generally care about a side by side?
 
  • Like
Reactions: mjs916

kingtj1971

macrumors 6502
Feb 11, 2021
489
569
Alton, IL
Isn't the OnePlus 11 like half the price of the iPhone 14 Pro? That makes this a rather strange comparison, and a little sad for the iPhone.
Might be that price difference, but you're always going to have people asking how their expensive iPhone stacks up vs whatever competition is out there that's brand new and claims some similar features.

These results just tell me that we've come so far with photography on smartphones, the differences have more to do with the software that does automatic touch-ups and color editing than anything else. The iPhone 14 Pro looks like it does a superior job to this OnePlus 11 -- but largely because it doesn't insist on auto-applying the processing.

I don't think this is "sad" for the iPhone, but tells me it's time to buy new phones based on things other than promises that they "take better photos". Because ALL of them are getting really good at that.
 

coffeemilktea

macrumors 6502a
Nov 25, 2022
755
3,061
So you get a really good camera attached to an okay-ish phone that probably won't get many software updates? If they lower the price more, I might be tempted. :cool:
 
  • Haha
Reactions: Stevez67

Unregistered 4U

macrumors G3
Jul 22, 2002
9,795
7,699
I wish there was a viable, widely used, alternative open source phone operating system with great functionality not tied to Apple or Google.
Aren’t there already?

Of course, the “great functionality” is in the eye of the beholder and those working for free sometimes see “working at all” as equivalent to “great functionality”. :)

And anyway, the best phone OS in the world doesn’t matter for much if there’s no hardware that it can take full advantage of.
 
  • Like
Reactions: mjs916

A_Hunger_Artist

macrumors newbie
Feb 22, 2022
23
240
To me it seems like hard specs are increasingly irrelevant given just how software-heavy phone cameras have become. It really comes down which is the better image processor, rather than megapixels/aperture/etc.
 
  • Like
Reactions: crsh1976

crsh1976

macrumors 68000
Jun 13, 2011
1,538
1,674
I just really despise that wheel/camera island thing they got going on the OP11.
 

ghanwani

macrumors 601
Dec 8, 2008
4,509
5,586
You should create a poll at the end of such articles so we can easily see which one folks prefer. :)

(Car and Driver magazine typically has a poll at the end of most of their articles to get readers' opinions on some aspect of the vehicle(s) discussed. It's fun to be able to quickly get a pulse of the audience.)

With that out of the way, I definitely prefer the pictures of the OnePlus.
 

MrDerby01

macrumors regular
Jun 2, 2010
233
286
I love the Android OS on high end devices. But regardless of the manufacture Huawei, OnePlus, Opo, Samsung each have the SAME issue. Once you leave the main camera app each application there after takes photos that look like trash. This is still an issue within the Android community. Apple still has a lot of "wins" when it comes to taking a photo within mainstream social apps.
 
  • Like
Reactions: roeiz and Aston441

Aston441

macrumors 68030
Sep 16, 2014
2,606
3,934
Tbh it really just comes down to personal preference in the end
Comes down to who is trapped in iMessage, and who isn't. When everyone you know is blue, being the green one sucks. Green bubble is the greatest marketing invention of all time.


Edit: oh wait, I forgot we're discussing cameras, imagine if there was green bubble for photos 😂
 

rizzo41999

macrumors 6502
May 27, 2009
481
1,460
MA
Regardless of make, no phone can compete with the physical size of the sensors used in DSLRs. It's just physics.
 
  • Like
Reactions: SFjohn

sw1tcher

macrumors 603
Jan 6, 2004
5,234
17,476
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.