OnePlus 12 Review (3 Months In): Nailing the Flagship Fundamentals!

Since the start of 2024, we've had several flagship smartphones hit the Indian market. And then there's the top dogs from the end of 2024 courtesy of Apple and Google. So in a market with increasing competition, how does one stand out? That's exactly the question we are going to tackle in this in-depth OnePlus 12 review.

To recall, the OnePlus 12 5G was unveiled in India back in January 2024 with a starting price of Rs 64,999 for the base 12GB/256GB configuration. And after giving our brief experience of the device, we thought it apt to do a follow-up after the competition in the Indian market ramped up to see where the OnePlus 12 5G stands.

PROS

• Vibrant 120Hz Display
• Good Battery Life
• Wired and Wireless Fast Charging Support
• Powerful Chipset
• Versatile Cameras
• Bloat-free Software Experience

CONS

• IP65 Rating
• Underwhelming Front Camera Performance
• Software Support Not Quite as Good as Rivals

Design & Build

The OnePlus 12 5G arrived in Flowy Emerald and Silky Black color options. Our model arrived in the Silky Black shade, which wasn't too different from the Iron Gray variant of the OnePlus 12R. The Silky Black color option has a smooth, textured matte finish on the back with Gorilla Glass 5 protection. OnePlus also retained the circular camera module from its predecessor.

Our black model featured a gold ring surrounding the circular camera cluster, which is inarguably the most elegant part of the design. Up front, there is a curved OLED screen that is protected by a layer of Gorilla Glass Victus 2. The sleek aluminum frame also adds a touch of elegance, while giving the handset a sturdy built.

OnePlus deviates from the flat panel of the Galaxy S24 and Xiaomi 14, although the curved edges here make the phone more comfortable to grip. OnePlus has equipped its latest flagship with an IP65 rating, which will allow the handset to survive splashes of water or heavy rain, although don't expect to dip it in water without consequences.

One of the most noticeable design changes up front is the placement of the Alert Slider, which now sits on the left. The volume and power buttons are positioned to the left, while the speaker grille, SIM tray, and USB Type-C port all sit at the bottom. OnePlus does offer a bit more protection in the form of a case in the box.

In terms of the overall design, the phone is smooth to the touch, although that can make it a little slippery, so it is best to use it with the case included in the box. The shimmering back panel coupled with the matte black finish look good and the build quality is just about top-notch. However, you should have an IP67 or 68 rating at this price.

Display

OnePlus has made zero concessions with the display of its flagship 12 5G. The handset sports a 6.82-inch 2K Pro-XDR BOE X1 OLED display with a pixel density of 510 PPI. The panel features LTPO 4.0 technology for an adaptive 120Hz refresh rate (1Hz - 120Hz) and a 240Hz touch sampling rate.

The screen features an impressive peak brightness of 4,500 nits, although we can't think of a scenario where that would come in clutch. To improve your viewing experience, the OnePlus 12 5G's panel also supports Dolby Vision and HDR10+. The 2160Hz PWM for dimming also ensures good eye protection.

The OnePlus 12 5G has one of the most impressive screens in the segment. The display's new Aqua Touch feature was something I couldn't get over. It allows you to seamlessly use the display with wet hands, registering touches accurately even when the panel is covered in water. Four months on and this is still one of the best displays in the segment.

Performance

For performance, the OnePlus 12 5G uses the powerful Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 SoC paired with the Adreno 750 GPU. The phone comes with up to 16GB of LPDDR5X RAM and up to 512GB of UFS 4.0 storage. The OnePlus 12 5G also introduces a new Dual Cryo-Velocity VC Cooling System.

The new cooling system offers class-leading heat dissipation, allowing you to run AAA titles and charge the phone simultaneously or edit 4K videos without any overheating. There's also a new proprietary Trinity Engine which aims to provide a smooth experience when undertaking heavy-duty tasks, while multi-tasking, and in long-term usage scenarios.

I will explore the new cooling system and Trinity Engine, which keeps the phone running smoothly without any heating issues after a full hour of Call of Duty: Mobile. Other titles I tested on the OnePlus 12 included Diablo Immortal, BGMI, and Asphalt 9: Legends, all of which ran on their highest settings.

Genshin Impact also ran smoothly for an entire hour on high graphics without any lag or stutters. In Geekbench 6, the OnePlus 12 managed a single-core score of 1401 points and a multi-core score of 5181 points. AnTuTu saw the handset manage an overall score of 1,741,511 points. Overall, the OnePlus 12 didn't disappoint in terms of performance as it is nothing short of the best.

Cameras

When it comes to optics, the OnePlus 12 5G is equipped with a new triple-rear camera system that is headlined by a 50 MP Sony LYT-808 primary sensor with a 1/1.4" size, an f/1.6 aperture, OIS, and EIS. The main camera is paired with a 48 MP Sony IMX581 ultrawide lens with an f/2.2 aperture and a 114-degree FOV.

Lastly, there's a 64 MP OmniVision OV64B telephoto-periscope lens with 3x optical zoom, an f/2.6 aperture, OIS, Autofocus, and EIS. Up front, the OnePlus 12 5G opts for a 32 MP Sony IMX615 camera sensor for selfies.

The main camera performed admirably in daylight, capturing a ton of detail and wide dynamic range. The white balance was quite reliable, while colors looked vibrant. Photos looked sharp and slightly oversaturated at times.

In dim light, the auto night mode kicked in to brighten up the scene by reducing noise, upping the detail, and perfectly maintaining saturation levels. However, I will have to test Night mode out in a few more scenarios before making any judgements.

The ultrawide camera maintains good color consistency between the main and telephoto shooters. It reproduces detailed shots with minimal distortion on the edges. The periscope lens can do 3x optical zoom but 6x lossless zoom. While you do realize the difference going from 3x magnification to 6x magnification, the results are still quite good.

The OnePlus 12 does offer 120x digital zoom but that isn't very reliable. The drop off in quality does start after 6x zoom, although I saw usable results, going up to 10x zoom at night and 20x magnification in good lighting. The 64 MP shooter produces sharp, detailed images and is excellent for snapping portraits.

Night mode turns on by default in low light, bringing in more detail into the shot. It brightens shots without overexposing shots or overblowing highlights. Shadows also had a good amount of detail, although capturing subjects in motion is a challenge at night.

The ultrawide camera is quite as good as its primary compatriot at night, falling short in terms of exposure and detail. The shooter doesn't handle shadows quite as well, although it does tend to lighten up the scene. Lastly, the periscope lens also does a solid job at night with adequate ambient light.

The rear camera system can record 8K videos at 30fps or 4K videos up to 60fps. It also supports Dolby Vision HDR video recording and a new Hasselblad Portrait mode. There's OIS on both the main and periscope cameras for stable footage with true-to-life colors and excellent detail.

The 32 MP selfie snapper on the OnePlus 12 was fairly average. Shots in daylight had good dynamic range, accurate skin tones, and natural colors. Edge detection was also on point for portrait shots. However, low light shots on the front camera were quite poor. You aren't going to get Pixel or iPhone level quality here, but OnePlus comes pretty close, while offering more versatility.

Battery

The OnePlus 12 5G also makes considerable improvements in the battery department, now equipped with a 5,4000 mAh cell that easily passes the all-day test, even under heavy usage. I estimate around 8.5 hours of screen-on time. Additionally, OnePlus also offers a 100W adapter in the box that can take the phone that is touted to give you a full charge in 26 minutes.

Moreover, the OnePlus 12 5G now supports 50W AIRVOOC wireless charging, which delivers a 100% charge in just under an hour, which is faster than the wired charging support offered on the latest Galaxy S24 series. Lastly, the Battery Health Engine helps maintain battery integrity with the OnePlus 12 5G boasting a TÜV SÜD 48-Month Fluency Rating A, guaranteeing 36 months of fluid battery performance.

Software

For software, the OnePlus 12 5G runs on Android 14 out of the box with OxygenOS 14. OxygenOS 14 comes with features like the new Trinity Engine to help improve performance and game visuals. OxygenOS 14 is clean for the most part with a generally bloat-free experience.

The OnePlus 12 5G brings a refreshed take on the Always-on Display feature and redesigned Zen Spaces. The OnePlus 12 also comes with enhanced privacy and security features. There's a new Fluid Cloud function that presents relevant data from native and third-party apps on the left of the screen.

While the OnePlus 12 5G skip the AI features of the Galaxy S24 series and Pixel 8 series, there are still some useful translation and writing tools as well as an image editor. There's also new image editing features, including a Pixel-like Magic Eraser. We could also see a few AI features as Google introduces it to the Android ecosystem.

The OnePlus 12 5G offers four years of Android OS updates and five years of regular security updates. Software support is not quite at the level of Samsung, Google, and Apple but is still decent, nonetheless.

And There's More!

The entertainment experience can't be complete without good sound and OnePlus doesn't disappoint with its dual-stereo speaker system and 3D Spatial Audio. With the aid of Dolby Atmos, the OnePlus 12 5G creates a surround sound experience, getting quite loud with decent bass and no distortion.

The OnePlus 12 also features a snappy in-display optical fingerprint sensor that is quick and responsive. The phone is all tanked up with the latest connectivity options including 4G LTE, 5G, Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.4, a USB 3.2 Gen 1 port, and more. Now to the question of is the OnePlus 12 5G still a viable flagship mid-way through 2024?

OnePlus 12 5G Long Term Review

Well, the short answer is 'yes'! But where's the fun in that? So let's break it down. The OnePlus 12 5G nails the fundamentals, relying mostly on hardware prowess rather than software magic. There's no heavy reliance on AI prowess, instead, OnePlus brings the best display, chipset, and battery life in the segment.

Moreover, it also features super-fast wired and wireless charging, with an adapter in the box. Combine this with good speakers, reliable software, and a solid build, and you have all the makings of a boring flagship. But is boring bad?

In a market where brands look for a niche, OnePlus does an excellent job of getting the basics right, which is why it earns an easy recommendation from us. The OnePlus 12 5G follows the same formula as its predecessor, while bringing several quality-of-life improvements. In 2024, this is perhaps one of the best default flagships to date.