At a lookProfessional’s Score
Professionals
- Elegant, distinctive design
- Present-stopping display screen
- Quick wired and wi-fi charging
- Nice principal and telephoto cameras
Cons
- Fewer OS updates than rivals
- So-so wide-angle and selfie cameras
- Costlier than OnePlus 11
- Restricted water resistance
Our Verdict
OnePlus has beefed up its newest flagship with wi-fi charging and a strong processor. Whereas the OnePlus 12 is dearer than the OnePlus 11 was at launch, the specs are nonetheless mighty spectacular for the value, with a beautiful design, punchy efficiency and succesful cameras. It’s an incredible purchase.
OnePlus has steadily made a reputation for itself throughout the globe by providing competitively priced smartphones that undercut flagship telephones from Samsung, Google and others.
The OnePlus 12 bucks this pattern, and isn’t as low-cost because the OnePlus 11 was at launch. Nevertheless it does justify the value hike with some new options in addition to offering all of the stuff you’d anticipate: a top-notch display screen, succesful efficiency and nice cameras. But once more, OnePlus resides as much as its motto of by no means settling.
Design & Construct
- Accessible in inexperienced and black
- IP65 score quite than IP68
- Alert slider nonetheless a useful characteristic
I really like the OnePlus 12’s design. To me, it seems to be higher than some other cellphone I’ve reviewed, though I’m biased in direction of inexperienced tech.
Weighing 220g and measuring 9.15mm thick, the ’12 is par for the course as of late: it’s an enormous, weighty flagship that doesn’t simply match into pockets.
OnePlus has stored the large round digicam module on the again that was first launched on the 11, full with inscriptions indicating the specs of every digicam.
The inexperienced color is named Flowy Emerald, which is allegedly impressed by the rivers that circulation down the Alps. Advertising lingo apart, the feel is like an earth-toned marble whose tones varies relying on the ambient lighting. It additionally is available in Silky Black for many who don’t like inexperienced as a lot as me.
The glass again feels clean within the hand, as does the curved show. Throughout testing, the cellphone survived an unintended drop with the Corning Gorilla Glass 5 on the rear and Gorilla Glass Victus 2 on the entrance doing a very good job and never cracking or shattering.
Hannah Cowton / Foundry
The IP65 score makes the OnePlus 12 much less inclined to break from water and mud than the 11, however nonetheless isn’t nearly as good because the IP68 commonplace that many different costly smartphones adjust to. What it means is that you would be able to’t submerge the OnePus 12 in water: it’s solely protected towards low-pressure jets of water.
I’m an enormous fan of OnePlus’s alert slider. It eliminates additional faucets on the display screen and presses of the quantity slider. It’s a very good purpose to go for a OnePlus cellphone over rivals which don’t have one.
There’s no headphone jack, which is the norm for flagship telephones as of late. The SIM-tray (with dual-nano SIM help) sits subsequent to the USB-C port on the underside, while the quantity rocker and energy button reside on the right-hand facet.
Haptics – the vibrations for alerts and key presses – are a number of the finest I’ve used, with noticeably totally different patterns for alerts, calls and messages. You modify the depth in addition to alternating between ‘crisp’ and ‘mild’ relying in your preferences.
Display screen & Audio system
- Very vivid 6.82-inch show
- 120Hz adaptive refresh fee
- Stereo audio system with Dolby Atmos help
The AMOLED show has been elevated to six.82-inches from the 6.7-inch panel seen on the OnePlus 11. The decision can also be larger, at 1440 x 3168. As earlier than it makes use of LPTO tech with a 120Hz refresh fee that may robotically modify all the best way all the way down to 1Hz to save lots of battery energy.
With help for Dolby Imaginative and prescient and HDR10+, it’s vibrant, daring and attentive to faucets and scrolls. Vivid daylight doesn’t have an effect on it in any way due to the wonderful peak brightness of 4,500 nits, round 2.5x greater than the brightest present telephones. It’s nearly overpowering in dimmer rooms, though it does modify robotically.
Put merely, the OnePlus 12 is elegant for streaming Netflix exhibits and enjoying video games.
There’s an under-display fingerprint sensor for biometrics, and face recognition. Each work a deal with, with the latter having no points with glasses or solely minor bother with darkish rooms.
Hannah Cowton / Foundry
The stereo audio system are nice, with help for Dolby Atmos. They sound clear and produce vigorous sound with a little bit of bass. I wouldn’t wish to hearken to a lot music on them, however they’re good for podcasts and video games.
Below the Dolby Atmos part within the settings, there are 4 sound profiles to select from: Sensible (adaptive), Film, Gaming and Music. Film was my most well-liked opinion.
There’s additionally help for spatial audio and ‘holo audio’ (see beneath), offering you have got suitable earbuds and apps for these options. The identical goes for head monitoring. Testing with the Jabra Elite 8 Lively earbuds, spatial audio sounded respectable for motion scenes, however dialogue was echo-y.
…the display screen is buttery clean and stylish for streaming Netflix exhibits and enjoying video games
Holo audio means that you can have totally different sounds coming from totally different instructions. So, you possibly can have your Spotify audio enjoying from the entrance, your notifications coming from the proper and alarms pinging from the left. That’s the idea. Once I tried it, notifications wouldn’t play over Spotify, and the timer would halt the audio altogether.
Clearly some work must be executed there, otherwise you want OnePlus’s personal buds.
Specs & Efficiency
- Snapdragon 8 Gen 3
- 12/16GB RAM
- 256/512GB storage
If you happen to’re in search of flagship efficiency, the OnePlus 12 doesn’t disappoint. It’s fitted with a Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor, the identical chip seen within the Xiaomi 14 and Samsung Galaxy S24 Extremely, although it’s tweaked particularly for the latter.
Relying upon your selection when buying, you get both 12- or 16GB RAM, and 256- or 512GB storage. Even the bottom mannequin is greater than sufficient for demanding apps and video games. For sure there’s an abundance of efficiency for day-to-day duties.
Hannah Cowton / Foundry
To maintain that efficiency in verify the OnePlus 12 has a Twin Cryo-velocity VC Cooling System, which has a bigger floor space and a shortened gas-liquid circulation distance in comparison with rivals to enhance warmth dissipation.
Tech jargon apart, it does work. The cellphone stayed remarkably cool when enjoying the demanding recreation Genshin Influence. The truth is, the one time the OnePlus 12 felt heat was throughout charging, however not problematically so.
Genshin Influence might run at medium graphics settings with out overclocking. There was no stuttering and responses to touches, swipes and digicam changes had been speedy. That is seemingly aided by HyperBoost, HyperRendering and HyperTouch, three new options in Oxygen OS 14 designed to enhance gaming efficiency.
OnePlus 12 Benchmarks
In our exams, the OnePlus 12 bested rivals in GeekBench 5. This contains the iPhone 14 Professional Max, which is a powerful feat contemplating that iPhones normally outpace Android fashions right here.
Nonetheless, surprisingly it fell in need of the OnePlus 11 in GeekBench 6, which has the older chip – a Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, as additionally fitted to the extra reasonably priced OnePlus 12R.
These artificial benchmarks are only one measure of efficiency, although, and it doesn’t imply it’s slower total.
The ’12 produced some spectacular numbers in GFXBench, exhibiting the graphics prowess of this cellphone compared to different flagships. It’s additionally bought some the quickest charging out of the group, solely bested by the 11, which has a smaller battery that’s faster to recharge.
Cameras
- Excellent principal digicam
- Succesful low-light efficiency
- Selfie digicam not as spectacular as rivals
OnePlus is continuous its partnership with Hassleblad for its triple rear digicam set-up.
The primary 50Mp principal digicam makes use of Sony’s LYT-808 1/1.4 sensor and has OIS – optical stabilisation. The sensor permits for plenty of mild to be let in, and as such the cellphone can seize surroundings and textures extraordinary readability.
The OnePlus 12 makes it simple to take a powerful picture
This additionally applies to pictures taken in darkish environments. Clouds within the night time sky have unimaginable depth, and vivid lights are dealt with nicely with out an excessive amount of flaring or glare. Textures seem lifelike, and hues are practical. The OnePlus 12 makes it simple to take a powerful picture.
The upgraded 64Mp f/2.6 telephoto digicam gives 3x optical zoom. There’s additionally 6x ‘lossless’ zoom and as much as a whopping 120x digital zoom. Utilizing optical zoom, the digicam resolves particulars like strands of hair with ease.
If you begin heading into the digital zoom territory, it nonetheless holds up at 10x. Past that, particulars begin to turn out to be fuzzier and while you get previous 60x zoom, it’s onerous to maintain the cellphone nonetheless sufficient, and is a largely pointless train.
Some rivals (the iPhone 15 included) don’t have a telephoto digicam, so it is a large tick for OnePlus.
The 48Mp wide-angle digicam produces dimmer tones in comparison with the primary snapper, with softer edges and usually much less aptitude. Evaluate the colors beneath, notably on the grass:
For selfies, there’s a 32Mp front-facing snapper with a Sony IMX615 sensor. Portrait mode has a good quantity of blur within the background, although there’s some smudging on unfastened hairs. This digicam isn’t as spectacular to make use of at night time as the primary rear one.
Pictures may be edited both straight in OnePlus’s personal gallery, which incorporates pores and skin retouching options and an eraser software for any undesirable background components, or in Google Pictures. I a lot choose utilizing Google’s Magic Eraser, which robotically finds background components and pre-selects them for quicker enhancing.
Neither are foolproof, with some bizarre textures typically left behind, however Google’s enhancing instruments are undoubtedly superior. Nonetheless, you’ll want a Google One subscription – OnePlus 12 users get a three-month free trial.
The OnePlus 12 shoots as much as 8K video at 24fps, however it’s additionally able to 4K, 1080p and 720p all at both 30fps or 60fps. There’s the choice to activate HDR video (Dolby Imaginative and prescient) and an ‘extremely regular’ mode to minimise shakes.
Hannah Cowton / Foundry
Battery Life & Charging
- 5400mAh battery
- 100W charging
- 50W wi-fi charging
The OnePlus 12 is fitted with a 5,400mAh battery. On common, this lasted for a day and a half however lower than that if I stored the 120Hz refresh fee on completely and used it closely for gaming.
100W charging means the battery goes from empty to 67% full in simply quarter-hour, and 100% inside half an hour.
On high of all that, there’s 50W wi-fi charging. You should purchase OnePlus’s official charger for slightly below £40 on the time of writing.
It’s nice to see a flagship cellphone with not solely robust battery life, but additionally speedy wired and wi-fi charging. Not all can compete with that.
Hannah Cowton / Foundry
Software program
- OxygenOS 14.0 (primarily based on Android 14)
- 4 years of OS updates
- 5 years of safety updates
OxygenOS has lengthy been one of many favorite Android skins among the many Tech Advisor staff, and that is still the case now. It’s clear, intuitive and minimal in terms of app bloat. There’s a neat little ‘OnePlus’ folder with a number of the manufacturers personal apps, however no undesirable video games in sight.
You may simply customise the house display screen with giant folders for apps and help for some widgets that aren’t accessible on different Android fashions – Pinterest, for instance. Timers additionally neatly sit within the nook of the display screen when energetic, so you possibly can see the standing even while you’re in different apps.
That is the newest replace, primarily based on Android 14. Which means it has options resembling good cutout, the place you possibly can lengthy press and particular person or object in a photograph to isolate it from the remainder of the background. This may then be saved to your gallery or despatched to somebody.
There are additionally new safety instruments such because the Security Centre, the place you possibly can select what knowledge is shared on an app-by-app foundation. In the meantime, Auto Pixelate 2.0 blurs any delicate data that the cellphone senses on photos.
Hannah Cowton / Foundry
OnePlus gives 4 years of OS updates and 5 years of safety updates. That is on par with another manufacturers, however it doesn’t match the Google Pixel 8 and Samsung Galaxy S24 sequence, which supply a powerful seven years of each varieties.
Hopefully we’ll see extra Android manufacturers observe go well with within the coming years, because it encourages individuals to carry onto telephones for longer which is each useful for individuals’s wallets and the planet. Clearly, it’s much less useful for gross sales…
It’s simple to advocate the OnePlus 12
Value & Availability
The OnePlus 12 is on the market from 6 February, and may be pre-ordered from OnePlus from 23 January. If you happen to get in fast, then you possibly can seize a free pair of Bang & Olufsen Beocom Portal headphones, that are usually £459.
It needs to be accessible on Amazon and different websites however wasn’t on the time of overview.
Right here’s the costs for the OnePlus 12:
- 12GB/256GB – $799/£849
- 16GB/512GB – $899/£999
That’s a $100/£120 improve on final yr’s flagship, the OnePlus 11. However there’s 50W wi-fi charging (the 11 had none), a better IP score and a extra highly effective chipset. On high of all that there’s inflation, which has affected different telephones: it isn’t simply OnePlus placing up costs.
The hike means the OnePlus 12 goes toe-to-toe with the Pixel 8 Professional. The Pixel’s flat, wider show make it much less comfy to carry (particularly in case you have small fingers like me), and the plain pastel finishes aren’t as fascinating as Flowy Emerald although, admittedly, these items do come down to non-public choice.
Extra definitively, the Pixel 8 Professional has a much less highly effective processor and shorter battery life. Nonetheless, pictures taken on the Pixel 8 Professional are barely higher than these on the OnePlus 12, and the seven years of OS updates trumps OnePlus’s four-year promise.
You might additionally think about the Samsung Galaxy S24+, which has a raft of recent AI software program options and once more seven years of OS updates. However regardless of the upper worth of £999/$999.99, the S24+ is a downgrade from the OnePlus 12. A more in-depth match can be the Extremely mannequin, however that’s dearer nonetheless, and it makes the OnePlus 12 look even higher worth for cash.
See what different choices can be found in our roundups of the most effective smartphones and the most effective OnePlus telephones.
Hannah Cowton / Foundry
Do you have to purchase the OnePlus 12?
The OnePlus 12 is a implausible cellphone and a pleasure to make use of. It has a surprising and distinctive design, an extremely vivid, wonderful efficiency, cracking principal cameras and a surprisingly lengthy battery life for every part that’s operating within the background.
The primary downsides are that Samsung and Google provide longer guarantees of OS and safety updates, and that the value isn’t as a lot of a steal because the OnePlus 11 was. Nonetheless, the fortified specs and a tricky financial system make this inevitable.
The very fact of the matter is that I’ve no bother giving a glowing badge of advice to the OnePlus 12. It isn’t flawless, however it ought to actually be in your shortlist together with the Google Pixel 8 Professional.
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 show
- In-display fingerprint sensor
- Digital camera:
- 50Mp Sony’s LYT-808 principal digicam, f/1.6, OIS
- 48Mp Sony’s IMX581 ultrawide, f/2.2
- 64Mp OV64B periscope telephoto, f/2.6
- 16Mp Sony IMX615 selfie digicam, f/2.4
- 12/16GB LPDDR5X RAM
- 128GB/256GB UFS 4.0 non-expandable storage
- USB 3.2 Kind-C port
- Twin nano-SIM slot
- 5400mAh twin cell battery
- 100W wired charging
- 50W wi-fi charging
- NFC
- 5G
- Bluetooth 5.4
- Wi-Fi 7-ready
- 164.3mm × 75.8mm × 9.15mm
- 220g
