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In the first month of January, we’ve seen more flagships than we usually do in the first half of any year! One of these is the much anticipated OnePlus 12, which I’ve been using for a little less than a week. So, while I work on a long-term review, here are my first impressions of the product.
Design
Trademark OnePlus, the Hasselbrand-branded camera module lies on the top left of the rear panel. The finish is a lovely ‘Flowy Emerald’ shade inspired by the glistening blue-green waters of glacial rivers. The overall design language is said to be inspired by luxury watches, and the colour and finish definitely make an impression. The pretty rear panel is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 5.
At 220 grams, the OnePlus 12 isn’t the lightest flagship, but isn’t unwieldy either. You have the usual Alert Slider on the left side, and the power button and volume rocker on the right. The display is sizeable at 6.82 inches, right up my alley.
It has a resolution of 3168x1440 p and offers a peak brightness of 4500 nits, as well as up to 120 Hz of adaptive refresh rate. I catch up on Kannan Gill’s “Is This It?”, a stand-up act filled with humour and existential dread, as life generally is. At 2160p, the visuals are crisp, and the sound is fairly multidimensional. This is possibly due to the 3D spatial audio built-in, to boost the capabilities of the dual stereo speakers with Dolby Atmos. In Daniel Castro’s I’ll Play The Blues For You the electronic guitar, with the accompanying bass, drums, and keyboards, and his soothing voice to top it off, all came through rich and resonant.
Camera
The rear camera set-up is robust - a 50MP camera with a 1/1.4-inch Sony LYT-808 sensor, a 64 MP 3x periscope telephoto camera, and a 48 MP ultra-wide camera. ProXDR display tech is very much part of how the photos look on-screen when captured, and this time around the HDR effect seems to have been toned down a bit (compared to the OnePlus Open), resulting in more realistic contrast and dynamic range in the final snapshots. The Hasselblad Portrait mode delivers some lovely portraits with a pleasant bokeh in the background. I shot a couple of videos in the 4K Dolby Vision video mode, and the video was smooth and crystal clear. Low-light photography was appropriately brightened up, without much graininess.
OnePlus 12: Camera samples
OnePlus 12: Camera samples
There’s also master mode, smart scene recognition, dual-view video, movie mode, and more, which I’m still in the process of experimenting with. I’ll be sharing more details about this in the next edition of Technophile, out every Thursday in print.
Tech Specs
The OnePlus 12 is powered by Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 mobile platform and the unit I reviewed had 16 GB RAM and 512 GB storage. The interface is OxygenOS based on Android 14, with more fluid interactions and animation. There’s a dual cryo-velocity VC cooling system, ensuring the smartphone stays cool during extended gaming sessions. There’s also an in-built infrared remote control, which you can use to control electronic devices ranging from air-conditioners to smart lights and robotic vacuum cleaners.
Battery
The OnePlus 12 is powered by a 5,400mAh battery, which delivers some truly impressive use cycles. I had mobile hotspot on pretty much throughout the day, while using the device to also binge on videos and read an e-book. I also used the camera extensively during the day, and the battery had not even dropped to 60 per cent by the end of the day. There are very few flagships that can boast this kind of battery prowess. With the 100W SUPERVOOC fast-charging brick, the smartphone takes a little less than 30 minutes to charge fully, and the smartphone can also be charged wirelessly.
Verdict
In my experience with the OnePlus 12, two things stand out - its photography capabilities and its long-lasting battery life. The audio-visual experience with multimedia streaming has also been quite impressive so far. Those who indulge in gaming will also find that the processor handles it with ease and that there are no heating issues. All in all, the OnePlus 12 delivers what a flagship should - most features working well as promised, and very little room for complaint.
Price
₹64,9999 (12GB/256GB)
₹ 69,999 (16GB/256GB)
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