The OnePlus 12 deviates from this pattern by being more expensive than the OnePlus 11 at launch. However, it justifies the price increase by adding some new features while still giving everything you’d expect: a fantastic screen, capable performance, and excellent cameras. Once again, OnePlus lives up to its mantra of never settling.
Design & Build
- Available in green and black
- IP65 rating rather than IP68
- Alert slider still a handy feature
I adore the OnePlus 12’s design. Despite my preference for green technology, it appears to be superior than any other phone I’ve tested.
The ’12 weighs 220g and is 9.15mm thick, which is standard these days: it’s a large, heavy flagship that doesn’t fit readily into pockets.
OnePlus has retained the large circular camera module on the rear, which was initially debuted with the 11, replete with inscriptions stating the specifications of each camera.
The green hue is called Flowy Emerald, and it is said to be inspired by the rivers that flow down the Alps. Aside from marketing jargon, the texture is similar to an earth-toned marble, with tones that change based on ambient lighting. It is also available in Silky Black for people who do not enjoy green as much as I do.
The glass back and curved display both feel smooth in the palm. During testing, the phone withstood an accidental drop, with the Corning Gorilla Glass 5 on the back and Gorilla Glass Victus 2 on the front doing an excellent job of not cracking or breaking.
The IP65 certification reduces the OnePlus 12’s susceptibility to water and dust damage compared to the 11, but it still falls short of the IP68 standard, which many other premium smartphones meet. This implies that the OnePus 12 cannot be submerged in water; it is only protected from low-pressure water jets.
I’m a big lover of the OnePlus alert slider. It removes the need for several screen tapping and volume slider presses. It’s an excellent argument to choose a OnePlus phone versus competitors without one.
There’s no headphone jack, which is the usual for premium phones these days. The SIM tray (with dual-nano SIM compatibility) is next to the USB-C connector at the bottom, while the volume rocker and power button live on the right-hand side.
Haptics – the vibrations for alerts and key presses – are among the nicest I’ve used, with distinct patterns for alarms, calls, and messages. You may change the strength and alternate between ‘sharp’ and ‘gentle’ according to your preferences.
Screen & Speakers
- Very bright 6.82-inch display
- 120Hz adaptive refresh rate
- Stereo speakers with Dolby Atmos support
The AMOLED display has been expanded from 6.7 to 6.82 inches, as seen on the OnePlus 11. The resolution is also greater, measuring 1440 x 3168. As previously, it employs LPTO technology with a refresh rate of 120Hz, which may be automatically reduced to 1Hz to conserve battery life.
It supports Dolby Vision and HDR10+ and is colorful, bold, and responsive to taps and scrolls. Bright sunlight has no effect on it because of the incredible peak brightness of 4,500 nits, which is approximately 2.5 times higher than the brightest current phones. It’s nearly too bright in dimly lit spaces, but it adjusts automatically.
Simply said, the OnePlus 12 is ideal for Netflix viewing and gaming.
There’s an under-display fingerprint sensor for biometrics, and face recognition. Both work a treat, with the latter having no issues with glasses or only minor trouble with dark rooms.
The stereo speakers are superb, with support for Dolby Atmos. They sound clean and vibrant, with some bass. I wouldn’t want to listen to much music on these, but they’re fantastic for podcasts and gaming.
There are four sound profiles available in the Dolby Atmos part of the settings: Smart (adaptive), Movie, Gaming, and Music. My preference was for a movie.
There is also support for spatial audio and ‘holo audio’ (see below), as long as you have appropriate headphones and applications. The same is true for head tracking. When I tested the Jabra Elite 8 Active earphones, spatial audio sounded good for action sequences, but conversation was echo-y.
…the screen is buttery smooth and sublime for streaming Netflix shows and playing games
Holo audio allows you to hear diverse sounds originating from various directions. So you may listen to Spotify in the front, receive notifications on the right, and hear alarms on the left. That is the theory. When I tested it, alerts didn’t play over Spotify, and the timer stopped the audio completely.
Clearly, some work has to be done there, or you’ll need OnePlus’ own buds.
Specs & Performance
- Snapdragon 8 Gen 3
- 12/16GB RAM
- 256/512GB storage
If you want flagship-level performance, the OnePlus 12 delivers. It is powered by a Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 CPU, which is also found in the Xiaomi 14 and Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra, albeit it has been tuned particularly for the latter.
Depending on your purchase, you will receive either 12 or 16GB of RAM and 256 or 512GB of storage. Even the basic model is more than adequate for demanding applications and games. Needless to say, there is enough of performance for day-to-day chores.
To keep that performance in control, the OnePlus 12 has a Dual Cryo-velocity VC Cooling System with a bigger surface area and shorter gas-liquid circulation distance than competitors, resulting in better heat dissipation.
Putting aside the technical lingo, it works. The phone remained extremely cool while playing the hard game Genshin Impact. In truth, the OnePlus 12 only felt warm when charging, which was not an issue.
Genshin Impact may operate at medium graphics settings without overclocking. There was no stuttering, and reactions to taps, swipes, and camera adjustments were fast. This is likely supported by HyperBoost, HyperRendering, and HyperTouch, three new technologies in Oxygen OS 14 that aim to increase gaming performance.
OnePlus 12 Benchmarks
In our tests, the OnePlus 12 outperformed competitors in GeekBench 5. This includes the iPhone 14 Pro Max, which is noteworthy given that iPhones often outperform Android devices here.
Surprisingly, it fell short of the OnePlus 11 on GeekBench 6, which features the older chip – a Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, also used in the more cheap OnePlus 12R.
However, these synthetic benchmarks are only one measure of performance, and it does not imply that the system is slower in general.
The ’12 achieved very amazing GFXBench results, demonstrating the phone’s graphical strength in contrast to rival flagships. It also features among of the quickest charging speeds in the group, only surpassed by the 11, which has a smaller battery that recharges faster.
Cameras
- Superb main camera
- Capable low-light performance
- Selfie camera not as impressive as rivals
OnePlus is continuing its collaboration with Hassleblad on its triple rear camera setup.
The primary 50Mp camera is equipped with Sony’s LYT-808 1/1.4 sensor and OIS (optical stabilisation). The sensor lets in a lot of light, allowing the phone to capture sceneries and textures with amazing clarity.
The OnePlus 12 makes it easy to take an impressive photo
This also applies to photos taken in dark environments. Clouds in the night sky have incredible depth, and bright lights are handled well without too much flaring or glare. Textures appear lifelike, and colours are realistic. The OnePlus 12 makes it easy to take an impressive photo.
The improved 64-megapixel f/2.6 telephoto camera offers 3x optical zoom. There is also a 6x ‘lossless’ zoom and up to a staggering 120x digital zoom. Using optical zoom, the camera can easily resolve minutiae such as hair strands.
When you start getting into digital zoom territory, it still works at 10x. Beyond that, things begin to blur, and if you reach 60x zoom, it becomes difficult to hold the phone motionless enough, making it a mostly meaningless exercise.
Some competitors (like the iPhone 15) lack a telephoto camera, therefore this is a significant advantage for OnePlus.
The 48Mp wide-angle camera delivers lower tones than the primary camera, with softer edges and less flare. Compare the hues below, particularly on the grass:
A 32-megapixel front-facing camera with a Sony IMX615 sensor is available for selfies. Portrait mode gives a good amount of background blur, although there is some smearing on loose hair. This camera is less stunning to use at night than the primary back camera.
Photos may be altered immediately in OnePlus’s gallery, which includes skin retouching capabilities and an eraser tool for removing undesired background components, or in Google Photos. I greatly like using Google’s Magic Eraser, which automatically detects and pre-selects background components for speedier editing.
Neither is flawless, with some strange textures occasionally left behind, but Google’s editing capabilities are unquestionably better. However, you’ll need a Google One membership; OnePlus 12 owners receive a three-month free trial.
The OnePlus 12 can shoot up to 8K video at 24fps, as well as 4K, 1080p, and 720p at 30fps or 60fps, respectively. There is an option to enable HDR video (Dolby Vision) and a ‘super steady’ setting to reduce tremors.
Battery Life & Charging
- 5400mAh battery
- 100W charging
- 50W wireless charging
The OnePlus 12 is equipped with a 5,400mAh battery. On average, this lasted a day and a half, but less if I left the 120Hz refresh rate on permanently and used it actively for gaming.
The battery charges at 100W, thus it gets from empty to 67% full in 15 minutes and 100% in half an hour.
On top of that, there is 50W wireless charging. At the time of writing, the official OnePlus charger is available for slightly under £40.
It’s fantastic to see a flagship phone that has not just a long battery life, but also fast wired and wireless charging. Not everyone can compete with it.
Software
- OxygenOS 14.0 (based on Android 14)
- Four years of OS updates
- Five years of security updates
OxygenOS has long been one of the Tech Advisor team’s favourite Android skins, and it remains so today. It’s sleek, straightforward, and has minimum app bloat. There’s a lovely small ‘OnePlus’ folder with some of the brand’s own apps, but no unwanted games are present.
You may easily customize the home screen with huge app directories and support for widgets that are not accessible on other Android versions, such as Pinterest. Timers also neatly reside in the corner of the screen while active, allowing you to check the state even when you’re in another program.
This is the most recent update, based on Android 14. That means it has features such as smart cutout, where you can long press and person or object in a photo to isolate it from the rest of the background. This can then be saved to your gallery or sent to someone.
There are also new security tools such as the Safety Centre, where you can choose what data is shared on an app-by-app basis. Meanwhile, Auto Pixelate 2.0 blurs any sensitive information that the phone senses on images.
OnePlus offers four years of OS upgrades and five years of security updates. This is comparable to other manufacturers, however it falls short of the Google Pixel 8 and Samsung Galaxy S24 series, which both provide an outstanding seven years of service.
Hopefully, more Android businesses will follow suit in the future years, as it encourages users to keep their phones longer, which is good for both their wallets and the environment. Clearly, it is less effective for sales…
It’s easy to recommend the OnePlus 12
Price & Availability
The OnePlus 12 is available from 6 February, and can be pre-ordered from OnePlus from 23 January.
It is available on Amazon US and other sites but wasn’t at the time of review.
Here’s the prices for the OnePlus 12:
- 12GB/256GB – $799/£849
- 16GB/512GB – $899/£999
Should you buy the OnePlus 12?
The OnePlus 12 is a terrific and enjoyable phone to use. It features a magnificent and unusual look, an exceptionally bright and good performance, fantastic primary cameras, and a surprisingly extended battery life for everything running in the background.
The primary disadvantages are that Samsung and Google make lengthier guarantees about OS and security upgrades, and the pricing isn’t as low as the OnePlus 11 was. However, the reinforced specifications and a tight economy make this unavoidable.
The truth is that I have no reservations about offering the OnePlus 12 my highest recommendation. It isn’t perfect, but it should definitely be on your shortlist, alongside the Google Pixel 8 Pro.
Specs
- Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3
- Android 14 (Oxygen OS 14.0)
- 6.82-inches, 1440 x 3168 QHD+, 1-120Hz LTPO 3.0, 20.1:9, AMOLED display
- In-display fingerprint sensor
- Camera:
- 50Mp Sony’s LYT-808 main camera, f/1.6, OIS
- 48Mp Sony’s IMX581 ultrawide, f/2.2
- 64Mp OV64B periscope telephoto, f/2.6
- 16Mp Sony IMX615 selfie camera, f/2.4
- 12/16GB LPDDR5X RAM
- 128GB/256GB UFS 4.0 non-expandable storage
- USB 3.2 Type-C port
- Dual nano-SIM slot
- 5400mAh dual cell battery
- 100W wired charging
- 50W wireless charging
- NFC
- 5G
- Bluetooth 5.4
- Wi-Fi 7-ready
- 164.3mm × 75.8mm × 9.15mm
- 220g
