The OnePlus 12 represents the latest in OnePlus’ premium smartphone lineup, and it has a lot to live up to given the brand’s legacy of providing high-quality devices at competitive prices. With the OnePlus 12, the company has aimed to deliver an exceptional user experience, blending powerful hardware with innovative software features. In this review, we will take an in-depth look at all the aspects of the OnePlus 12, including its design, display, performance, battery life, camera capabilities, and software, while highlighting its strengths and any potential weaknesses.
Design: Sleek and Premium
At first glance, the OnePlus 12 exudes a sense of luxury and craftsmanship. OnePlus has always placed an emphasis on design, and the OnePlus 12 takes this further. The phone features a sleek, glass-back design with an aluminum frame that gives it a solid, premium feel in the hand. The back panel, available in multiple colors, is a frosted matte finish that resists fingerprints and smudges, maintaining a clean look even after prolonged use. Additionally, the rear camera module has a refreshed design with a more streamlined layout, adding to its aesthetic appeal.
Despite its large size, the OnePlus 12 maintains an ergonomic form factor. With a 6.8-inch display, the phone could have felt bulky, but the tapered edges and thoughtful weight distribution make it comfortable to hold. The volume and power buttons are conveniently placed for easy access, while the iconic OnePlus alert slider remains a useful feature, allowing users to quickly switch between silent, vibrate, and ring modes.
One notable design feature of the OnePlus 12 is its IP68 rating for water and dust resistance, which provides peace of mind for those concerned about accidental spills or exposure to the elements. Overall, the design of the OnePlus 12 strikes the perfect balance between aesthetics and functionality.
Display: A Visual Delight
The OnePlus 12 boasts a stunning 6.8-inch AMOLED display that is a visual treat. With a resolution of 3200 x 1440 pixels (QHD+), the screen is incredibly sharp, offering vibrant colors, deep blacks, and excellent contrast. OnePlus has employed LTPO 3.0 technology, allowing the display’s refresh rate to dynamically adjust between 1Hz and 120Hz depending on the content being viewed. This not only ensures smooth animations and fluid scrolling but also helps conserve battery life when viewing static content such as images or text.
The display is HDR10+ certified, providing an immersive viewing experience when streaming HDR content on platforms like Netflix and YouTube. Peak brightness levels reach an impressive 2000 nits, making the screen easily readable even in bright outdoor conditions. The high brightness and accurate color reproduction make the OnePlus 12’s display one of the best in its class, rivaling other flagship smartphones from competitors such as Samsung and Apple.
For those who prefer customization, the OnePlus 12 offers various display calibration modes, including Vivid, Natural, and Cinematic, allowing users to tailor the visual experience to their liking. Additionally, OnePlus has incorporated an in-display fingerprint scanner, which is fast, accurate, and well-positioned for quick unlocking.
Performance: Powerhouse Under the Hood
The OnePlus 12 is a performance beast, thanks to Qualcomm’s latest Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset. Paired with up to 16GB of LPDDR5X RAM, this flagship phone delivers lightning-fast performance, easily handling multitasking, demanding apps, and graphically-intensive games. Whether you’re switching between multiple apps or engaging in marathon gaming sessions, the OnePlus 12 performs flawlessly without any noticeable lag or slowdowns.
The Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset is not only powerful but also efficient, making the OnePlus 12 adept at balancing high performance with optimized power consumption. This is especially noticeable in day-to-day tasks, where the phone feels snappy and responsive at all times. The 5G capabilities ensure lightning-fast download speeds and smooth streaming, further enhancing the overall user experience.
For gamers, the OnePlus 12 comes with an array of features designed to elevate the gaming experience. OnePlus’ HyperBoost Gaming Engine provides features such as frame rate stabilization, improved touch response, and reduced latency, making the device a joy to use for gaming enthusiasts. The advanced vapor chamber cooling system ensures that the phone remains cool even during prolonged gaming sessions, preventing performance throttling due to overheating.
Storage-wise, the OnePlus 12 offers up to 512GB of UFS 4.0 storage, providing blazing-fast read and write speeds. This allows for quick app loading times and smooth performance across the board. Additionally, the ample storage means users will have plenty of space for apps, media, and games without worrying about running out of storage.
Camera System: Versatility and Innovation
The camera system on the OnePlus 12 has seen significant improvements compared to its predecessor, making it one of the key selling points of this device. The rear camera setup includes a 50MP main sensor, a 48MP ultra-wide lens, and a 64MP telephoto lens with 3.5x optical zoom and OIS (Optical Image Stabilization). The front-facing camera is a 32MP sensor, ideal for selfies and video calls.
The primary 50MP sensor captures excellent detail and color accuracy, especially in well-lit conditions. The photos produced are sharp, with a wide dynamic range and realistic colors. Even in low-light environments, the OnePlus 12 performs admirably, thanks to its improved Nightscape mode, which reduces noise and enhances details without overexposing highlights. The ultra-wide camera is equally impressive, capturing expansive shots with minimal distortion at the edges, while the telephoto lens allows for detailed zoom shots without compromising image quality.
OnePlus has also added support for 8K video recording at 30fps, making it a great option for videographers. The stabilization provided by OIS and EIS (Electronic Image Stabilization) ensures smooth and stable footage, even when shooting handheld. There are also plenty of creative features such as slow-motion video, time-lapse, and portrait mode, providing users with the flexibility to capture content in a variety of ways.
For photography enthusiasts, the OnePlus 12 supports RAW image capture, allowing for greater control during post-processing. The Pro Mode feature gives users manual control over various camera settings, such as ISO, shutter speed, and white balance, offering a DSLR-like experience for those who want more creative freedom.
Battery Life and Charging: Lasts All Day
Battery life has always been a strong point for OnePlus devices, and the OnePlus 12 is no exception. The phone is equipped with a 5000mAh battery, which provides all-day battery life even with moderate to heavy use. Whether you’re streaming content, gaming, or browsing the web, the OnePlus 12 manages to deliver solid battery performance that can easily last through a full day of use.
OnePlus has also included fast charging capabilities, with the device supporting 150W SuperVOOC charging. This allows the phone to charge from 0% to 100% in just under 20 minutes, making it one of the fastest-charging smartphones on the market. The convenience of rapid charging means you can quickly top up your phone’s battery even if you only have a few minutes to spare. Additionally, the OnePlus 12 supports 50W wireless charging, providing another fast and convenient way to charge the device.
With battery efficiency improvements from the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset and the LTPO 3.0 display technology, the OnePlus 12 manages power usage exceptionally well, even during demanding tasks such as gaming or video recording.
Software: OxygenOS 14 Delivers a Refined Experience
The OnePlus 12 ships with OxygenOS 14, based on Android 14, providing a clean and intuitive software experience. OxygenOS has always been praised for its near-stock Android feel, but it also comes with a range of useful customization options and features. With OxygenOS 14, OnePlus has refined the user interface even further, offering a more streamlined and polished experience.
OnePlus has also focused on enhancing the performance of the software with optimizations that ensure smooth navigation and app performance. The animations are fluid, transitions are seamless, and there’s minimal bloatware, keeping the user experience fast and responsive. OxygenOS 14 also includes several features that allow for better multitasking, such as split-screen mode and floating windows, which make it easier to work with multiple apps simultaneously.
One of the standout features of OxygenOS 14 is the AI-powered Smart Boost 2.0, which intelligently allocates resources to improve app launch times and overall system performance. The OnePlus 12 also offers improved privacy and security features, including a private vault for sensitive data, app permission management, and enhanced security updates that keep the device protected from threats.
For users who enjoy customization, OxygenOS offers extensive options to personalize the home screen, icons, and gestures. Users can tweak everything from the accent colors to the always-on display, allowing for a more personalized user experience.
Connectivity and Extras
In terms of connectivity, the OnePlus 12 supports the latest 5G standards, ensuring blazing-fast internet speeds when connected to a compatible network. The device also comes equipped with Wi-Fi 7, providing faster and more stable wireless connections, especially in congested environments. Bluetooth 5.3 is supported for seamless audio streaming and device pairing, while NFC ensures quick and secure mobile payments.
Stereo speakers with Dolby Atmos support provide excellent audio quality, with clear mids and highs, and decent bass. Whether you’re listening to music, watching movies, or playing games, the sound quality on the OnePlus 12 is more than adequate for most users. The absence of a 3.5mm headphone jack is worth noting, but this is a trend we’ve seen across most flagship smartphones in recent years