[ONEPLUS 11 - FULL REVIEW:
Back to the Basics, with the Right Compromise]
It has been three months since my last review, and now it’s time for another one.
It is my review of the OnePlus 11 after around a month of usage. 👀
👇 Read more below. Hope you'll enjoy the thread! 👇
PART 1:
DESIGN AND COMFORT
My OnePlus 11 review unit is in this actually great-looking Eternal Green colour (and thank god this is the colour that I got).
I personally think it is one of the best looking OnePlus phones ever released, much better than its predecessor (10 Pro).… https://t.co/qp5Edifj9ktwitter.com/i/web/status/1…
But, as you can see in one of the pictures below, the transition between the camera housing and the frame is not that smooth. That bothers me a bit.
The rear side is made of glass that is Gorilla Glass 5. The glossy finish on this green unit is soft and silky smooth to touch and… https://t.co/iIdhS660lYtwitter.com/i/web/status/1…
The frame itself is made of painted (glossy) aluminium and the front is made of curved glass (which is Gorilla Glass Victus that is covered by a factory-applied plastic screen protector that feels great). The steep curve of the display is making it a little difficult to operate,… https://t.co/Rzqiyu1tINtwitter.com/i/web/status/1…
OnePlus 11 is also very comfortable to hold. That’s mostly because of the phone’s glossy rear side and the rear camera position is also good enough, unlike some other phones that have a camera housing so big or located further below the ideal position. The weight distribution is… https://t.co/T1A5D6uJWNtwitter.com/i/web/status/1…
The regular colour choices are classic OnePlus: Titan Black (matte) and Eternal Green (glossy). I would love to see more options here, as the signature OnePlus colours are getting boring now.
PART 2:
DISPLAY
In the past few years, high-end smartphones have always had great displays. So, I don’t think it’s a surprise that the OnePlus 11 also has an excellent display (and historically, OnePlus flagship phones have always had great displays too).
I have to say that the automatic refresh rate management is not properly optimised as the phone often gets confused about whether it should use a higher or lower refresh rate in some scenarios, which makes scrolling or navigating in some apps appear laggy. There’s no “force 120… https://t.co/MIJFarKvc2twitter.com/i/web/status/1…
PART 3:
AUDIO QUALITY
Through the built-in stereo speakers, OnePlus 11 sounds good for a set of smartphone speakers. It is clear enough, with some bass, adequate vocals, and has that signature warmth that I usually hear from Oppo and vivo flagships.
I probably will give my much more detailed thoughts about OnePlus 11’s imaging system in a separate thread, but for now, I will just mention my overall findings.
Basically, OnePlus 11 has an excellent main camera sensor and surprisingly, the results are… https://t.co/uCrNp37jeEtwitter.com/i/web/status/1…
OnePlus 11 - Rear Camera
Pros and notable improvements:
• Very good detail preservation in most conditions.
• Great overall colour science. Vibrant enough to look pleasing, but with a white balance that is accurate enough for me to consider it as “natural with a satisfying… https://t.co/curPIcYWT8twitter.com/i/web/status/1…
PART 5:
PERFORMANCE, MULTITASKING, AND STORAGE
Like almost every flagship Android phone launched in 2023, OnePlus 11 is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 SoC. It is a powerful and efficient chipset, and this phone takes advantage of this processor's ability to the fullest.… https://t.co/UKTmP0eMgotwitter.com/i/web/status/1…
I haven't gotten AnTuTu v9 scores exceeding 1.2 million using this phone, but it has reached 1.16 million with 0% battery drain several times. Maybe just the battery tuning, but it only has a 4°C temperature increase after the AnTuTu session. GeekBench is also quite low for 8 Gen… https://t.co/sFQ8hhJEtLtwitter.com/i/web/status/1…
My OnePlus 11 unit has 16 GB of LPDDR5X RAM with 256 GB of UFS 4.0 storage. So, multitasking is a breeze with this phone even with slight issues (that I’ll talk about later).
Overall, OnePlus 11 has a great balance between performance and sustainability. I don’t think I have… https://t.co/Et69u57ct4twitter.com/i/web/status/1…
PART 6:
SOFTWARE AND USER EXPERIENCE
OnePlus 11 that I tested was using OxygenOS 13 on top of Android 13. It is a great skin. Smooth, feature-rich, and has some great customisation options.
I believe that OxygenOS is getting a little too similar to Oppo’s ColorOS these days… https://t.co/qrupAtPeOmtwitter.com/i/web/status/1…
OnePlus did a great job optimising OxygenOS. It is fluid and feels fast. One thing that I don’t really like about it is sometimes some of the UI elements are too fluid to operate, to the point that it becomes difficult to use (like swiping up to close an app can make the phone… https://t.co/vsKtCOKkFPtwitter.com/i/web/status/1…
By the way, I also feel like the phone’s software for palm rejection is not well-optimised as it keeps registering my palm as me, attempting to touch the display. Also, the accidental touch prevention is too aggressive in making sure that I don’t accidentally touch the screen. It… https://t.co/no5hKf6w6ctwitter.com/i/web/status/1…
By the way, the blur effects are also implemented well on ColorOS.
PART 7:
PRODUCTIVITY, USABILITY, EXTRA FEATURES, AND THE ESSENTIALS
OnePlus 11 did the essentials really well.
Let’s start with what phones were meant to be: taking calls. The earpiece produces great quality sound that is loud and clear, and so does the microphone quality. It… https://t.co/5GmprqEIydtwitter.com/i/web/status/1…
OnePlus 11 has an optical fingerprint scanner. It is my preferred biometric authentication method, but this optical solution is not even close to what I prefer. Even though the unlocking speed is fast, the accuracy is not as good as the Ultrasonic (Qualcomm’s 3D Sonic) solution… https://t.co/TbwVUxhrmqtwitter.com/i/web/status/1…
PART 8:
BATTERY LIFE AND CHARGING
This is the part where OnePlus 11 shines to me.
The combination of great optimisation, 5000 mAh battery, and Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 makes the battery life of this phone extremely great. It is just awesome.
What makes it even better is the charging speed which is incredibly fast. A few weeks ago, I forgot to charge the phone (which was currently at around 15%). So, I just left this phone charging on my desk using its included 100 W SuperVOOC charger in the morning while I was taking… https://t.co/7oc7YREAhqtwitter.com/i/web/status/1…
No wireless charging, sure. But based on my usage, that's not important to me even though having that feature is always a plus. The way I see it is that... OnePlus made the right compromise here. If I can't have wireless charging, ultra-fast wired charging is still an incredible… https://t.co/UWXiY6bFqotwitter.com/i/web/status/1…
PART 9:
HAPTICS
OnePlus 11 haptics system is powered by O-Haptics. It is the same one used by Oppo phones, and this vibration motor and the implementation are excellent. One of the best in the class.
I have no big complaints, and feeling the vibrations in the O-Haptics tutorial… https://t.co/ARBvX4pG86twitter.com/i/web/status/1…
PART 10:
FRONT CAMERA
Is it good? Nope.
Is it bad? Not even close.
OnePlus 11 has a mediocre front camera. I wouldn't say it is good or bad as it has some pros and cons.
General daylight and well-lit indoor selfie photos look good, but when the light gets dimmer, the quality… https://t.co/cahC7Kw14qtwitter.com/i/web/status/1…
[ONEPLUS 11: CONCLUSION AND FINAL THOUGHTS]
OnePlus used to be one of my favourite Android phone manufacturers. After years of several disappointing releases and questionable decisions, OnePlus 11 feels like a breath of fresh air.
Scoring per Category
• Design and Comfort: 8.7/10
• Rear Camera Photography: 8.7/10
• Rear Camera Videography: 7.8/10
• Display: 9.0/10
• Audio Quality (Through Headphones): 8.5/10
• Audio Quality (Through the Built-in Speakers): 7.9/10
• Performance,… https://t.co/MTbljSRdTetwitter.com/i/web/status/1…
[DISCLAIMER]
1. I got this review unit of the OnePlus 11 from OnePlus Indonesia as a part of a program called "The Seed+". Thank you to the @OnePlus__ID team and community for the opportunity and the great experience bonding with the group. 2. This review is based on my usage… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…
Well that was embarrassing. 💀
Uploaded the wrong 3DMark screenshot there.
Here's the real one (Wild Life Extreme Stress Test). 👇
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vivo V50 - Full Review:
Striking Gaze, Lasts for Days, Reliable Always.
Meet the sleek and gorgeous vivo V50 in Harmony Red!
With the V50, vivo has made some improvements that may seem minor on paper, such as:
✅ The new “Rounded-edge Design” with a micro quad-curved display
✅ 6000 mAh battery and 90W charging, all without making the phone bulky, thick, and heavy
✅ An Aura Light that is larger with 100% more lighting area
✅ Underwater Photography feature
After using this phone for more than three weeks, my initial impressions started to change as I found some unexpected improvements along with other findings that made me think that this phone is better than I expected.
So, settle in as we explore the ins and outs of the vivo V50, from its design, camera, performance, battery life, and everything in between. 👇
VIVO V50:
HIGHLIGHTS
✅️ Reasons to Get:
• It looks beautiful while being thin, light, and unique, without trying too hard to look bold
• Very good overall camera performance for the class, great ultra-wide for the class and nice for street photography
• Incredible battery life paired with super-fast charging speed
• Very good performance with great heat management and good sustainability
• It has the fastest fingerprint scanner I’ve ever used on a mid-range phone
• Smooth and stable software, full of features and customisation options
• The balance between design, battery, performance, and camera reliability makes it easy to recommend
🚫 Reasons to Avoid:
• A small overall upgrade over the V40
• The LPDDR4X RAM and UFS 2.2 storage might sway your purchase decision
📈 What to Improve:
• A metal frame instead of plastic would’ve been great
• The display resolution should’ve stayed at 1.5K
• Funtouch OS needs to look and feel more like OriginOS
• It should’ve used an x-axis vibration motor for a better haptic feedback
PART 1:
DESIGN AND COMFORT
At the first glance, the vivo V50 might look similar to the V40 in terms of design language.
But with the V50, vivo adopts a new design language that they call “Rounded-edge Design."
This design aims to make the phone feel comfortable to hold and premium to look at.
And I think they are very successful in delivering that vision. vivo V50 looks beautiful, especially in this elegant Harmony Red colour.
It is a beautiful red finish that looks elegant, without being too unappealingly flashy. It is close to a wine or scarlet red, which are my favourite kind of reds.
Aside from looking great, it also feels extremely comfortable to hold vertically (when using the phone normally) and horizontally (when playing games or listening to a song).
The camera housing area looks very distinctive. I would say that it is unique without being a try-hard.
People who don’t like phones with a huge circular camera housing on the rear side might prefer the look of the V50’s camera bump.
The edges on the rear side are rounded, so that’s why the phone feels so nice to hold.
The frosted glass rear side also feels smooth and delicate, without any rough parts that can ruin the experience of using the phone.
2 Weeks with the Galaxy S25 Ultra:
The Art of Perfecting an Old Formula.
Two weeks. That’s all it took for the Galaxy S25 Ultra to either impress me… or leave me wanting for more.
On paper, this phone might be very familiar to some. But just like with all Samsung phones, it’s the detail that matters the most.
I have been using this phone as my true daily driver, and I have uncovered some very interesting stuff. Some changes are significant, some are subtle, and some might just affect your purchase decision.
Now, grab your popcorn as we dive deep into all of the features, improvements, and shortcomings of Samsung’s latest flagship phone of 2025. 🍿
SAMSUNG GALAXY S25 ULTRA:
HIGHLIGHTS
✅️ Reasons to Get:
• A breathtakingly stunning design that is more rounded, minimalistic, lighter, and feels solid to hold
• A gorgeous anti-reflective display that is bright, vivid, and responsive
• One UI 7 is the best smartphone OS/skin I’ve ever used. Beautiful, silky smooth, feature-rich, and reliable
• Awesome performance with a very good overall heat management
• Excellent overall audio quality, the best speakers I’ve heard on a smartphone
• Super fast and reliable ultrasonic fingerprint scanner
• Excellent haptics, very precise, powerful, and customisable in strength
• Very good overall camera performance, powered by a versatile camera system that is mostly reliable, including the selfie camera and one of the best smartphone ultra-wide lenses out there
🚫 Reasons to Avoid:
• Minimal change in camera system, almost a sidegrade
• The 3x lens, while nice as an intermediary zoom level between the main and 5x lenses, has an extremely old sensor that ruins the low-light performance
📈 What to Improve:
• Some photos and videos need to have more depth in the results. They can look so unnaturally flat sometimes
• Battery life, while very good, is not as good as other phones with a larger Silicon Carbide battery. So it would be nice for them to finally adopt a newer technology
• Video is still not the best in class. Far from the most noiseless and not the best in exposure & highlight control. I am almost 100% certain it is a processing problem rather than a sensor limitation
PART 1:
DESIGN AND COMFORT
I think this is one of the main highlights of the Galaxy S25 Ultra.
Some people might say that Samsung has lost its identity for using this “generic” or “widely used” design. This design is a big departure from the signature rectangular Galaxy S Ultra or Note Series devices. But, I do believe that this change has brought more benefits than the shortcomings.
Overall, I think the Galaxy S25 Ultra has a spectacular design in both look and feel. It looks incredible, feels astonishingly solid, and it is very comfortable to hold because of how much lighter it is.
Compared to the S24 Ultra, Galaxy S25 Ultra has much more rounded corners but with a flat frame resembling the regular S25 Series models.
The rear side still has the “Floating camera design” with five circular islands consisting of four camera lenses and a Laser Autofocus sensor array. It uses a flat frosted glass material on the rear side. There’s a Samsung logo under the back cover that looks as if it is blurry or double-layered when you view it directly.
I also love the minimalism, in the sense that this phone has absolutely no text (except for the Samsung logo) on its body. No camera specs near the camera housing, and nothing on the sides except for the buttons and ports.
Capturing Portraits with the vivo X200 Pro:
“ZEISS Multifocal Portrait” in Action!
As you might have known, vivo X200 Pro brings the “ZEISS Multifocal Portrait” feature that allows us to capture portrait photos using several focal length options, portrait lens kits/presets, bokeh flare types, and styles.
In this post, I will tell you all about my experience of using the portrait mode of this phone after around a month of usage.
Enjoy the post! 👀
I’ll just tell you a story about the ZEISS Multifocal Portrait feature on the vivo X200 Pro along with the camera samples for you to see.
With the X200 Pro, there are five different portrait focal length options that you can choose from. That includes the new 135 mm option that is great for close-ups. It is equivalent to around 5.9x zoom.
vivo considered them as “golden focal lengths” and I think it is a versatile solution for your portraits.
I love how vivo shows the focal length in mm (for example: 23 mm, 35 mm, 50 mm, 85 mm, and 135 mm) instead of the magnification level (1x, 1.5x, 2.2x, 3.7x, and 5.9x).
Below, you can see several portrait camera samples captured by the vivo X200 Pro:
• 23 mm, Natural flare type
• 50 mm, Natural flare type
• 85 mm, Natural flare type
• 135 mm, Natural flare type
vivo X200 Pro also has several presets that are tailored by the company for specific scenes.
You can choose from:
• 23 mm Landscape Portrait: this one uses the vintage tone and the ZEISS Distagon bokeh flare style, and is recommended for scenic spots and “landmark check-ins.”
• 35 mm Street Portrait: this preset is tailored for city street scenes & stores. It uses the textured tone and the ZEISS B-speed bokeh flare.
• 50 mm Classic Portrait: this preset is suitable for outdoor nature scenes. It uses the crisp colour tone with the ZEISS Biotar bokeh flare style.
• 50 mm Natural Portrait: this one is versatile, suitable for any scene. It uses the natural tone and the Natural (default) bokeh flare.
• 85 mm Cultural Portrait: suitable for sunny days or scenes with natural lighting, this preset uses the B&W colour tone and the Natural bokeh style.
• 85 mm Figure Portrait: this preset uses the “Nautical Blue” colour style and the ZEISS Sonnar bokeh flare. It is suitable for outdoor photos (on a sunny day, sunset, or a night scene).
• 135 mm Close-up Portrait: this portrait preset is suitable for daily indoor activities or scenes with natural lighting. vivo claims that it has extremely high detail level, and it uses the ZEISS Planar bokeh flare with the “Gray” colour style.
This can be a very quick solution for you to capture portrait photos as you just have to choose the preset that you desire for the scene.
You just need to learn the character of vivo’s camera app and how the “ZEISS Multifocal Portrait” system works.
3 Weeks with the vivo X200 Pro:
An Outstanding Superphone Filled with Surprises – “Pro” in Name, “Ultra” in Experience
In the past three weeks, I have been using the vivo X200 Pro extensively as my true daily driver.
Now, I can tell you so many reasons why I love this phone (and how vivo can improve it).
With the X200 Pro, vivo introduced several new and improved features:
✅️ “200 MP ZEISS APO Telephoto Camera,” inherited from the X100 Ultra
✅️ The new LYT-818 “ZEISS True Colour Main Camera”
✅️ MediaTek Dimensity 9400 chip
✅️ 6000 mAh Silicon Carbide battery with 90W charging
✅️ “ZEISS Master Colour Display”
✅️ Refined design with brushed metal frame and a quad-curved display
Before we start, I just want to let you know that even though it is an “imaging flagship phone,” it is an ultimate all-rounder that can compete with all other phones in its class.
Now, grab your snacks and enjoy the review! 🍿
VIVO X200 PRO:
HIGHLIGHTS
✅️ Reasons to Get:
• Incredible overall camera performance for photos and videos, especially when using the main and periscope tele lenses
• Gorgeous display that gets super bright with vivid colours
• Very elegant yet minimalistic design with a comfortable in-hand feel
• Fantastic performance with great thermals and sustainability
• Awesome battery endurance, can be charged very rapidly
• Excellent haptics that feel very tight and precise
• Extremely fast and reliable ultrasonic fingerprint scanner
• Very good audio quality, whether it is when using the speakers or earbuds
🚫 Reasons to Avoid:
• It is very top-heavy
📈 What to Improve:
• Funtouch OS 15 is nice, but it needs some extra refinements in terms of the customisation tools, features, and the overall polish
• Again, the display is gorgeous but it should have 2K resolution instead of 1.5K
• The ultra-wide and selfie cameras are unchanged compared to X100 Pro
PART 1:
DESIGN AND COMFORT
Out of all phones with this type of “huge circular camera bump” on the rear side, I think vivo X200 Pro has the neatest, most elegant design. This phone looks so beautiful and it feels awesome to hold.
I get it, some people don’t like this circular camera housing design. But honestly, I’ve grown to love it so much, especially if it is well-designed and not trying too hard to look unique.
Starting from the rear side, vivo X200 Pro keeps the circular camera design on the rear side, but with the outer camera ring being symmetrical instead of being shaped like a crescent moon like its predecessor.
Aside from that, I also love the fact that they have removed the “Xtreme Imagination” text under the camera housing. As a result, the whole phone looks a lot cleaner now.
The rear side texture itself is soft and smooth. It is an extremely well-made frosted (matte) glass that looks very simplistic and elegant at the same time.
The Titanium Grey unit that I have has this luxurious metallic look that I truly love. It is a warmer grey colour that can look different depending on the angle when you view it.
What I noticed when seeing this phone for the first time is the gorgeous brushed metal frame. It is an Aluminium frame in grey, which supports the “Titanium” look of the phone without actually using a Titanium material.
It is a nice little detail that makes the phone look so nice and feel so comfortable to hold. It is not slippery.
The frame is symmetrical and flat.
The frame doesn’t flow seamlessly with the curved back cover of the phone, but it doesn’t feel sharp to hold because it isn’t rough on the edges.
iQOO 13 - Full Review:
A phone that took two big steps forward, one step back.
After the successful launch of the iQOO 12, the company is hoping to make another huge noise with the new iQOO 13.
This is Indonesia's first smartphone to launch with Qualcomm's latest Snapdragon 8 Elite Mobile Platform, and possibly also the first one with the same chip in some other regions.
It also brings some other new advancements like a huge 6150 mAh battery, “Supercomputing Chip” Q2, a bigger vapour chamber cooling system, a 144 Hz 2K LTPO AMOLED display, an ultrasonic under-screen fingerprint scanner, and more.
In the past two weeks, I have tested this phone as one of my daily drivers and now I'll tell you all about it.
So now, please grab your snacks and enjoy the review! 🍿🍟
As a whole, the iQOO 13 has a similar design language as its predecessor. It still has that iconic design that has become iQOO's identity in the past year or so.
They called it the “Porthole Design” and I think it's a breath of fresh air when compared to a sea full of smartphones with circular camera housing designs. This design language is unique, despite the fact that some other brands have started to get inspired by it.
The unit that I have is the Black variant that they called Alpha, and I think it looks minimalistic, classic, and elegant. It is a safe and versatile colour, and even though I still prefer the White (Legend) variant, this one still looks great!
What I love is that they have changed the look and feel of the glass back cover from what looked more textured or gritty to something that looks and feels smoother. It is still matte glass, but much more refined.
The Alpha iQOO 13 model is only 7.99 mm thick and it weighs 207 grams. It is heavier than the Alpha iQOO 12, but the weight distribution is very good as it is not top heavy unlike a lot of phones with a huge circular camera housing.
On the front side of the iQOO 13, you can see a slightly bigger display than the iQOO 12 (6.82” vs 6.78”). The front side looks nice, similar to the iQOO 12 and a lot of other phones in its class.
It is still a flat screen, and I think it feels nicer for playing games even though gestures feel less satisfying.
iQOO 13 has thinner bezels on all four sides compared to the iQOO 12. Despite the increase in screen size, the phone is only 0.15 mm longer.
The only “bad” thing about it is that the bottom bezel/chin is still thicker than the other three bezels. A small thing to judge, tbh.
Galaxy S24 Ultra - Camera Review:
A Camera Powerhouse that Boasts Impressive Upgrades, with Room to Shine.
---------------
In this camera review of the Galaxy S24 Ultra, I will talk about my experience after several weeks of using this phone.
Keep in mind that I’m also using the OPPO Find X7 Ultra and iPhone 15 Pro Max as some of the indicators in deciding how good the camera is.
Let’s dive in! 👇
Before we dig deeper, let’s talk about the camera system of the Galaxy S24 Ultra compared to the S23 Ultra. You can see the table below to make it easier to understand, because I know not all of you like to read, lol.
What’s worth mentioning is also the new “AI-powered ProVisual Engine” that Samsung implemented on the S24 Series.
Quality-wise, they claimed that the Galaxy S24 Ultra has:
• Less noisy photos
• Enhanced AI ISP with 42% faster NPU for photos
• Denoising with gyro data for videos
• Brighter zoom photos at night due to 2x larger 5x lens and 60% larger pixel size compared to the S23 Ultra's 10x sensor
• Less blurry photos when using the 5x lens thanks to a 30% faster shutter speed and wider OIS correction angle
PART 1:
Exposure, Highlight Control, and Dynamic Range
When it comes to exposure and dynamic range, I found that the Galaxy S24 Ultra has a character that is slightly different from the S23 Ultra.
Overall, the S24 Ultra has a less contrasty look (depending on the scene), with less shadow details, and brighter highlights, but it retains the natural look of the scene as it doesn’t go overboard with the HDR effects. It also tends to expose scenes more correctly instead of overexposing them like what the S23 Ultra does sometimes.