OnePlus’ New Concept Phone is ‘Inspired by Luxury Timepieces’

By Shubhendu Vatsa - News Published: 13 Mar 2023

The 2023 Mobile World Congress in Barcelona delivered no shortage of wild and weird tech reveals. OnePlus joined in on the party and showed off its newest concept device — the ‘OnePlus 11 Concept’ phone, which is by far the most rounded concept device we have seen. Instead of riding the rollable or foldable wave, OnePlus is leaning on hardcore performance. Well, somewhat. The OnePlus 11 Concept’s attention-grabbing highlight is its “Active CryoFlux” liquid cooling technology, a “state-of-the-art” liquid cooling system, which promises to keep the device cool and efficient even under demanding scenarios.

Image: OnePlus

According to OnePlus, the cooling system has “a piezoelectric ceramic micropump at its core, connected to pipelines sandwiched between an upper and lower diaphragm. The micropump takes up an area less than 0.2 cm², enabling cooling liquid to circulate around the pipelines without significantly increasing OnePlus 11 Concept’s weight and thickness.”

The new cooling system does improve the overall performance but the numbers aren’t that impressive or game-changing. OnePlus says, “In laboratory tests, Active CryoFlux has been shown to bring down the smartphone‘s temperature during gaming by up to 2.1°C, improving a game’s frame rate by 3-4 degrees, or by 1.6°C during charging, shaving 30-45 (seconds) from the charging time.” So, while a slightly increased frame rate during gaming sessions may not seem ground-breaking, it does go on to show how a dedicated cooling system can come in handy in load-heavy scenarios.

Spec sheet and performance aside, the device is beautifully and elegantly designed too. The OnePlus 11 Concept features a “Glass Unibody,” with a metal frame encasing the phone. The phone seems quite lightweight and sleek and the curved glass back adds to the device’s chic and modern look. The phone’s rear also makes intelligent use of fancy blue LED lighting and a clear glass panel. It functions somewhat like a window, letting users take a peek inside and check out the cooling system in action.

As per the press release, “The clear back delivers a mesmerising view of the Active CryoFlux pipelines at work. Active CryoFlux liquid flows around the camera like a halo.” OnePlus has also allowed the cooling liquid to seamlessly flow around the circular camera array of the 11 Concept, lighting the whole thing up in the process.

Making things even fancier is the “industry-first, cutting-edge Guilloché etching,” inside the camera bump, which is “inspired by the artistry of luxury timepieces.” With phones getting more powerful day by day, it makes sense for companies to have dedicated cooling systems in place to help improve overall performance and efficiency. Even though this new concept phone will never see the light of day, the OnePlus 11 Concept is a clear indication of where things might be headed for future OnePlus phones.

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Shubhendu Vatsa

Shubhendu Vatsa is an experienced reporter specialising in video game, eSports and technology coverage. A BTech IT graduate, Shubhendu has previously written for entertainment-based publications such as GiveMeSport, Touch, Tap, Play, Attack of the Fanboy, EssentiallySports, Twinfinite and The Load Out.

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