The OnePlus 11 Concept steals the Nothing Phone’s best trick

By Michael Allison Updated February 20, 2023

OnePlus has teased a new special concept phone based on the OnePlus 11. The Oppo subbrand highlighted a slew of LEDs around the back of the phone as a standout feature. The LEDs were reminiscent of the approach used by Nothing, another phone brand built by former OnePlus CEO Pete Lau.

The company sent out a teaser of its concept phone showing off what appeared to be LED lightning around the back in a very striking image. “The images show the engineering breakthroughs of the OnePlus 11 Concept by highlighting the icy blue pipelines which run through the entire back of the phone, almost like OnePlus 11 Concept has its own series of blood vessels. OnePlus 11 Concept’s pipelines are housed inside a bold and futuristic unibody glass design inspired by the calm stillness and vast power of a glacial lake,” OnePlus said, as reported by The Verge.

OnePlus shows off a OnePlus 11 with rear LED lighting. — OnePlus

This concept strongly recalls the LEDs of the Nothing Phone 1, which debuted last year as a phone that drew attention primarily for its flashing LED rear and Glyph interface. It was a feature that’s more useful in theory than in practice, and the Nothing Phone 1’s strengths lay in everything else.

That said, there is a market for flashing, glaring features on tech. Anyone who has tried to purchase gaming PC accessories would tell you that. When it comes to phones, it’s not necessarily the biggest addressable market, but that’s why it’s a concept phone, after all.

Back of the OnePlus 11 Concept phone. — OnePlus

Meanwhile, as far as real phones go, OnePlus has recently launched the OnePlus 11, a phone that arrived to rave critical reviews. Digital Trends reviewed it (twice), and found the phone to be an excellent one that outcompetes the Pixel 7 and rivals the Galaxy S23 Plus. It’s even now competitive with the cameras of the best phones, something OnePlus struggled with in the past.

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Michael Allison

Mobile News Writer

A UK-based tech journalist for Digital Trends, helping keep track and make sense of the fast-paced world of tech with a…

Mobile

New OnePlus budget phone comes packing 2 super-rare features

OnePlus Nord N30 5G rear face.

OnePlus has introduced a new budget-priced phone for the U.S. market that includes some compelling hardware -- and a couple of rare conveniences. The OnePlus Nord N30 5G will set you back by $300 and is already up for preorders in the U.S., with a free pair of earbuds in tow.
Starting with the standout tricks, this phone comes with a microSD slot for storage expansion. It supports cards with up to 1TB storage capacity, which should be plenty if you are into capturing a lot of videos and high-resolution videos. Just keep in mind that microSD cards of 1TB capacity from reputed brands could cost as much as the phone itself.

Another notable perk is the presence of a 3.5mm headphone jack on the OnePlus Nord N30 5G. You don’t have to fork out extra cash on a USB-C to 3.5mm adapter or splurge on a Bluetooth audio wearable. However, there is more to this OnePlus phone than meets the eye, as some of its hardware perks defy its asking price by a huge margin.
You are greeted by a 6.7-inch Full HD+ (2400 x 1080 pixels) display with a 120Hz refresh rate. For comparison, Apple will charge you $800 for the iPhone 14 Plus, but it still keeps you limited to a slow 60Hz LCD screen. And there is no ugly notch to be seen here, as the selfie camera is neatly housed inside a dot-shaped cutout at the top.
Qualcomm’s octa-core Snapdragon 695 chipset powers this phone, paired with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of onboard storage. The battery capacity is also fairly generous at 5,000 mAh. Plus, you get support for 50-watt fast charging. OnePlus ships the fast charger in the retail package, just in case you’re irked by the bad precedent set by the thousand-dollar phones from Apple and Samsung.

Mobile

The Nothing Phone 2 just leaked, and it’s not what I expected

Nothing Phone (2) leaked render.

Nothing has been hyping up It’s next phone with executive interviews and social media drop-feeding recently. But merely weeks before the anticipated July launch and eventual brand arrival in the U.S. market, the leaking world has spoiled the design surprise.

Prolific leaker Steve H. (aka @OnLeaks ) teamed up with SmartPrix to drop high-resolution renders of the Nothing Phone 2 based on a “testing stage unit.” To sum up my first impression after seeing these renders, I’d say it’s underwhelming — especially for a brand that takes a lot of pride in its design chops.

Mobile

Nothing Phone 2 confirmed to get a major upgrade you can’t see

Nothing Phone 1 with the Nothing Ear 1 headphones.

The Nothing Phone 2 will hit store shelves later this year, and as the brand inches closer to the big day for its highly anticipated phone, it has started drip-feeding the hype around it. Most recently, Nothing co-founder and CEO Carl announced on Twitter that the upcoming phone will draw power from Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 chipset.

Now, this isn’t the latest mobile silicon in Qualcomm’s arsenal, as phones armed with the newer and faster Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 — like the OnePlus 11 and Galaxy S23 Ultra — are already out there. However, the jump to a Snapdragon 8 series would still be a huge upgrade, as the Nothing Phone 1 made its way to the market rocking the decidedly midrange Qualcomm Snapdragon 778G+ processor.