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The OnePlus 12: A Beauty Showcase of a Looker. I’ll Have to Pick Black (or Embrace Emerald)
This thing is a looker and I have to address the design first. The OnePlus 12 comes in Silky Black and Flowy Emerald, and why on earth would you pick black when you can get this showstopper of a green? It is a great conversation starter because of it’s marble-inspired design that is lovely and luxurious. The emerald option is only available with 16 GB of RAM and 512 GB of storage, hence the higher $900 price (OK, that’s a good reason to buy black). The black’s base version is $800 and comes with 12 GB of RAM and 256 GB of storage. Most phones at this price have less space than that.
While both companies are busy with shipping features for mobile, the only thing that feels fresh and new is the fact that the OnePlus 12 is a break from the hype. I think we’re one or two years away from hitting their potential, but I also think there are legitimate uses for AI on our phones. Meanwhile, OnePlus has made some meaningful tweaks to its current formula, rather than going all in on something new. It is working.
The OnePlus 12’s 6.8-inch screen sings at that full 1440p resolution setting. The speed is raised to 120Hz. It looks better than any phone screen I have looked at recently, and it is as detailed as a flagship phone screen. It is a tad taller and skinnier than it seems due to being a 19.8 panel. I am not a fan of large phones, but the one I am testing, the one that has a 6.8 inch screen, is easier to use one-handed. The curved edges help a little here, too, but I’d gladly trade them in for the flat panel edges that are in vogue now. In bright light, viewing angles can get skewed towards the edges of the screen.
Performance of the OnePlus 12 and Galaxy S24 phones at the 6th OnePlus Conception Event (Galaxyai)
Finally, OnePlus is also releasing a third-generation pair of true wireless earbuds: the OnePlus Buds 3. The shape of the wearer’s ear canals will beanalyzed to modify their ANC and the earbuds are equipped with active noise cancellation. The ANC earbuds with battery life of up to 6.5 hours is rated by the case to be up to 28 and 44 hours when combined with the case.
OnePlus promises four years of OS upgrades and five years of security updates for the 12, which is probably about as long as most people would plan to keep this phone. In the past year, both companies have increased their OS upgrade offerings, including seven years of security updates for their flagship phones. If you want to squeeze the most out of your investment, seven years appears to be a good time to invest. But, realistically, five years will probably do just fine for a lot of people.
I found the OnePlus 12 to have a slightly better game than the S 24 Ultra, but it was marginally cooler to the touch, and it did a better job of spreading the heat across the device, whereas the S 24 had more hot spots. Outside of this graphically demanding game, the OnePlus 12 and Galaxy S24 Ultra were nearly identical in performance. A lot of day to day tasks won’t feel different, since phones are fast and responsive, and they are also good at sharing a processor.
The focus of the last week’s event was on the artificial intelligence in the new S24) phones, called #Galaxyai. The hardware was taken away by the car. OnePlus’ latest phone, on the other hand, doesn’t have many of these AI tricks; it doesn’t have top billing in the smartphone world after all.
Every smart device has a series of contracts that you have to sign before you can use it. It’s impossible for us to read and analyze every single one of these agreements. Most people don’t read such agreements and can’t negotiate, so we started counting how many times you have to agree before we review them.
The OnePlus 12 ($12$) is a big upgrade from the OnePlus 11 ($11$), and what the users think about it (somewhat)
And I don’t want to undersell one of the 12’s main attractions: the screen. The panel is good but not as bright as the specifications suggest. The people want big phones. I know my place, even though I am an exception to the rule. You will only find a 6.8-inch panel that looks good at this price.
No phone maker has cracked the problem of shutter speeds being hard to keep in low light. There is a lot of light in the 3x. There are flaws in mobile camera lens that can be amplified at 6x, but if you really get to look you’ll see the real deal. All in all, it’s a big upgrade from the OnePlus 11.
Source: OnePlus 12 review: refreshingly basic
OnePlus 12: Oxygen OS 14 is Not for Everyone, Is It? Why I don’t want to give up on the future
If you disliked the color-OS-ification of Oxygen OS, then you will probably dislike this one as well. I find it offensive. I still opt out of using the “shelf” — a designated page in the system UI for widgets that’s usually accessible by swiping down on the homescreen — and instead assign the downward swipe to open the notification shade, as the lord intended. Personally, I’m enjoying Zen Mode more and more lately. It was around since the OnePlus 7 Pro, it plays ambient spa music, and I need to be listening to it while I write. It helps to the writing process by keeping you out of certain apps. This is just a token of appreciation, don’t purchase a phone from a company that makes a phone like that.
The OnePlus 12 runs Oxygen OS 14, which looks a lot like Oxygen OS 13. There’s a new Dynamic-Island-esque status indicator called Fluid Cloud that currently only seems to work with a handful of apps — none of the rides or food deliveries I ordered popped up in the little pill icon at the top of the screen, but timers do. I think we’re moving toward a future where every phone has some kind of Dynamic Island of its own, and I’m for it. It’s a handy way to check time-sensitive stuff no matter what else you’re doing, and if there’s one good feature to crib from Apple, then this is it.
The screen has a brightness peak of 4,500 nits, says the company. The screen on the flagships has between 2,000 and 2,400 nits, which is enough to keep it comfortable to use in direct sunlight. I didn’t have trouble using the OnePlus 12 outside on a bright day, but I didn’t see anything that looked close to 5000 nits of brightness. Phone Arena has a good explanation of why that may be, but it all depends on how screen brightness is measured. It worked for me on a bright day, but I don’t think the eye-searing brightness will bother you.
The alert slider is a beloved design and has been used for both the 11 and 12. The rear camera has a little sparkle that catches the light. The back glass panel uses a smooth finish, which is more slippery in the hand compared to a glossy panel. The whole thing is IP65 rated, which means it’s fully dustproof, while merely water resistant. Jumping up from IP64 means it’s better protected against water spray, so it should handle even the worst splashes and downpours fine. Don’t expect to take it for a dip without consequences.
Source: OnePlus 12 review: refreshingly basic
How excited am I to be waking up to the same fast charging station as mine? An expert report on the OnePlus 5G and how it improved battery life for a mobile operating system
I am absolutely delighted that I can put it on the same slow Qi charging station that I use with my other phones and wake up to a fully charged device. There’s no Qi2 here, so if you were hoping for MagSafe-style accessories, you’ll have to settle for a third-party magnet case and “MagSafe-compatible.”
OnePlus tells us that it worked directly with Qualcomm to squeeze out an extra 30 minutes of battery life on top of what the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 is capable of out of the box. That’s kind of impossible to test, however, I can say that I got through a full day of travel, including a two-hour flight delay, without a problem. When I finally got on board my flight, my seatmate mentioned that her phone was almost dead as she scrounged around for an outlet. I kept scrolling through Threads, untethered to wall wart or battery, just as smug as can be. The screen resolution was at the highest level, not the default1080p, and the display was always on.
None of these features are the kinds of new, groundbreaking tech you’ll see in Samsung or Google ads for their new phones. At this point, mobile devices haven’t proven to be indispensable with regard to the use of artificial intelligence. If you have an interest in the phones and the apps of the company, a phone may hold some extra appeal than the software of the company.
