OnePlus 12: Powerful Performance With Room to Step Up

The OnePlus 12 is packed with potent tech, from its supercharged processor to its glorious screen. 

But then it needs to be, as its $800 starting price (with 12GB RAM and 256GB storage) means it's more expensive than last year's OnePlus 11. 

Visually, the OnePlus 12's design doesn't stray far from the OnePlus 11. 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.

Using the phone when it's raining should be a bit easier too, as the phone's screen has been designed to recognize touch inputs, even when wet.

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.

To test the screen's input accuracy when wet, I sprinkled it with tap water, and while it was noticeably less accurate than when dry, it was still usable, with almost no incorrect inputs recognized. 

The OnePlus 12 runs the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 3 chip at its core, backed up by either 12GB or 16GB of RAM (as reviewed). 

The OnePlus 12 runs on Android 14, with OnePlus' Oxygen OS laid over the top. I quite like the interface -- it's neat and easy to operate. Android novices are just as well catered to here as experienced Android veterans. 

OnePlus offers four years of software updates and an additional fifth year of security updates. That's the same as on the OnePlus 11 and, while that was decent then, companies like Google and Samsung now offer seven years of support.

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. 

The other aspect to OnePlus' software optimizations is power efficiency, which together with the capacious 4,500-mAh battery (comprising dual 2,700-mAh batteries), allows the OnePlus 12 to deliver excellent battery life

Notable by its absence, though, is any major push for generative AI on the OnePlus 12. 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 the bandwagon here.

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. 

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. 

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. 

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. 

The OnePlus 12 comes with three rear cameras. They include a 50-megapixel main camera with a larger image sensor and wide f1.6 aperture, a 48-megapixel ultrawide camera and a 32-megapixel telephoto camera with a 3x optical zoom. 

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. 

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 a true flagship in many respects, but there are some things that hold me back from singing its praises completely. Chiefly is the camera, which really didn't impress, especially at night. If photography is crucial to your mobile experience, it's worth looking elsewhere. 

Still, if you're looking for a high-performance Android phone for gaming, with a battery that'll put up with punishment, the OnePlus 12 is well worth a look. 

Keep scrolling for more images of the OnePlus 12.