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If you’re thinking of buying a new Android flagship, both OnePlus and Sony have rather compelling ones to offer. We’ll compare those two phones in this article, the OnePlus 11 vs Sony Xperia 1 V. The Xperia 1 V arrived earlier this month, while the OnePlus 11 arrived to global markets earlier this year. Both devices are compelling in their own ways, though they’re quite different, especially when it comes to their designs.
We’ll talk about their designs here, and also their displays, performance, battery life, cameras, and audio performance. Before we get down to that, however, we’ll list the specifications of both smartphones. Before we begin, do note that the OnePlus 11 is considerably more affordable than Sony’s flagship. There’s a lot to talk about here, so let’s get started, shall we?
Specs
| OnePlus 11 | Sony Xperia 1 V | |
| Screen size | 6.7-inch QHD+ LTPO3 Fluid AMOLED display (120Hz refresh rate, curved, 1,300 nits peak brightness, LTPO down to 1Hz) | 6.5-inch 4K OLED display (flat, 120Hz adaptive refresh rate) |
| Screen resolution | 3216 x 1440 | 3840 x 1644 |
| SoC | Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 | Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 |
| RAM | 8GB/16GB (LPDDR5X) | 12GB (LPDDR5X) |
| Storage | 128GB/256GB, non-expandable (UFS 4.0) | 256GB/512GB (UFS 4.0), expandable (up to 1TB via microSD card) |
| Rear cameras | 50MP (f/1.8 aperture, 1.0um pixel size, OIS, multi-directional PDAF) 48MP (ultrawide, f/2.2 aperture, 115-degree FoV, AF) 32MP (telephoto, f/2.0 aperture, 2x optical zoom, PDAF) |
48MP (f/1.9 aperture, 1.12um pixel size, OIS, Dual Pixel PDAF) 12MP (ultrawide, f/2.2 aperture, 16mm lens, Dual Pixel PDAF) 12MP (telephoto, f/2.3 85mm, f/2.8 125mm, Dual Pixel PDAF, 3.5x-5.2x continuous optical zoom, OIS) |
| Front cameras | 16MP (f/2.5 aperture, 25mm lens, 1.0um pixel size) | 12MP (f/2.0 aperture, 24mm lens, 1.25um pixel size) |
| Battery | 5,000mAh, non-removable, 100W wired (80W in the US) charging Charger included |
5,000mAh, non-removable, 30W wired charging, wireless charging, reverse wireless charging Charger not included |
| Dimensions | 163.1 x 74.1 x 8.5mm | 165 x 71 x 8.3mm |
| Weight | 205 grams | 187 grams |
| Connectivity | 5G, LTE, NFC, Bluetooth 5.3, Wi-Fi, USB Type-C | 5G, LTE, NFC, Bluetooth 5.3, Wi-Fi, USB Type-C |
| Security | Face scanning (front camera) In-display fingerprint scanner (optical) |
Side-facing fingerprint scanner (optical) |
| OS | Android 13 OxygenOS 13 |
Android 13 |
| Price | $699/$799 | $1,399 |
| Buy | OnePlus | Amazon |
OnePlus 11 vs Sony Xperia 1 V: Design
Both smartphones are made out of metal and glass, but they both look and feel different. The OnePlus 11 offers that classic glass sandwich design. Its front and back glass plates are curved, and the frame is thinner on the sides because of that. Those glass panels curve into the frame. The phone’s rear camera setup does stand out, however, due to its design. It’s a circular camera island that connects to the frame of the phone, in a way. The device also has thin bezels, and a display camera hole in the top-left corner.
The Xperia 1 V, on the other hand, has flat sides all around. Its sides do have vertical lines embedded into them (into the frame), and that helps with the grip. On the back, there is a glass panel included, but it has a dotted pattern. Yes, those dots do protrude on the back, every single one of them, and they do add grip too. The Xperia 1 V has a vertically-aligned cameras on the back, in the top-left corner. On the front, the top and bottom bezels are a bit thicker than on the OnePlus 11, but the Xperia 1 V does not have a display camera hole or notch because of it.
The Xperia 1 V is tall and narrow, while the OnePlus 11 has a more regular width for its display size. The Xperia 1 V is a bit taller than the OnePlus 11, while it’s noticeably narrower. It’s also noticeably lighter at 187 grams, compared to 205 grams of the OnePlus 11. The OnePlus 11 has Gorilla Glass 5 on its back, while the Xperia 1 V includes Gorilla Glass Victus 2. The Xperia 1 V is IP65/IP68 certified, while the OnePlus 11 offers IP64 certification. They both feel like quality products, but you’ll realize that the in-hand feel is entirely different in comparison.
OnePlus 11 vs Sony Xperia 1 V: Display
The OnePlus 11 features a 6.7-inch QHD+ (3216 x 1440) LTPO3 Fluid AMOLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate. That panel is curved, and it can project up to 1 billion colors. It offers a 120Hz refresh rate, and supports Dolby Vision. HDR10+ content is also supported, while the display is protected by the Gorilla Glass Victus. This panel has a 20:9 aspect ratio, and it gets up to 1,300 nits of brightness at its peak.
The Xperia 1 V, on the other hand, includes a 6.5-inch 4K (3840 x 1644) OLED display. That display is flat, and it offers a 120Hz refresh rate. It can project up to 1 billion colors, and it has HDR support. The display’s aspect ratio is 21:9, and the panel is protected by the Gorilla Glass Victus 2.
Both of these displays are excellent. They’re more than sharp enough, though do note that the Xperia 1 V will use its 4K resolution for 4K content only. The displays are vivid, offer good viewing angles, and the blacks are deep. The Xperia 1 V does offer better display protection, while both displays do get bright enough, though they’re not amongst the brightest in the business. You’ll be more than happy with either of these two panels, to be quite honest.
OnePlus 11 vs Sony Xperia 1 V: Performance
You will find the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 SoC in both of these phones. That is Qualcomm’s most powerful processor at the moment. On top of that, both phones offer LPDDR5X RAM and UFS 4.0 flash storage. In other words, the best of the best. The OnePlus 11 offers up to 16GB of RAM, while the Xperia 1 V comes with 12GB RAM as the standard and only option.
You’ll be glad to know that both phones perform admirably. They simply fly through everyday tasks, while they can handle gaming sessions too, without a problem. They are immensely smooth, though their software is different. They’re both based on Android 13, but have different overlays on top. You can even play games like Genshin Impact without a problem here, and we did not notice any excessive heating or anything of the sort. Both of these phones are also future-proof, based on their specs.
OnePlus 11 vs Sony Xperia 1 V: Battery
There is a 5,000mAh battery inside each of these two phones. The battery life is not the same, though. The OnePlus 11 offers outstanding battery life, one of the best we’ve seen this year. It stands side-by-side with the Galaxy S23 Ultra, as we’ve managed to cross the 10-hour screen-on-time mark on a number of occasions. This phone can really go far when it comes to battery life.
The Xperia 1 V doesn’t offer bad battery life, not at all. You should be able to get 7.5+ hours of screen-on-time without a problem. It’ll all depend on your usage, of course. You may even get entirely different results, who knows. You will use your phone differently, with different apps included, and with different signal strengths, so… your numbers will likely be different.
When it comes to charging, things are rather interesting. The OnePlus 11 offers much faster charging, but no wireless charging. It supports 100W wired (80W in the US) charging. The Xperia 1 V offers 30W wired charging, 15W wireless charging, and also reverse wireless charging. The OnePlus 11 also offers a 100W charger in the box, unlike the Xperia 1 V, which does not come with a charger at all.
OnePlus 11 vs Sony Xperia 1 V: Cameras
The OnePlus 11 features a 50-megapixel main camera, a 48-megapixel ultrawide unit (115-degree FoV), and a 32-megapixel telephoto camera (2x optical zoom). The Sony Xperia 1 V, on the other hand, features a 48-megapixel main camera, a 12-megapixel ultrawide unit, and a 12-megapixel telephoto camera (3.5x-5.2x continuous optical zoom). The OnePlus 11 is backed by Hasselblad, while you’ll find ZEISS optics on the Xperia 1 V.
Having said that, both of these phones do a fantastic job when it comes to images, but they do provide different results. The images from the OnePlus 11 do end up looking a bit warmer as a general rule, while the Xperia 1 V provides a more natural bokeh. They both shoot really detailed, and well-balanced shots, which are properly exposed. Demanding HDR situations are not a problem for either phone. The Xperia 1 V does do a bit better with glare from street lights at night, though.
Speaking of low light photos, the OnePlus 11 has a tendency to brighten up such scenes quite a bit, while the Xperia 1 V wants to keep things a bit more natural in the process. The images end up looking different, but great nonetheless. The photos from the Xperia 1 V end up looking less processed in general, especially photos from the main camera. Ultrawide cameras are great on both phones, though we did prefer shots from the OnePlus 11 most of the time. Telephoto images are definitely better on the Xperia 1 V, the phone’s telephoto camera is outstanding.
Audio
You will find a set of stereo speakers on each phone, but with different implementations. On the OnePlus 11, the main speaker is bottom-firing, while the earpiece basically acts as a secondary speaker. The Sony Xperia 1 V has two front-firing speakers.
Both phones provide good sound output, detailed and loud enough. The Xperia 1 V is our preference, though, mainly due to the fact the phone has front-firing speakers, so the sound does seem more pleasant. The Xperia 1 V also has a 3.5mm headphone jack, while both smartphones support Bluetooth 5.3 for wireless connections.