OnePlus 12 review: A feature-packed device with promising battery back-up

• The OnePlus 12 is the latest flagship smartphone from OnePlus in India.
• The device has been priced starting at ₹64,999 and is available in two variants.
• Here’s a detailed review of the OnePlus 12 to help you decide whether to buy the device or not.

OnePlus was among the first companies to launch its flagship smartphone in India in 2024, with the launch of the OnePlus 12. The device, launched alongside the OnePlus 12R, is the successor of the OnePlus 11 which was launched in 2023.

The OnePlus 12 is among the select devices that are powered by the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset, offering powerful performance. In addition to a more powerful processor, the smartphone comes with improved cameras, a bigger battery and more.

I have been using the OnePlus 12 for a few days now, and here is my detailed review of the latest flagship smartphone from the Chinese smartphone maker.

OnePlus 12 price and availability

The OnePlus 12 has been priced at ₹64,999 for the 12GB RAM + 256GB internal storage variant and ₹69,999 for the 16GB RAM + 512GB internal storage variant.

The device comes in two colour options – Flowy Emerald and Silky Black. It is available from Amazon India, OnePlus Online store and authorised retail stores across the country.

In the box

• OnePlus 12 smartphone
• Protective case
• Power adapter
• USB Type-C cable
• SIM ejector tool
• Documentation

OnePlus 12 specifications

Pros

• Solid display and high refresh rate
• Good battery life and fast charging

Cons

• Lacks IP68 rating

Design elements

The OnePlus 12 features a glass back, with a minimalist design. The smartphone comes in two colour options – Flowy Emerald and Silky Black. I tested the Silky Black colour variant which comes with a textured matte finish with Gorilla Glass 5 protection.

The smartphone’s textured design prevents fingerprint smudges, allowing you to use it without a case without any issues. It is easy to hold and does not slip, but being a large device may be a little big for one-handed usage for some.

The OnePlus 12 features a large circular camera module at the back that houses the rear cameras. The LED flash has been placed above the rear camera module. The OnePlus logo has been placed in the middle.

The device weighs 220 grams, owing to the company using a larger battery this year. The device is 15 grams heavier than its predecessor and is also slightly thicker at 9.15mm.

The smartphone features volume rockers and a power button on the right side.

The alert slider on the smartphone has been moved to the left side. On the top, it comes with a secondary microphone, a speaker grille, and an IR blaster.

At the bottom, the device features the SIM tray, the primary microphone, USB Type-C port and the speaker grille.

Display features

The OnePlus 12 features a 6.82-inch Quad HD+ curved AMOLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate and Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2 protection. The display comes with a peak brightness of 4500 nits, a new high for smartphones and also offers 2160Hz high-frequency PWM Dimming.

The display on the OnePlus 12 is great and you will not have any issues while using the device. The high resolution and refresh rate ensure that you have a great experience, while gaming, watching movies, or just looking at social media posts. The high brightness ensures excellent outdoor visibility and I did not have any issues while using it under direct sunlight.

Software and performance

The OnePlus 12 runs on Android 14 out of the box with the company’s OxygenOS 14 on top. The smartphone will get four years of Android updates and five years of security updates.

The OxygenOS 14 is a feature-packed UI that comes with several enhancements. The device comes with the usual Google applications and OnePlus applications. It comes with some apps like Netflix and Spotify pre-loaded but these can be removed.

In terms of performance, the OnePlus 12 is powered by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor coupled with up to 16GB LPDDR5X RAM and 512GB of UFS 4.0 internal storage.

The latest flagship chipset from Qualcomm, coupled with ample RAM and storage allows the smartphone to easily multitask. To test the OnePlus 12’s performance, I played popular games such as Call of Duty: Mobile and Asphalt 9 on the smartphone. The OnePlus 12 offers a good gaming experience and even with high-quality graphics enabled, I did not notice any stuttering or lag during my testing.

The smartphone comes with the company’s Trinity Engine, which offers features such as HyperBoost and HyperTouch. During my gaming sessions, I did not notice any abnormal heating and the device was able to handle it efficiently.

Coming to the battery, the OnePlus 12 is powered by a 5,400mAh battery, coupled with 100W SuperVOOC fast charging support and 50W wireless charging support. The company claims that the device can be fully charged in 26 minutes using wired charging and 55 minutes for wireless charging. During my testing, I found the device charges fully in under 30 minutes while wired and in around an hour while charging wirelessly.

In terms of battery life, the OnePlus 12 offers over a day’s battery life with regular gaming, streaming content and normal browsing. With conservative use, you can also get two days of usage out of the device.

Camera remains a highlight

The OnePlus 12 features a triple camera setup at the back consisting of a 50MP primary camera with Sony LYT-808 sensor, OIS, a 48MP ultra-wide-angle camera with the Sony IMX581 sensor and a 64MP periscope telephoto camera with Omnivision OV64B sensor with 3x optical zoom, 6x in-sensor zoom and up to 120x digital zoom.

The camera is one of the highlights of the smartphone and it does its job well. When it comes to clicking images in daylight conditions, the OnePlus 12 can capture images with good details and colour reproduction. The device can capture images with good highlight retention and is able to focus on the subject very quickly.

As the device supports 3x optical zoom and 6x in-sensor zoom, you will have no issues at all with capturing images even with 6x zoom. If you zoom in beyond 20x, the details start getting a little blurry.

The smartphone offers Hasselblad Portrait mode, ensuring portrait images captured with the smartphone turn out well, with good edge detection and background blur effect. The periscope telephoto sensor kicks in while capturing portraits with 3x zoom and offers images with good portrait effects.

Night-time photography is also covered well by the device, as it is able to capture images in low light with minimal noise. The night mode works well but takes a few seconds to capture the image.

On the front, the device sports a 32MP selfie camera with a Sony IMX615 sensor. The device offers 4K 30fps video recording, which is good for users looking for a device for content creation.

Verdict

The OnePlus 12 is a feature-packed device that ticks off all the right boxes, including a good display, powerful processor, good cameras, and a decent battery life. At the same time, it faces tough competition in the Indian smartphone market, with companies offering similar features at a competitive price.

The OnePlus 12 competes with the likes of the Galaxy S24, Xiaomi 14, iQOO 12 and the Vivo X100 in the affordable flagship segment.

If you are looking for a device that offers a good user experience along with good cameras, the OnePlus 12 is a good option. If you are looking for a more affordable option and do not mind a display with a lower resolution and missing out on things like wireless charging, the iQOO 12 is a close second.

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