There's not long until the OnePlus 12 arrives overseas, so in the meantime we can check out all the confirmed details and become jealous of the Chinese users who can already try it out.
The current OnePlus 11 is an excellent flagship phone, and one that still stands up against newer devices like the iPhone 15 and Pixel 8 . But with upgrades like a brighter display, a better telephoto camera and impressive wired and wireless charging and computing performance confirmed to be on the way, the OnePlus 12 should be much better placed to compete with these devices, as well as upcoming ones like the Galaxy S24, which should launch close in time to the new OnePlus.
All the news and rumors we've heard up to now are summarized below to give you a good idea of what to expect from the OnePlus 12.
OnePlus 12: Latest news (Updated December 5)
- The OnePlus 12 has been launched in China, with a global launch coming right around the corner.
- OnePlus confirmed details about the cameras, display and wireless charging capabilities of the OnePlus 12, as well as about its IP rating and battery.
- OnePlus has also shown off the first official look at the OnePlus 12, ahead of its Chinese launch.
- Anututu benchmarks show the OnePlus 12 outperforming other devices.
OnePlus 12: specs
| Launch date | December 2023 (China)/ Early 2024 (global) |
| Display | 6.82-inch 2K OLED |
| Refresh rate | 120Hz adaptive |
| Rear cameras | 50MP main, 48MP ultrawide, 64MP 3x telephoto |
| Front camera | 32MP selfie |
| Chipset | Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 |
| RAM | 12GB/16GB/24GB |
| Storage | 256GB/512GB/1TB |
| Battery | 5,400 mAh |
| Charging | 100W wired, 50W wireless |
| Colors | Green, white, black |
| Water/dust resistance | IP65 |
OnePlus 12: Rumored price and availability
OnePlus launched the OnePlus 12 on December 5, but only for the Chinese market. A global launch will follow in early 2024.
We don't know exactly when the international launch will be, but OnePlus has announced it will be confirming this date on December 15.
We've heard no specific pricing rumor yet, but hopefully OnePlus will continue to charge $699, which makes its flagship phones a bargain compared to the $1,000-plus pricetags of rivals like the Pixel 8 Pro, Galaxy S23 Plus and Galaxy S23 Ultra or iPhone 15 Pro. However with the Chinese pricing being slightly higher than what the OnePlus 11 was sold for, we need to brace ourselves for a possible price increase when we finally learn what the OnePlus 12 costs.
OnePlus 12: Design and display
OnePlus officially revealed what the OnePlus 12 looked like prior to the Chinese launch, and the phone's design was not all that surprising. Anyone familiar with either the OnePlus 11 will recognize it immediately.
That said, the design isn't entirely identical to the OnePlus 11, with confirmation that the Alert Slider will be making a comeback but in a new position. The switch was originally removed from the OnePlus 10T, and returned earlier this year on the OnePlus Open.
The difference this time is that the Alert Slider is moving to the left side of the OnePlus 12, and will feature an integrated antenna. Apparently this will improve performance for gaming, with a 3dB signal improvement and a 15% reduction in latency.
OnePlus will give the 12 an IP rating of IP65, which is a small improvement on the IP64 OnePlus 11. That's still behind most other flagship phones with their ratings of IP68 though.
The display of the OnePlus 12 has increased in size slightly to 6.8 inches in contrast to the 6.7 -inch screen on the OnePlus 11, and offers a 2K resolution and a 120Hz refresh rate. In a pre-launch announcement, OnePlus claimed its new phone would be the brightest on the market with a peak brightness of 4,500 nits.
OnePlus 12: Cameras
At the same time OnePlus was telling us about its display plans, it also confirmed a lot of details about the camera specs for the OnePlus 12, Specifically, the new phone will feature a 50MP main camera with a 1/1.43-inch sensor. That should help the OnePlus 12's main camera capture more light for brighter pictures.
Other cameras in the OnePlus 12 rear camera array include a 48MP ultrawide shooter and a 64MP telephoto lens. The latter will support a 3x optical zoom.
Meanwhile, the front camera on the OnePlus 12 will be a 32MP shooter, an upgrade from the 16MP selfie cam on the OnePlus 12.
Beyond the basic hardware, OnePlus has again got Swedish camera company Hasselblad to give its seal of approval to the OnePlus 12's cameras. This partnership has been running for several years now, and seems to have helped bring OnePlus' photo quality closer to the best camera phones on the market. Fingers crossed for more improvements to the photo processing this year that'll close the gap between OnePlus and companies like Samsung, Google and Apple even more.
OnePlus 12: Performance
To nobody's surprise, we'll get a Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip inside the OnePlus 12. OnePlus always goes for Qualcomm's latest and greatest Snapdragon chips in its flagship phones, so the Gen 3 is a natural pick that'll no doubt match up with many of next year's other top Android phones.
In fact, OnePlus has produced pre-launch benchmarks that show the OnePlus 12 posting the best-ever Antutu benchmark score, with the upcoming phone besting both the iPhone 15 and Galaxy S23. Antutu isn't the best benchmark for cross-platform comparisons, but we still expect the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3-powered phone to give the iPhone and its A16 Bionic chip all that it can handle, especially when it comes to graphics.
As for memory, the basic model gets 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. If you pay more, you can upgrade that RAM to 16GB or even 24GB, and the storage to 512GB or 1TB. That should be plenty of space for anyone, with even the basic model offering more memory by default than rival brands.
OnePlus 12: Battery and charging
OnePlus has always been a company concerned with charging speed, and so the confirmation that the OnePlus 12 will again use 100W wired charging isn't a surprise. A more enjoyable announcement is that 50W wireless charging will return to a flagship OnePlus phone. The OnePlus 11 offered no wireless charging capabilities at all.
However, we have to question whether the U.S. market will get this maximum charging speed. Because of differing voltages, previous OnePlus phones have offered lower charging speeds to American customers than in the rest of the world. The OnePlus 11, for example, has 100W charging everywhere except in the U.S., which gets a still speedy, but still inferior 80W standard.
As for the battery these chargers will fill, OnePlus has gone for a 5,400 mAh cell this year, increased from the OnePlus 11's 5,000 mAh. We're hoping this will make for fantastic results on our battery life test, as it's much larger than most comparably priced phones like the Pixel 8 Pro or Galaxy S23 Ultra.
OnePlus 12: Outlook
With most of the OnePlus 12's secrets now exposed, it's looking like a dangerous challenger for the latest Samsung, Google and Apple phones. We're especially keen to try out the charging speed and performance abilities of the new OnePlus to see just how far ahead of the pack they are. We'll also be examining the updated cameras' photos closely to see how OnePlus has progressed in this area.
Our no. 1 question however is what all these monstrous specs upgrades could mean for the OnePlus 12's price. Part of OnePlus' appeal is how its phones are usually cheaper than the competition, and losing that advantage may make it hard to recommend.
We've got another month at least before we know the answer to this question. But make sure to check back when we've got the answers.
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