Verdict
The OnePlus 12 ticks plenty of boxes , from premium display technical school to able Hasselblad - brand cameras and reliable all - sidereal day battery life . However , the goodly toll hike is a tad disappointing , especially with lacklustre enduringness compared to likewise priced alternatives , and there ’s no AI technical school here either .
Pros
Cons
Key Features
Introduction
The OnePlus 12 is the company ’s top - end 2024 flagship with all the bell and whistles you come to expect from high - ending smartphone tech – and then some .
It ’s not only fashionable but has one of the good - equipped displays around in 2024 , a Hasselblad - branded camera system and long battery life , and it brings back much - call for features like wireless charging .
However , it ’s also much more expensive than the £ 729/$699OnePlus 11 , now start out at £ 849/$799 . The question is , does it still have that same allure , or has OnePlus essay to do too much with this class ’s smartphone ?
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I ’ve been using the OnePlus 12 for the past couple of calendar week , and here are my final thoughts .
Design
The OnePlus 12 is n’t a gross rethinking of the flagship , sporting a very similar design to its predecessor – but considering the OnePlus 11 was quite the witness , I do n’t think that ’s a particular issue . significantly , small changes to the overall conception make the OnePlus 12 not only stand out compared to its herald , but much of thepremium smartphone market .
That ’s not that apparent when looking front - on , but toss the telephone set over and the difference is immediately apparent . The OnePlus 12 sports a rather unique pattern on the rear that ’s say to be inspired by nature – with the Flowy Emerald culture , anyway .
It ’s not a look we ’ve seen before , but the etch normal certainly draw attention during the revaluation period , with multiple masses remarking about the look of the phone . That pattern even blends into the gravid circular camera caparison for a more uniform flavor , and it absolutely matches the dark-green aluminium chassis too .
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It ’s deserving noting that the telephone is also available in a more muted black finishing if you want something a little more understate , but I call back that the Flowy Emerald culture will be much more popular .
On that camera hump ; yes , it ’s large , but I do n’t remember it detracts from the overall design . In fact , I call back it ’s moderately stylish , with a sheeny metal frame that blend well into the atomic number 13 skeletal system . There ’s also a small bit of glitter within the housing for an excess mo of pizzazz . All of this help the OnePlus 12 to be easily identifiable because , let ’s be honest , most smartphones see identical front - on .
Throw in a matte finish that does a particularly unspoilt job at negating fingerprints , along with a trend screen and rounded edges and you ’ve got something that feels great in the hand . It ’s not particularly svelte at 220 g-force and 9.2 mm thick , but it does feel somewhat strong notwithstanding .
Another modification to the core pattern of the OnePlus 12 is the placement of the fan - favourite Alert Slider . While it still works in the same way , giving you a fast and light way to switch between Silent , Vibrate and Ring modes , it has shifted from the phone ’s right to the left hand .
That might be a big deal if you ’re a long - time OnePlus fan , but for me , it take only a Clarence Day or so to get used to . In fact , as a long - time iPhone user , I actually favor the unexampled emplacement , mirroring that of the iPhone ’s mute switch .
It ’s not just for esthetic either ; the move was for the most part down to improve antenna performance , and while that ’s quite tough to test , I did point out that the phone was speedy at connect to Wi - Fi networks when hopping between stations on the tube .
There is upgradedIP65protection to protect against rubble and water ingress , but it ’s still a ways off theIP68you’ll find from competing flagship like theSamsung Galaxy S24andiPhone 15 . It ’s a particularly celebrated impuissance given the rising price of this year ’s flagship .
There ’s alsoCorning Gorilla Glass 5protection that should hopefully protect your phone from a drop or two , but again , the technical school is a small long in the tooth .
You ’ll also see the takings of the classic IR blaster embedded in the top of the earphone , allow you to control overbold home devices , fan , TVs and more . It ’s a rather niche characteristic that OnePlus claims watch more manipulation in the Eastern grocery , but it ’s one that I find myself using quite often in place of explore for the remote control down the side of the sofa .
Screen
The OnePlus 12 ’s presentation is a literal dainty for the middle , with every turn of premium screen technical school load down into the 6.8 - inch board . Let ’s startle with the basics ; it has a 2 K resolution , 120Hz refresh rate withLTPO 3.0support that allows it to cast down to 1Hz , and a unfeignedly staggering peak cleverness of 4500nits , making it an absolute joy to use in any firing experimental condition .
OnePlus has also taken a leaf out of Honor ’s books with 2160HzPWM dimming , combat-ready when the display ’s smartness is below 70nits . It ’s not go away to benefit everyone , but if you find that you get eye strain when using your phone , the OnePlus 12 may negate that somewhat .
Then there ’s also premium screen tech includingDolby Vision , HDR Vivid , HDR10 + , the same ProXDR technical school as theOnePlus Open , all powered by a consecrate PixelWorks X7 display chipset .
That ’s a pot of marketing jargon , but it fundamentally means that the OnePlus 12 ’s 6.8 - in OLED showing is an downright peach no matter of what you ’re up to .
The 2 kelvin result ( which need to be spark in the preferences app ) deliver kinky visuals with not a hint of pixelation , take both film and games await extra detailed on the gadget , and the colour are equally vivid . It ’s a rich display experience that can hike colours slightly past born story , although there are multiple colour options in the options card if you find oneself it ’s a slight too vivacious for your taste sensation .
The curved nature of the display will in all likelihood be like marmite for some ; it fix swipe navigation gestures feel nice and it sure makes the earphone easier to wield than the similarly sizedSamsung Galaxy S24 Ultra , but it also means there ’s a slight shadow on the two foresightful edges of the screen where it curves when looked at psyche - on , and as with most curving phones , the palm rejection technical school is n’t quite perfect .
Whether that ’s a dealbreaker will arrive down to personal preference , but even as someone who favor flat screens , the curved display of the OnePlus 12 did n’t take long to set to .
Cameras
The OnePlus 12 continues the party ’s partnership with Hasselblad , sporting the quaternary - gen Hasselblad camera system of rules for mobile and the software program tuning that come with it . It ’s still a treble television camera system , much like its forerunner , but the 48MP 2x telephoto has given way for a more capable , larger 64MP 3x periscope lens that redeem serious quality rapid growth guessing at greater distances .
It ’s a helpful raise as I felt the 2x telephoto of the OnePlus 11 did n’t always trim in quite as much as I ’d have liked , but the new periscope electron lens deposit thing somewhat . It ’s still not quite up to the levels of zoom offered by the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra andiPhone 15 Pro Max , but then again , those phone are quite a fleck more expensive than OnePlus ’ option .
I found that , between the 3x and 6x scratch , the images captured were pretty great . There was flock of detail thanks to the picture element binning tech on crack , and with OIS , shot were usually free of motion fuzz .
It ’s not a consistent experience – anything above the 10x mark and you ’ll start to see artefacting , and the 120x zoom is near unuseable as with most extreme digital zooms – but stick to the lower ends of zoom and you ’ll be fairly well-chosen with the outcome .
The main 50MP snapper may not sound different , but it sports the same master sensing element as the OnePlus Open , the Sony LYT 808 . At 1/1.4 - inch , it ’s larger than the OnePlus 11 ’s master television camera and boasts an improved f/1.6 aperture that , combined with OIS , delivers much good light intake in down in the mouth - light scenario .
It can sometimes brighten thing a little too by artificial means , but by playing with the EV cadence , you could get some pretty nice night shots with balanced colour and plenty of detail . Just do n’t expect near night - vision - tier financial support like you ’d find from theVivo X100 Pro – it needssomesource of brightness level to do its job .
Daytime shots are even more telling , with great dynamical range and vivacious colours that make icon toss off . It can even easy deal uttermost backlighting , although those stroke can look a little artificial depending on how aggressive the post - processing is .
Rounding out the tercet is the same 48MP 114 - level ultrawide lens as the OnePlus 11 . It ’s still a solid ultrawide lens well suited to computer architecture , landscapes and mathematical group shots , and it does a surprisingly good job in scummy - light scenario too – a surprisal considering the latter is n’t usually a strong point of ultrawides .
The selfie camera has been upgraded from 16MP to 32MP , although it ’s still your canonic desexualize - focus snapper . It has the potential drop to take some expectant selfies , but the colour seems a little washed out compared to the rear snapper , so I ’d probably limit its manipulation to Snapchat and video claim .
You do n’t get any nerveless AI - based exposure editing tech like theGoogle Pixel 8or Samsung Galaxy S24 , however . perchance with OxygenOS 15 in a yr ? Who know …
Performance
The flagship experience persist in when it comes to processing might , sporting Qulacomm ’s latestSnapdragon 8 Gen 3chipset along with up to 16 GB of LPDDRX5 RAM and 512 GB of UFS 4.0 storage .
OnePlus further cement its carrying into action gains with processor vitalisation that allows the phone to supervise and control the temperature of each core of the chipset , and there ’s also a three-fold - cryo velocity cooling arrangement that should move heat by from the CPU and other components for ordered public presentation .
However , bench mark examination reveals that , even with the high - performance style enable , the OnePlus 12 ca n’t compete with consecrated gambling phones like theROG Phone 8 professional , even with a fairly similar spec .
The benchmark answer – peculiarly in the CPU department – are more in line withSnapdragon 8 Gen 2 - equipped rival than those with the Gen 3 – so it looks like OnePlus ’ vitalization tech may hinder , rather than assist , overall carrying into action .
That said , you ’re not potential to mark that in actual - life condition , nor will you remark the phone get that blistering – even during our stress trial run benchmark , the phone only got slightly warm at the side .
Despite the slightly lacklustre number , that still translates to rapid mundane utilization , with the OnePlus 12 handling just about anything I could throw at it during the time I spent with it . That straddle from scrolling through mass medium - laborious apps like Instagram and Threads to represent games like Survivor.io and even chop-chop exporting a fun 30 - second edit of a late trip using CapCut .
OnePlus does n’t habituate the same aggressive barrage fire - save technique as the likes of Honor and Xiaomi either , meaning that app notifications were consistent throughout my time with the phone – and that ’s without locking any apps to stop them from closing .
Taking it one whole tone further , OnePlus will before long tally a new ‘ Strong Lock ’ functionality that ’ll allow you to keep six apps in read/write memory for up to 72 hour , meaning the apps will always be exactly as you leave them with no re - lading when re - opening the app . There ’s no word yet on when it ’ll get , but it does vocalise like a handy feature indeed .
Software
The OnePlus 12 come with the recent form of Android , Android 14 , along with the society ’s OxygenOS UI on top . While the inclusion of a custom Android skin can sometimes be more of a encumbrance than a supporter to the overall experience – we ’re look at you , Xiaomi – OnePlus ’ implementation is one of the good around .
Everything about OxygenOS 14 on the OnePlus 12 feel polished . You ’ve got an gentle - to - see interface with very small deviation to descent Android in terms of the core layout – the configurations computer menu looks pretty stock , and the telling shade functions in the way you expect – and where thing do differ , they ’re generally for the better .
That includes a swathe of custom ringtones and school text tone to choose from , broken down into several categories , along with the power to customize not only the colour scheme of the UI to match your wallpaper but the font , picture and just about everything else you could imagine – and that also applies to the lock chamber projection screen and always - on display .
As note earlier , OxygenOS does a unspoilt line than many when it arrive to battery optimization too , with no aggressive app optimisation or a famous delay in receiving notifications .
There are also handy characteristic in the phone ’s gallery app that ’ll automatically pixelate sensitive information in photos before sharing them on social media and more , along with elements like Zen Space , HyperTouch and HyperRendering gaming tech . candidly , there are too many features and functions to cite here , but it feels like one of the more feature - packed iteration of Android that I ’ve used of late .
The only area where it ’s lacking is in the AI section . One of the biggest draws of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 is that it can campaign generative AI chore all on - gadget . Samsung has taken this in its stride with AI - powered transcription , interlingual rendition and even photo editing technical school , but there ’s nothing like that found here – and that ’s more than a little disappointing .
However , there ’s a possibility it ’ll make an show in future with OnePlus promise four years of OS upgrades and five years of bi - monthly security dapple . It ’s not quite up to the criterion of Google and Samsung with the update seven years of atomic number 8 upgrades , but it ’s still fairly competitive when looking at the residual of the Android market .
Battery life
The OnePlus 12 build upon the satisfying barrage fire life story of its predecessor not only with a more power - effective scrap in the manikin of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 , but also with a orotund 5,400mAh battery that ’s larger than the likes of the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra and iPhone 15 Pro Max .
It ’s not quite as large as the 5,500mAh cell of theOnePlus 12R , but there ’s probable to be small difference in real - world use with just 100mAh in it .
That all read , the OnePlus 12 is sure an all - daytime gadget for most mass . On regular day with a mix of calls , taking photos , scroll through social medium and replying to WhatsApps , I ’d get to bed with around 50 - 60 % leave in the tank . On those day , the OnePlus 12 lasted well into a second day of use , only requiring a top - up on the second even .
However , that experience is n’t quite as logical as I ’d like . On an ( true speech sound - heavy ) slip to San Jose with more camera use , texting and Google Maps function , it plough into a one - day phone , with around 15 - 20 % left in the tank by the time I get to bed . Still , that is with 6 + hours of filmdom - on time on average , so I ’m happy to let that slide .
It ’s not as big a deal as it would be with other phones as , with 100W SuperVOOC charging , the charging experience is well described as rapid . I could chop-chop top up the phone during a nighttime flight back to London while I read my Kindle , and after just two chapter , it was nearly full .
More specifically , the OnePlus 12 can oversee a full charge in 26 minutes , with 50 % taking just 13 min . There ’s also 50W AirVOOC tuner charging – one of the key omission of its harbinger – though you ’ll demand a specific OnePlus charger to take reward of such rapid charge speeds . You ’ll get a 100W SuperVOOC courser in the box , but the wireless courser is an optional accessary .
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Should you buy it?
With a endearing design , outstanding cameras , a top - conclusion silver screen and all - day shelling life , the OnePlus 12 offers a swell all - circular experience that most will be happy with .
Despite using the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 that can run GenAI tasks on - machine , the OnePlus 12 does n’t take advantage of it in any way .
Final Thoughts
The OnePlus 12 is a refined attempt at abest phoneentry that certainly looks the part with a unique etched pattern rear , but it ’s the technical school that truly steals the show .
The 6.8 - column inch curved OLED presentation is about as premium as they make out with a 2 kilobyte settlement , 120Hz LTPO technical school and financial backing for just about every HDR format out there with a maximum luminance of a thumping 4500nits that makes it among the hopeful around .
There ’s also the Hasselblad collaboration , with an upgraded trio of rear electron lens that improve upon the OnePlus 11 ’s offering . That add up not only in the form of a larger primary television camera detector , but a more capable 3x periscope lens that make it a much more versatile gun for hire than it once was .
There ’s also satisfying battery biography thanks to the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 and a 5,400mAh cell that ’ll get you at least a mean solar day , if not two days , out of a charge .
It ’s not all positive though ; the 8 Gen 3 does n’t seem to be quite as knock-down as the competition in bench mark , nor does OnePlus take reward of the GenAI capableness of the chipset . The telephone is also a little lacklustre in damage of protection , capping out at IP65 and Gorilla Glass 5 , and at £ 849/$799 , it ’s a huge jump on the £ 729/$699 RRP of its predecessor .
Still , if you ’re front for a majuscule all - in - one package , I think the OnePlus 12 has a lot to volunteer – it ’s just not the ‘ flagship grampus ’ it used to be .
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We test every wandering earphone we review thoroughly . We use industriousness - standard test to compare features properly and we utilise the telephone as our master equipment over the recapitulation period . We ’ll always tell you what we observe and we never , ever , live with money to survey a product .
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FAQs
Yes , you ’ll get a 100W SuperVOOC charger in the loge alongside the OnePlus 12 .
It is , but with an IP65 military rank , it ’s behind the dust and piss ingress protection of likewise priced flagship .
Test Data
Full Specs
