The OnePlus 12 is packed with potent tech from its supercharged processor to its glorious screen. In my time testing it, I found its battery life is great and it charges in lightning-fast time. It’s a phone that works hard to justify its flagship title. But then it needs to, as its $800 starting price (with 12GB RAM and 256GB storage) makes it more expensive than last year’s OnePlus 11. The higher-end model I reviewed (16GB RAM, 512GB storage) comes in at a princely $900.
07:53 Visually, the OnePlus 12’s design doesn’t stray far from the OnePlus 11’s. It features an almost identical circular camera unit set into a curving glass back with a glossy aluminum frame. The 12’s glass back is frosted now though, with my green review model featuring a wavy pattern that I rather like. It’s good to hold, with a solid, luxurious feel that I think is more premium than the slippery glossy back of the OnePlus 11. A familiar design
The display is bright, bold and even works when wet. Nice.
An incredibly bright, vibrant display
At 6.82 inches, the OnePlus 12’s display is big enough to give you plenty of room for videos and mobile games, while its high resolution means that all content is pin-sharp. Colors are extremely vibrant too, doing justice to all the colorful Netflix shows or neon-toned mobile games you could want.
It has a variable refresh rate from 1 to 120Hz to give better performance during more intense tasks like gaming, and OnePlus says it’s the brightest display ever on a phone, with a whopping 4,500-nit peak brightness. Theoretically, that makes it brighter than the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra and about twice as bright as the iPhone 15 Pro Max. But those are lab-based figures. Side by side, the difference between the iPhone and OnePlus 12 isn’t that big. There is a difference, however, and there’s no question that the phone is exceptionally bright, which makes it great for outdoor use.
Powerful Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor
The OnePlus 12 runs the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 3 chip at its core, backed up by either 12GB or 16GB of RAM (as reviewed). As the most cutting-edge chip from Qualcomm, it’s safe to expect it to be something of a powerhouse, but OnePlus also boasts that its “Trinity Engine” optimizes the CPU, RAM and storage for a faster and more stable experience.
Often these claims are best taken with a pinch of salt, but the OnePlus 12 does feel extremely swift in use. The action RPG Genshin Impact played at maxed-out settings with incredibly smooth 60-frames-per-second gameplay with absolutely zero lag or stuttering seen at any point. Battle royale shooter PUBG was also buttery smooth. Ditto for racer Asphalt 9: Legends.
OnePlus 12 performance compared
On 3DMark’s Wild Life Extreme graphics benchmark, it beat both the new Galaxy S24 Ultra and iPhone 15 Pro Max’s scores. In fact, its score was the second highest I’ve ever seen on that test, beaten only marginally by the new Asus ROG Phone 8 Pro, which is also powered by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3.
General navigation around the phone and multitasking is extremely zippy and, in fact, I struggled to find anything that seemed to slow it down at all. Clearly, the combo of potent chip and software optimization is doing its part. OnePlus reckons that the bigger benefit is that it will remain smooth over time, even as your phone fills up with apps and files. I’ve only had the phone a week, so this is something I’ll have to continue testing over the coming months.
In the US, the OnePlus 12 supports 80-watt fast charging.
Notable by its absence, though, is any major push for generative AI on the OnePlus 12. AI features have been big parts of Google’s Pixel phones for several generations now, and AI was a major part of Samsung’s launch for the Galaxy S24 series. The Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip powering the OnePlus 12 is even designed with AI skills in mind. Yet, OnePlus hasn’t spoken about AI, and there are no notable generative AI-based features baked into the software.
Personally, I find this a refreshing stance from the company. I haven’t found any AI features on other phones (like the wallpaper generator on the Pixel 8 Pro) to be especially useful, and I’m pleased that OnePlus hasn’t jumped on a bandwagon here, adding redundant features simply so that it can boast that it has them. Perhaps I’ll be singing a different tune for the OnePlus 13.
OnePlus 12: Powerful Performance With Room to Step Up
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Stellar battery life, ultra fast charging
The other aspect to OnePlus’ software optimizations is power efficiency, which — together with the capacious 4,500-mAh battery (dual 2,700-mAh batteries) — allows the OnePlus 12 to deliver excellent battery life. After an hour of streaming a YouTube video on Wi-Fi at max brightness, the phone hadn’t dropped below 100%. After a second hour, it still showed as 100%, and it was only after the third hour that it dropped to 95%, which is one of the best efforts I’ve seen on this test.
By comparison, the Galaxy S23 Ultra dropped from full to 95% after the first hour and went down to 82% after the third hour. Similarly, the iPhone 15 Pro Max had dropped to 87% remaining after three hours of streaming. Even after almost an hour of intense gaming at max settings, the OnePlus 12’s battery had dropped only 10%.
In short, I’m very impressed with the phone’s power management, and I’m confident you’ll easily be able to get a full day of even demanding use. With more cautious use, you could probably get most of the way through a second day for those occasions when you forgot to give it a charge overnight.
The OnePlus 12 is one of the most powerful phones we’ve ever tested.
If you do happen to need to top the juice up, the phone’s fast-charging makes that a super quick task. In the US, the OnePlus 12 supports 80-watt fast charging, which should take the phone from empty to full in a little over 30 minutes. My UK model takes that even further, with 100-watt wired charging allowing for a full recharge in 26 minutes, or from empty to half full in only 11 minutes.
Fast charging is one of my favorite battery innovations in any phone, as it means you don’t need to worry quite as much about your battery running out later in the day. If you’re heading out for a big night out and forgot to charge your phone, you can just give it a quick boost while you wait for your Uber to arrive and it’ll keep you going for hours.
The phone also has wireless charging — something not seen on the OnePlus 11 — which supports up to 50-watt speeds, as long as you can find a compatible high-speed wireless charger.
OnePlus 12, main camera.
OnePlus 12, main camera.
In daylight, shots from the main camera are decent. Exposure is generally good, there’s plenty of detail to be seen, and colors are mostly quite accurate.
OnePlus 12, ultrawide camera.
There’s less color shift when you switch between main and ultrawide lenses too, which was something I found to be a particular problem on the last model.
OnePlus 12, main camera, night mode.
OnePlus 11, main camera, night mode.
At night, performance significantly drops. Images from all lenses are surprisingly dark, with the ultrawide in particular producing extremely dark shots. I often preferred images taken on the OnePlus 11.
Taken with the telephoto zoom lens, this nighttime image has come out well, with decent details and clarity.
By comparison, the iPhone 15 Pro Max’s shot from its 5x optical zoom lens is crystal clear.
I’ve been rather surprised at the poor nighttime performance, as the wider aperture of the lens and the large sensor size should help it capture more light in darker conditions. And indeed in more low light rather than specifically night mode conditions, I did find the camera was able to take some good-looking images.
Overall, I’m underwhelmed by the cameras on the OnePlus 12. It’s definitely capable of taking some great shots, as long as you’re in good conditions, and those of you who maybe just want nice snaps of your family and friends will be well served. But it’s not up there with its flagship rivals, with its night mode shots in particular letting it down.
Should you buy the OnePlus 12?
The OnePlus 12 has plenty to justify its lofty price tag. It’s extremely powerful, its battery life is superb, and the vibrant, bright screen makes your games and videos pop. It’s also got a slick design that looks stylish yet still smart.
It’s a true flagship in many respects, but there are some things that hold me back from singing its praises completely. Chief among them is the camera, which really didn’t impress, especially at night. If photography is crucial to your mobile experience, it’s worth looking elsewhere.
And while its software support isn’t the worst around, I really hoped to see OnePlus extending its support period to match what both Samsung and Google are offering.
Still, if you’re looking for a high-performance Android phone for gaming, with a battery that’ll put up with real punishment, the OnePlus 12 is well worth a look.
How we test phones
Every phone tested by CNET’s reviews team is actually used in the real world. We test a phone’s features, play games and take photos. We examine the display to see if it’s bright, sharp and vibrant. We analyze the design and build to see how it is to hold and whether it has an IP-rating for water-resistance. We push the processor’s performance to the extremes, using standardized benchmark tools like GeekBench and 3DMark as well as our own anecdotal observations navigating the interface, recording high-resolution videos and playing graphically intense games at high refresh rates.
All the cameras are tested in a variety of conditions, from bright sunlight to dark indoor scenes. We try out special features like night mode and portrait mode and compare our findings against similarly priced competing phones. We also check out the battery life by using the phone daily as well as running a series of battery drain tests.
OnePlus 12 specs vs. Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra, Google Pixel 8 Pro, Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max
OnePlus 12Samsung Galaxy S24 UltraGoogle Pixel 8 ProApple iPhone 15 Pro MaxDisplay size, tech, resolution, refresh rate 6.82-inch AMOLED; 3,168×1,440 pixels; 1-120Hz adaptive refresh rate6.8-inch AMOLED; 3,120×1,440 pixels; 1-120Hz adaptive refresh rate6.7-inch OLED; 3,120×1,440 pixels; 1-120Hz adaptive refresh rate6.7-inch OLED; 2,796×1,290 pixels; 120Hz adaptivePixel density 510 ppi501 ppi489 ppi460 ppiDimensions (inches) 6.5 x 3 x 0.36 in6.40 x 3.11 x 0.34 in6.4 x 3.0 x 0.3 in3.02 x 6.29 x 0.32 inDimensions (millimeters) 164.3 x 76 x 9.2 mm163 x 79 x 8.6 mm162.6 x 76.5 x 8.8 mm76.7 x 159.9 x 8.25 mmWeight (grams, ounces) 220 g (7.8 oz)233 g (8.22 oz) 213 g (7.5 oz)221 g (7.81 oz)Mobile software Android 14Android 14Android 14iOS 17Camera 50-megapixel (wide), 48-megapixel (ultrawide), 64-megapixel (telephoto)200-megapixel (wide), 12-megapixel (ultrawide), 10-megapixel (3x telephoto), 50-megapixel (5x telephoto)50-megapixel (wide), 48-megapixel (ultrawide), 48-megapixel (telephoto)48-megapixel (wide), 12-megapixel (ultrawide), 12-megapixel telephoto (5x optical)Front-facing camera 32-megapixel12-megapixel10.5-megapixel12-megapixelVideo capture 8K8K4K4KProcessor Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3Google Tensor G3A17 ProRAM/storage 12GB RAM + 256GB; 16GB RAM + 512GB12GB RAM + 256GB, 512GB, 1TB12GB RAM + 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, 1TB256GB, 512GB, 1TBExpandable storage NoneNoneNoneNoneBattery 5,400 mAh (dual 2,700 mAh)5,000 mAh5,050 mAhUndisclosed; Apple claims up to 29 hours of video playback (25 hours streamed)Fingerprint sensor Under displayUnder displayUnder displayNone (Face ID)Connector USB-CUSB-CUSB-CUSB-C (USB 3.0)Headphone jack NoneNoneNoneNoneSpecial features 4,500-nit peak brightness; 4 years of software and 5 years of security updates; 80W wired charging (100W wired charging outside US); 50W wireless charging with fan dock; Wi-Fi 7; Gorilla Glass Victus 2 cover glass; Gorilla Glass 5 back glassTitanium frame, 2,600-nit peak brightness; 7 years of OS and security updates; 5G (mmWave); IP68 water and dust resistance; wireless PowerShare to charge other devices; integrated S Pen; UWB for finding other devices; 45W wired charging (charger not included); Galaxy AI; Wi-Fi 7; Gorilla Glass Armor cover glass5G (Sub 6 and mmWave); VPN by Google One; 7 years of OS, security and Feature Drop updates; front-facing camera has autofocus; 13W Qi wireless charging; 30W wired charging; USB-3.2 speeds via USB-C; IP68 dust and water resistance; Gorilla Glass Victus 2 on front and back5G (mmw/Sub6), Action Button, Always-On display, IP68 rating, MagSafe, Dynamic Island, 5x optical zoom (120mm equivalent), satellite connectivity, eSIM, Thread networking technologyUS price starts at $800 (256GB)$1,300 (256GB)$999 (128GB)$1,199 (256GB)UK price starts at £849 (256GB)£1,249 (256GB)£999 (128GB)£1,199 (256GB)Australia price starts at Converts to AU$1,640 (256GB)AU$2,199 (256GB)AU$1,699 (128GB)AU$2,199 (256GB)
We take into account additional features, like support for 5G, satellite connectivity, fingerprint and face sensors, stylus support, fast charging speeds, and foldable displays, among others that can be useful. And we balance all this against the price to give you the verdict on whether that phone, whatever price it is, actually represents good value. Though these tests may not always be reflected in CNET’s initial review, we conduct follow-up and long-term testing in most circumstances.
Article source: https://www.cnet.com/tech/mobile/oneplus-12-review-a-powerhouse-flagship-with-one-key-flaw/#ftag=CADe34d7bf