The $800 OnePlus 12 gives Samsung and Google phones a run for their money

This might sound wild, but the OnePlus 12 is so good that it gives every other flagship phone in the United States a run for its money.

OnePlus hasn’t exactly been the biggest hit in the US, with companies like Samsung, Apple and Google outselling their smartphones year over year. But there’s no denying that OnePlus has been stepping up its game recently, with the OnePlus Open being one of the best foldable phones of 2023. Now we have the successor to last year’s OnePlus 11, and boy is it packed with bleeding-edge tech.

With a gorgeous screen, amazing performance, multiday battery life and cameras that genuinely surprised me, the OnePlus 12 is an excellent phone that undercuts the competition with an aggressive $800 starting price. But the question is, should you buy it? Let’s find out.

Pricing and availability

The OnePlus 12 is available for preorder beginning Jan. 23 on OnePlus’ website, Best Buy and Amazon, with no carrier availability (although it works on all major US carriers just fine). If you preorder through the OnePlus website, you can enjoy perks like a free memory upgrade, a free wireless charger, six months of a 100GB Google One plan and three months of YouTube Premium. The device will launch on Feb. 6.

The phone starts at $800, which gets you 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. An upgraded model is available with 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage for $900. For the entire life span of the device, OnePlus will let you trade in any smartphone through its website and get at least $100 off the purchase of a OnePlus 12. (By any phone, they literally mean any phone, including old-school rotary phones, which the company whipped out during our briefing.)

That means the price of the phone drops to $700 and $800, respectively, assuming you have an old phone to trade in.

Colors include Flowy Emerald (a shade of green with a unique marble finish) and Silky Black, the latter of which is the only color you can get if you buy the 12GB RAM/256GB storage model.

What we liked about it

A big, beautiful and ridiculously bright display

The first thing that grabs your attention is the OnePlus 12’s display. It’s unapologetically big at 6.82 inches; it’s sharp as a pin, thanks to its 3168 x 1440 resolution; and the 120Hz refresh rate makes scrolling feel silky smooth. Like every good flagship smartphone, the display uses an OLED panel for inky-black levels and vibrant colors, and there’s full support for HDR content.

Compared to my iPhone 15 Pro and Pixel 8 Pro, the OnePlus 12 holds up extremely well. Everything from movies and games to articles looks great, and it’s easily as good as the best that Apple and Google have to offer. I have yet to compare it to the Galaxy S24 series, but I imagine it’ll hold up well.

Where the OnePlus 12 beats basically every smartphone on the market is in brightness. During my briefing with OnePlus in Las Vegas, my jaw dropped when the company revealed that the OnePlus 12 can go all the way up to 4,500 nits.

For context, the new Galaxy S24 Ultra can go up to 2,600 nits, the Pixel 8 Pro can reach 2,400 nits and the iPhone 15 Pro can go to 2,000 nits. This makes the OnePlus 12 the brightest phone I’ve ever used, and in day-to-day usage, you can see the device taking advantage of the extra headroom. Not only is it perfectly easy to see in direct sunlight, but you can also enjoy HDR content in direct sunlight with crystal clarity. Everything from colors to contrast looks superb, so if you regularly find yourself cranking up your phone’s brightness, the OnePlus 12 is worth a look.

Granted, you’ll almost never reach 4,500 nits of brightness. OnePlus engineered the panel to go that high for the headroom it gives you. In fact, it’s dangerous to look at a screen set to 3,000 nits, let alone one that’s set to 4,500. In typical usage, it’ll go up to 1,600 nits, then a bit past that if you’re in sunlight or playing HDR videos, which is more than enough to make this display easy to see in any condition.

OnePlus also includes a nifty feature called Aqua Touch that lets you use the display while it’s wet. If you splash some water on a normal touchscreen and try to scroll or tap on something, the water can interfere and lead to unintentional touches. But on the OnePlus 12, that’s not the case at all; I let my review unit get covered in snowflakes, then proceeded to scroll through the CNN Underscored website without issue. I replicated the test on my iPhone and was met with weird jitters from the water interfering with my touches. While this isn’t a feature to base your purchase off of, it’s a really neat perk.

A high-end design that stands out

In a world of smartphones that look more or less like one another, the OnePlus 12 does a good job at standing out. The enormous camera bump on the back, which OnePlus says was inspired by luxury watches, helps with that a lot; besides Google’s Pixel series, there’s no other phone in the US that takes such a bold approach to its camera housing. Some of the folks I’ve shown this phone to have mixed feelings about its size, but I’m into it. Not only is it eye-catching, but it’s also a surefire way to stand out from the crowd.

The OnePlus 12 is made of typical smartphone materials like aluminum and Corning Gorilla Glass 5. The sides are curved, so it feels thinner in your hand, and the top and bottom are completely flat. The device has a Galaxy S Ultra or Pixel 7 Pro vibe to it with this design, which I don’t mind. It feels well crafted and premium in the hand, and its hefty 220-gram weight helps with that.

You’ll find clicky volume and power buttons on the right side of the phone, along with an alert slider on the left. OnePlus has been shipping phones with this slider for years, and now that Apple is starting to remove it from the iPhone, the OnePlus 12 is a great choice if you like having the ability to flick a switch to mute your phone.

The device is rated IP65 for dust and water resistance, which isn’t as strong as most phones. However, it’ll be safe against light splashes and rain. Just don’t dunk it in a pool.

The rest of the design is pretty typical — stereo speakers, a USB-C port on the bottom, a SIM card tray, various microphones and a few antenna lines. There’s also an infrared (IR) blaster at the top of the phone for controlling IR-equipped devices like air conditioners, lights and robot vacuum cleaners.

Surprisingly solid cameras

When I think of good smartphone cameras, my mind instantly goes to Samsung, Google and Apple since they’ve been leading the pack for so many years. But it might be time to consider OnePlus as a close runner-up.

Granted, the cameras aren’t as reliable as a Pixel 8 Pro or iPhone 15 Pro Max, and I don’t think the post-processing looks as good. But this is the third smartphone that OnePlus has shipped in the past year with cameras I’m happy to use, and that’s saying a lot about a company that has never been known for its camera quality.

There’s a lot that goes into the OnePlus 12’s Hasselblad-branded camera system, but here’s what you need to know: There’s a 50-megapixel main camera with an f/1.6 aperture that uses a new Sony sensor for greater light intake, a 64-megapixel 3x periscope telephoto lens and a 48-megapixel ultrawide camera with a 114-degree field of view. OnePlus has revamped its HDR algorithm so that photos look more balanced and true to life, there’s a new Master Mode for fine-tuning your shot before you capture it (think Pro Mode but with a new name), portrait mode has been treated with new Hasselblad camera effects for more accurate results and OnePlus even threw in 4K Dolby Vision video support.

Combined with an updated camera app and a handful of other software features, the OnePlus 12’s camera system is by far one of the most capable on the market. With its wide range of focal lengths, tools to lock in the exact shot you want and advanced video capabilities, it’s hard to ignore all the work OnePlus has done to improve its flagship camera offerings.

In day-to-day usage, the cameras perform well. I was especially impressed with the main 50-megapixel camera, which regularly took the best shots out of the three rear cameras. Colors were vibrant and well balanced, exposure was nicely tuned and it’s the only camera you can trust in every lighting condition.

The ultrawide is a step down in terms of overall quality, but it’s perfectly suited for capturing wider landscapes and other busy scenes, as long as it’s not too dark out.

Then there’s the telephoto camera, which is about on par with the main camera in terms of quality — except when it’s nighttime. It doesn’t fall apart by any means, but it struggles to capture enough light for a pleasing end result. But with good lighting, this camera is quite the beast. It takes beautiful portrait photos, thanks to the new Hasselblad-tuned blur effects; it gives you 3x lossless zoom; and you can punch in all the way to 120x if you want, which is farther than Samsung’s 100x Space Zoom on the S24 Ultra. Your pictures will look like watercolors, but it’s still cool the feature exists.

Compared to other phones like the iPhone 15 Pro and Pixel 8 Pro, the OnePlus 12 did well in holding its own. I prefer the look of photos from the iPhone since they feel more true to life, while the Pixel does a much better job of capturing night scenes. But if the OnePlus 12 is the only phone you’re carrying (which will be the case for almost everyone who isn’t a tech reviewer like me), you’ll be happy with what you can get from the device.

Video quality is also pretty solid. It can’t beat the iPhone or Pixel (those phones are in leagues of their own when it comes to video), but you can produce some nice-looking clips, thanks to the incredible optical image stabilization. Like I mentioned before, you can also record clips in Dolby Vision for better colors and brightness. And if you want to get bonkers with it, OnePlus supports videos at up to 8K/24 frames per second. You probably don’t have an 8K screen to show them on, but if you’re hankering for recording videos higher than 4K, you have that option.

Like the OnePlus 11, the OnePlus 12 carries the Hasselblad brand on its camera system, continuing OnePlus’ partnership with the iconic camera company that dates back to 2021. Hasselblad technically has a hand in how the cameras are tuned on the OnePlus 12, and it helped create Master Mode and the new portrait mode tools. If the word “Hasselblad” was missing from the back of the phone, I’m not sure it would make a huge difference since OnePlus has been doing a good job with its cameras lately. Still, it’s cool to see that a few geniuses from the nearly 200-year-old camera manufacturer had a hand in engineering the system.

Blazing-fast performance and multiday battery life

OnePlus is known for making some of the fastest phones you can buy, and the OnePlus 12 is no exception. The phone is powered by the new Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor from Qualcomm, which has a number of meaningful improvements over the 8 Gen 2 from last year like better gaming and machine learning capabilities. It’s paired with either 12GB or 16GB of RAM and 256GB or 512GB of storage.

I was sent the 16GB RAM/512GB storage model, and let me tell you, this thing is a screamer. No matter what I throw at it — managing my content schedule for the week, playing visually heavy games, running multiple apps at once — you can’t slow this phone down. Apps also have a much easier time remaining open in the background, thanks to the extra RAM and OnePlus’ software tricks to keep them from closing. This means you can multitask way faster than on most phones, which is really sweet.

It’s worth noting that I had this experience without using the full extent of the system. There’s an option in settings that lets you turn on high-performance mode, which removes OnePlus’ software limits on the processor and lets it run at full blast, making the phone even faster. You’ll lose battery life faster with the feature turned on, but it’s handy if you want to get the most out of your new phone.

There’s also a fancy cooling system inside the OnePlus 12 that takes up almost the entire backside of the phone. It’s designed to keep your phone cool no matter what you do, and I must say, it works like a charm. I’ve never had this phone get hot while I was using it; the only time it got marginally warm was during setup, which is normal for most phones.

I ran benchmarks through Geekbench 6 to see what kind of scores I’d get, and they’re on par with the competition. (Full disclosure: I had to turn on high-performance mode in order to generate these scores since the ones I was getting with the feature turned off were strangely low.)

Battery life is equally as impressive, if not more. The phone comes with a 5,400mAh battery, making it one of the largest you’ll find in any modern flagship. Combined with OnePlus’ optimizations to preserve as much power as possible, this phone can easily last two days on a charge. I kid you not, I unplugged the phone at 100% last Friday morning, used it as I would any other phone (taking pictures, playing games, texting my friends, checking X) and I didn’t have to plug it back in until Saturday night right after dinner.

In our battery test where we loop a 4K video at 50% screen brightness with airplane mode on, the device lasted 25 hours and 38 minutes, making it one of the longest-lasting phones in our test’s history — even beating the new $1,300 Galaxy S24 Ultra by a few minutes. This phone refuses to die, which makes this an easy pick if you like having a phone that you don’t have to worry about charging.

When it does come time to charge back up, OnePlus includes its 80W SuperVOOC charger in the box. That’s one of the fastest charging speeds around, which OnePlus claims can recharge your OnePlus 12 from zero to 100% in 30 minutes. I ran a test myself to see if that was true, and it was only off by an extra two minutes. I’ll be totally honest: This phone’s charging speed can spoil every other smartphone for you.

Wireless charging is back

For whatever reason, OnePlus decided that it didn’t need to include wireless charging on the OnePlus 11 last year. People were outraged by that, so the company changed its mind and included it on the OnePlus 12.

The best part is that you get 50W fast wireless charging, whereas most phones can only charge at 15W. The faster speed can take you from zero to 100% in as little as 55 minutes. I tested this and saw the phone get to 100% after about an hour, which is much faster than any other phone on a wireless charger.

The only catch is you have to buy OnePlus’ AIRVOOC 50W Wireless Charger if you want speedy charging. That’ll set you back an extra $70, but compared to other wireless chargers on the market, it may be worth it if you still want to enjoy fast charging when going wireless.

What we didn’t like about it

OxygenOS is getting better, but it’s still not great

OnePlus has, for lack of a better phrase, a “unique take” on Android with OxygenOS. It’s one of the heaviest skins you’ll find in the United States, with custom icons, animations and effects that make it feel vaguely similar to iOS. It’s a much different take on Android than something like Samsung’s One UI, which is a bit simpler, despite its vast array of features.

On the OnePlus 11, I wasn’t a fan of OxygenOS at all. It felt choppy, heavy and intrusive in ways that tarnished the experience. On the OnePlus 12, OnePlus has made improvements to its performance and fluidity to a point that I don’t mind it as much. It feels a bit nicer to use than before, but it’s still far from perfect.

While performance is no longer an issue, strange animations and software quirks make the OnePlus 12 feel awkward to use. For example, when you swipe up on the home screen to bring up the app drawer, a swipe down doesn’t always guarantee the app drawer will disappear; sometimes you have to swipe from the side to go back to the home screen. The scrolling physics of OxygenOS’ UI also feel really weird; it’s some combination of too slow and too springy, which makes it feel unnatural compared to other Android phones.

I’m also not a huge fan of how OxygenOS looks. Just a couple of years ago, it was one of my favorite skins since it replicated a vanilla Android experience with a few software tweaks on top. But with the last couple of generations of OnePlus phones, it’s adopted such a heavy skin that I barely recognize it. Of course, this is purely subjective and you might not mind OxygenOS’ design, but at least for me, I’ll be sticking with pure Android.

Underneath all that, the OnePlus 12 runs Android 14, so you’re getting the latest features and security updates. According to OnePlus, the device will get four years of updates, which is slightly disappointing. We just saw Google and Samsung promise to deliver seven years of updates to their devices, so OnePlus has some work to do if it wants to catch up.

Speaker quality is underwhelming

Every time I review a phone, I play plenty of music with its stereo speakers because the company behind the phone tells me how good they sound. OnePlus was no different; I was promised a great listening experience with the OnePlus 12’s Dolby Atmos-equipped speakers, and I was very underwhelmed by what I heard.

These speakers sound tinny and hollow, with very little bass. They feel somewhat lifeless compared to other phones like the Pixel 8 Pro and, most notably, the iPhone 15 Pro, which continues to impress me with its speaker quality. I recommend pairing some headphones to the OnePlus 12 if you want to listen to music, podcasts or movies.

You’re out of luck if you hate big phones

Unlike phones like the Galaxy S24 and iPhone 15 Pro, the OnePlus 12 is available in only one size: big. If you want all the perks of the device, like its fast performance and long battery life, you have to be willing to put up with carrying around a huge phone.

After ditching the iPhone 14 Pro Max for the smaller iPhone 15 Pro, I found that I much prefer smaller devices that I can use with one hand. The OnePlus 12 is far from a single-hand smartphone. Not only is it hard to hold with one hand, it’s also slippery, due to its glass design, and it’s far too tall to reach anything at the top of the screen with your thumb.

Of course, many people prefer larger phones, and the OnePlus 12 will be right up their alley. But if you’re Team Small Phone, you’re out of luck.

How it compares

Bottom line

While the OnePlus 12 may fall a bit behind in camera and software quality compared to other flagships, it’s by far one of the most well-rounded smartphones you can buy. A beautiful screen that’s super bright, powerful performance, multiday battery life, snappy software and blazing-fast charging speeds for $800? That’s quite the steal in today’s market.

You’ll enjoy better camera quality on phones like the Pixel 8 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro and Galaxy S24 Ultra. You’ll get cleaner software with a Google Pixel or Samsung Galaxy. But what those phones can’t give you is a top-tier flagship experience for less than $1,000, and that’s exactly what OnePlus delivers here. If you want to save some money on your next phone and still want something that holds up against the best smartphones, the OnePlus 12 is an easy recommendation.