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OnePlus is riding a wave that could propel it over the hump that’s prevented its phones from reaching the upper echelon of the food chain. The OnePlus Open prevailed last fall in surprising myself (and my colleagues) in becoming the best foldable phone around. Now there’s a chance for the OnePlus 12 to propel the series reputation to the next level.
In my years of reviewing OnePlus phones, they’ve almost come up short in achieving that premier status bestowed upon the best phones. Usually the camera performance of OnePlus' flagship phones lags against its main rivals, but the OnePlus 12 aims to remedy this in a big way with an upgraded Hasselblad Camera for Mobile system, newer image processing, and larger sensor.
But beyond the camera, the OnePlus 12 also sees the return of wireless charging — which adds to this phone's overall value. And if that’s not enough to convince you of the phone maker's "never settle" philosophy, the OnePlus 12 will still cost you no more than last year’s model. All of this makes for a compelling argument for the OnePlus 12, so I’ll dive into all the details on how it shapes up in my review.
ONEPLUS 12 REVIEW: PRICE AND AVAILABILITY
Technically speaking, the OnePlus 12’s starting price increases to $799. That’s a $100 increase over the OnePlus 11. It’s not what anyone wants to see, but it’s not entirely surprising either given how Apple and Google upped the prices of their respective top-of-the-line flagships by the same amount.
Through an exclusive trade-in offer available only through the OnePlus’ website, you can get an additional $100 off the price of the phone by trading in any phone in any condition — effectively bringing the cost of the OnePlus 12 down to the same $699 cost as last year’s model. Once again, the company is undercutting its rivals in this area, and quite frankly, it’s proof that the OnePlus 12 is one of the best affordable flagships around.
While the base model with 12GB of RAM and 256GB storage starts out at $799, there’s also a 16GB RAM model offering 512GB of storage for $899. It will go on sale starting February 6 at OnePlus directly and select retailers such as Best Buy and Amazon.
ONEPLUS 12 REVIEW: SPECIFICATIONS
| Display | 6.82-inch 2K OLED |
| Refresh rate | 1-120Hz adaptive |
| Rear cameras | 50MP main, 48MP ultrawide, 64MP 3x telephoto |
| Front camera | 32MP selfie |
| Chipset | Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 |
| RAM | 12GB/16GB |
| Storage | 256GB/512GB/1TB |
| Battery | 5,400 mAh |
| Charging | 80W wired, 50W wireless |
| Colors | Flowy Emerald, Silky Black |
There’s a lot to say about the OnePlus 12’s design. It’s underrated and deserves a lot more attention because quite frankly, it’s stunning to behold.
There’s just something about the circular camera hump on the back of the phone, combined with its metal trim sides and textured casing, it always looks good out of my pockets. Smudges rarely stay on because of its textured casing, while the narrower size of the OnePlus 12 makes it much easier to grasp with one hand over the Galaxy S24 Ultra or iPhone 15 Pro Max.
There are some minor changes to the OnePlus 12 design, like the repositioning of the silent switch to the left side, but the overall design language and aesthetic remains the same. Although, OnePlus is generous enough to fashion an IR blaster on the top edge of the phone — allowing it to double as the ultimate universal remote to control all of my favorite gadgets at home.
My only concern about the OnePlus 12 design is that it feels more top heavy than its predecessor, which is a result of the phone's increased weight. (It's half-an-ounce heavier than the OnePlus 11.) I don’t think it’s a dealbreaker, but I’m more careful about handling the phone because it won’t end nicely if it were to drop accidentally.
ONEPLUS 12 REVIEW: DISPLAY
For the price, the OnePlus 12’s 6.82-inch 2K ProXDR display has its share of delights, including OnePlus' claim that the screen can reach an unheard of 4,500 nits peak brightness. From what I can gather during my time using the phone, the ProXDR on the OnePlus 12 dishes up strong brightness in direct sunlight — allowing me to see everything with crystal clarity results.
I’m still skeptical about the phone reaching that 4,500 nit peak, but I’ll be content if it can eclipse the 1,300 nits of brightness that the OnePlus 11 produced with its display. Paired with a 120Hz display refresh rate, I find the OnePlus 12 suitable for intensive gaming where there’s a lot of action happening on screen. Everything flows smoothly, making the most demanding games look fluid.
One interesting tidbit about the display is Aqua Touch, which is new technology that ensures accuracy if the phone’s screen is wet. If you’re like me and sometimes bring your phone into the shower to scroll through your feeds or play a few tunes, then you can appreciate Aqua Touch’s increased sensitivity.
OnePlus phones have always come up short in the camera department against their rivals, but the new triple camera arrangement of the OnePlus 12 intends to prove that this phone can finally break that stigma. The 4th Gen Hasselblad Camera for Mobile system of the OnePLus 12 consists of a main 50MP camera, 48MP ultrawide, and a 64MP periscope camera with 3x optical zoom.
The telephoto camera is an iterative improvement over the OnePlus 11’s 32MP 2x telephoto zoom, but I’m happy to report that just about every performance metric around the cameras is better than before.
Starting with the 50MP main camera, it produces excellent results accompanied by sharp details, realistic colors, and good dynamic range. However, I don’t see a tremendous difference against the OnePlus 11’s main camera when the lighting conditions are good.
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