Samsung Galaxy S23 vs OnePlus 11: Which is the better buy?

Samsung and OnePlus take very different approaches to smartphone releases. While the Korean giant releases several dozen handsets each year, its Chinese rival takes the approach of ‘less is more’.

Still Samsung’s regular Galaxy S23 is priced relatively similarly to the flagship OnePlus 11. But how do you decide between two of the best Android phones you can buy?

To help you decide, we’ve compared these smartphones in terms of design, display, performance, and more.

Differences between Samsung Galaxy S23 and OnePlus 11

In terms of design, the Galaxy S23 has a sleek, premium look and feel. It features Gorilla Glass Victus 2 on both the front and back, ensuring durability while maintaining an elegant appearance.

It’s impressively slim and lightweight at 196g, and holds an IP68 rating for water and dust resistance.

By comparison, the OnePlus 11 is slightly bulkier and heavier, weighing 205g. It features the slightly less durable Gorilla Glass 5 on the rear and first-generation Gorilla Glass Victus on the screen. Although not as slim as the Galaxy S23, it still offers a premium build quality.

However, it has a lower IP64 rating, meaning it can only survive a spray of water as opposed to submersion.

The Galaxy S23 boasts a 6.1in AMOLED display (with centre hole-punch selfie camera), making it noticeably smaller than the OnePlus 11. As a result, it has a slightly lower resolution, but you probably won’t notice the difference.

It’s also a flat display, while the OnePlus 11 is slightly curved at the edges. It has a larger 6.7in AMOLED display, the hole-punch camera is in the top-left corner here.

But both phones offer excellent displays with a 120Hz refresh rate, and LTPO tech that can automatically drop all the way down to 1Hz to save battery.

Audio quality is good on both, although neither has a 3.5mm headphone jack. If you don’t own a pair of wireless earbuds, you will have to rely on the built-in stereo speakers.

Both smartphones are powered by Qualcomm’s latest Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset, ensuring fast and reliable performance.

The Samsung Galaxy S23 has 8GB of RAM on all models, plus storage options of 128GB or 256GB. The OnePlus 11 provides a choice between 8GB and 16GB of RAM, paired with 128GB or 256GB of storage. Neither phone supports expandable storage via microSD.

In our Geekbench 5 Multi-core test, the Galaxy S23 scored 5001 points, slightly ahead of the OnePlus 11, which scored 4884 points.

Both phones handle everyday tasks effortlessly and can handle demanding games without breaking a sweat, maintaining a consistent frame rate even at maximum settings, and avoiding overheating.

You also get 5G connectivity on both, but the OnePlus 11 goes a step further with Wi-Fi 7, while the Galaxy S23 uses Wi-Fi 6E.

The OnePlus 11 takes the lead in the battery department with a larger 5000mAh dual-cell battery. It also offers 100W wired charging. The Galaxy S23, while having a smaller battery at 3900mAh, still provides respectable battery life, but it’s 45W wired charging is significantly slower.

The Galaxy S23 can last through the day with about 10-20% battery remaining during moderate usage days. While it doesn’t include an adapter in the box, just a cable, a 67W adapter, it charges to 41% in 30 minutes.

Battery life is slightly stronger on the OnePlus 11, though it won’t stetch to two days unless you’re a very light user. However, it boasts impressive 100W fast charging, charging from 0% to 71% in 15 minutes and reaching a full charge in just 26 minutes.

The Galaxy S23 features a versatile camera setup, including a 50Mp main camera, 12Mp ultrawide, 10Mp 3x optical telephoto and 12MP front-facing camera.

Meanwhile, the OnePlus 11 features a 50Mp main camera, 48MP ultrawide, 32Mp portrait telephoto and 16Mp selfie camera.

In general, the S23 offers more detail, although there’s only a noticeable difference in some scenarios.

A more apparent distinction is the white balance. OnePlus 11 photos tend to be warmer, giving it an advantage over the Galaxy S23, which sometimes has an overly cool tint.

Both phones produce good night photos. The Galaxy S23 tends to offer more detail and emphasis highlights, while the OnePlus 11 has more contrasting night shots with less brightened shadows, often appearing more natural.

Price & availability

The OnePlus 11 is available at a price of £729/$699 for the model with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage, while the 16GB RAM and 256GB storage version is priced at £799/$799. You can buy it direct from OnePlus.

Only Metrofone is selling the phone on contract (with Vodafone), and there are no options in the US. Your best bet may be to combine it with a SIM-only deal.

And to do that, you’ll need to buy the phone outright. Here’s the latest pricing information:

The Galaxy S23 is available directly from Samsung and its pricing starts at £849/$799 for 8GB RAM and 128GB storage. You can get a 8GB/256GB model for £899/$859 too. Either way, you get 8GB of RAM.

Here’s the latest outright pricing:

Here are the best contract deals in the UK for both phones:

If you’re in the US, here are the best contract deals for the S23 with at least 3GB of data:

Verdict

Choosing between these smartphones is not easy, although there are some key differences between them.

The OnePlus 11 offers a larger display, more RAM, a bigger battery and faster charging. Performance and photo quality are very similar.

The Galaxy S23 is also more expensive than the OnePlus 11, making the latter a better choice for most people.

Be sure to also check our charts of the best OnePlus phones and the best Samsung Galaxy phones. You can also compare them with other best phones you can buy.

Specs

Samsung Galaxy S23:

• Android 13 with One UI 5.1
• 6.1in, 120Hz, FHD+, Dynamic AMOLED display
• Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy
• 8GB RAM
• 128/256GB storage
• Cameras:
  • 50Mp f/1.8 main camera
  • 12Mp f/2.2 ultrawide camera
  • 10Mp f/2.4 3x optical telephoto camera
  • 12Mp f/2.2 front facing camera
• 5G
• Wi-Fi 6E
• Bluetooth 5.3
• Stereo speakers
• USB-C
• 3900mAh battery
• 45W wired charging
• 15W wireless charging
• 4.5W reverse wireless charging
• IP68
• Gorilla Glass Victus 2
• 157.8 x 76.2 x 7.6 mm
• 196g

OnePlus 11:

• Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2
• Android 13 (Oxygen OS 13.0)
• 6.7in, 3216 x 1440 QHD+, 1-120Hz LTPO 3.0, 20.1:9, AMOLED display
• In-display fingerprint sensor
• Camera:
  • 50Mp Sony IMX890 main camera, f/1.8, OIS
  • 48Mp Sony IMX581 ultrawide, f/2.2
  • 32Mp Sony IMX709 portrait telephoto, f/2.0
  • 16Mp Sony IMX471 selfie camera, f/2.45
• 8/16GB LPDDR5X RAM
• 128GB UFS 3.1/256GB UFS 4.0 non-expandable storage
• USB 2.0 Type-C port
• Dual nano-SIM slot
• 5000mAh dual cell battery
• 100W wired charging
• NFC
• 5G
• Bluetooth 5.3
• Wi-Fi 7-ready
• 163.1 mm × 74.1mm × 8.5mm
• 205g