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OnePlus tries to throw shade at Samsung’s new Galaxy S23 series – will the OnePlus 11 live up to it?

Two of Android’s big flagship phones are launching within just days of each other. The OnePlus 11 is set to hit the global market next week, and Samsung just announced the Galaxy S23 series today. And through the launch even, OnePlus has been trying its hardest to throw shade at Samsung’s smartphones.

While a good portion of Samsung’s event showcased the unity between Samsung, Qualcomm, and Google, OnePlus took to Twitter to share some “hot takes” about the event.

Like Samsung’s own event, much of the thread was focused on the camera, with OnePlus saying that “a good director can make any camera look good” and asking if we were going to see “anything without a blockbuster budget.” In a way, they’re fair arguments, but it really begs the question of whether or not the upcoming OnePlus 11 will be able to back up these takes.

Historically speaking, Samsung has been among the top three in smartphone cameras, just behind Apple and Google for the top cameras for stills. And in the video department, many have considered Samsung to be the best Android has to offer. Where has OnePlus fallen in all of that? Certainly not the same slots. Rankings board DXO puts the OnePlus 10 Pro around 17th place, and in a blind rankings test performed by MKBHD last year, OnePlus had no notable presence, either.

OnePlus also calls out the “Galaxy” name as referring to the “astronomical pricing.” And that’s true, the Galaxy S23 series isn’t particularly cheap, but the series also comes with the best Android update policy out there and the promise of speedy Android upgrades and monthly security patches. OnePlus often takes months to push out major updates, and security patches are bi-monthly at best, even under its new longer update commitment.

The other bit of shade OnePlus threw at the Galaxy S23 Ultra was in saying the 200MP camera wouldn’t help anyone find a charger in the box. It’s a fair shot to throw, given Samsung and many others ditched included charging bricks over the past few years, while OnePlus still includes a super-fast charger.

There are some good arguments mixed in with some cheap shots throughout the OnePlus thread, but it really all hinges on how the OnePlus 11 stacks up in its global release. Samsung’s phones may be iterative, but they’re still built on top of some of the best phones of last year. Based on what we’ve seen of the OnePlus 11 thus far out of China, it seems like a good offer too, but will it be good enough?

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