The OnePlus 12 Is a Premium Phone That Costs $500 Less Than Samsung’s Galaxy S24 Ultra
And with the world’s brightest phone screen and an even bigger battery, the OnePlus 12 might just have Samsung’s latest phone beat.
Hot on the heels of Samsung’s Galaxy S24 phones, OnePlus has just announced its latest flagship Android phones, the OnePlus 12 and 12R, are coming to the U.S.
First launched in China in December, the OnePlus 12 and 12R are the equivalent of a “pro” and “regular” phone models. The OnePlus 12, starting at $799.99, is a return to the company’s “flagship killer” roots, offering all the bells and whistles expected from a premium smartphone for hundreds less than what Samsung and Apple are charging. Meanwhile, the OnePlus 12R is a close shadow with fewer features, but a more affordable $499.99 starting price.
OnePlus 12 Versus OnePlus 12R
With $300 separating the two, there are quite a few differences between the OnePlus 12 and 12R. Starting with design, the two 12 series phones have a similar silhouette. Both have aluminum mid-frames — the OnePlus 12 is polished and the 12R is anodized and matte. The OnePlus 12 glass back has a matte and satin-like finish; the Flowy Emerald colorway has a marble pattern. The OnePlus 12R is the opposite, with a glossy glass back. You already know which one picks up fingerprints. OnePlus also bumped up the IP rating from IP64 on the OnePlus 11 to IP65 on the 12; the OnePlus 12R has no IP rating, though it should be able to handle light splashes.
The OnePlus 12 in Flowy Emerald (left) and Silky Black (right).
The OnePlus 12 has a slightly larger 6.82-inch 120Hz display with a higher-resolution QHD+ resolution (3,168 x 1,440) compared to the OnePlus 12R’s 6.78-inch 120Hz screen with FHD+ resolution (2,780 x 1,264). Both displays do share one wild spec: brightness. They both can hit 4,500 nits of peak brightness, which OnePlus claims is the world’s first in any phone. Another screen-related feature that you won’t find in other phones is called Aqua Touch, which means the displays are still touchable even if there’s water on the glass.
Both phones run Android 14, customized with OnePlus’ OxygenOS configuration, but powering that software experience is a different chipset in each. The OnePlus 12 uses Qualcomm’s latest Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip and the 12R is saddled with last year’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip. In terms of storage and RAM, the OnePlus 12 also has more of both: 12GB of RAM with 256GB of storage or 16GB of RAM with 512GB of storage, compared to the 12R’s 8GB RAM / 128GB or 16GB RAM / 256GB storage.
Despite not being “gamer phones,” OnePlus has emphasized the gaming capabilities of its phones for years. This time around, both phones have a new vapor cooling system that OnePlus says is triple the size of the one in the OnePlus 11. The vapor cooler takes up almost the entire footprint of each phone, allowing for sustained performance without overheating when playing 3D games like Genshin Impact or Diablo Immortal.
The OnePlus 12R in Iron Gray (left) and Cool Blue (right) has been announced for the U.S. release on February 6, starting at $499.99.
The cameras are superior on the OnePlus 12, too. The OnePlus 12 has a fourth-gen Hasselblad-branded triple-lens camera system, made of a 50-megapixel main lens, 48-megapixel ultra-wide, and a 64-megapixel telephoto with 3x optical zoom. In comparison, the OnePlus 12R’s camera system isn’t tuned by Hasselblad; it has a 50-megapixel main lens, 8-megapixel ultra-wide, and a 2-megapixel macro. Again, you already know which triple-lens camera will take better photos. On the front, the OnePlus 12 has a higher-resolution 32-megapixel selfie camera compared to the 16-megapixel shooter on the 12R.
Battery capacity is similar in both phones: 5,400 mAh for the OnePlus 12 and 5,500 mAh for the OnePlus 12R. While both phones support 80W fast wired charging with the SuperVOOC adapter included in their boxes, only the OnePlus 12 has wireless charging (50W with OnePlus’ proprietary AirVOOC wireless charging stand) and 10W reverse wireless charging.
The OnePlus 12 and OnePlus 12R have special displays with a feature called Aqua Touch that allows them to still be touchable when wet.
There are a handful of other smaller differences that are worth highlighting. There’s an IR blaster on the OnePlus 12 for controlling IR-equipped electronics like TVs, cable/streaming devices, cameras, etc.; the OnePlus 12 has no such IR remote. The OnePlus 12 supports 24-bit Hi-Res audio; the 12 doesn’t. The OnePlus 12 supports Bluetooth 5.4 versus the OnePlus 12’s 5.3. The OnePlus 12 can shoot 8K video at 24 fps; the 12 can only capture at 4K at 60 fps for its highest setting. The OnePlus 12 has a dual-LED flash; the 12R only has a single one.
Colors, Release Date, Pricing, Discounts
Pay attention now, because the fun colors only come in one configuration. For the OnePlus 12, the 12GB RAM and 256GB storage model only comes in Silky Black for $799.99. The higher-spec model with 16GB RAM and 512GB storage is available in Silky Black and Flowy Emerald for $899.99. Pre-orders start today, and devices will become available starting on February 6 from OnePlus.com, Amazon, or Best Buy (online and retail).
As for the OnePlus 12R, the $499.99 version with 8GB RAM and 128GB storage is only available in Iron Gray. For $599.99, you can get a 16GB RAM and 256GB storage OnePlus 12R in Iron Gray or Cool Blue. The pre-order date and available channels are the same as the OnePlus 12, but availability isn’t until a week later on February 13.
But wait, there’s more! Borrowing the idea from the OnePlus Open, OnePlus is offering $100 off the 12 and 12R when you trade in any phone in any condition. (Yes, that includes an old, busted dumb phone.) The $100 discount will be available for as long as OnePlus sells the two phones, not just at launch, and will only be valid at OnePlus.com. With it, the OnePlus effectively starts at $699.99 and the 12R starting at $399.99.
With or without the $100 trade-in discount, the OnePlus 12 and 12R are aggressively priced, especially for the former. For your comparison, an iPhone 15 Pro starts at $999 and an iPhone 15 Pro Max at $1,199. And Samsung’s Galaxy S24 Ultra starts at $1,299. Who doesn’t like to save money when the core smartphone experiences are going to be the same on any phone?
