Introduction
OnePlus 12R is the latest addition to the company’s lineup of flagship smartphones, offering a compelling combination of premium features and affordability. The device is powered by last year’s flagship chipset, and packs a triple rear camera system, a high-capacity battery, and extremely fast charging, making this package a decent choice, at least when looking at the paper. Does it deliver though?
Design and Build Quality
OnePlus 12R boasts a sleek and modern design that exudes both elegance and durability. Its aluminum frame and Gorilla Glass Victus 2 protection ensure a robust build quality. The slim profile and lightweight construction make it comfortable to hold and carry.
The glossy finish at the back means it’s a fingerprint magnet, but that can easily be solved with a case. A notable difference is the camera module, which, while in many ways, has a similar look to the OnePlus 11. There’s no Hasselblad branding here, and there’s an LED flash on the outside section, which is in a matte finish.
The bottom section remains the same, with a speaker grille, a USB-C port, and the SIM tray. The device also boasts an IP64 rating for water and dust resistance, which is slightly lower than the OnePlus 12, but is better there than none.
Button placement is also different, with both the volume rocker and power button located on the right side, while the alert slider has been moved to the left side. In any case, I’m glad they kept it. OnePlus 12R comes in two colors, Cool Blue and Iron Gray, both of which showcase a premium and understated aesthetic.
Camera
While technically a downgrade from the OnePlus 11, the camera system on the OnePlus 12R is still notable. You get a triple-camera setup headed by a 50MP Sony IMX890 primary sensor, an 8-megapixel ultra-wide lens, and a 2-megapixel macro lens. Again, no Hasselblad tuning, and no Hasselblad filters.
That being said, photos from the main camera still look very good with excellent levels of detail and good levels of sharpness for day shots. The depth of field effect also looks very convincing. As for night shots, I feel like they could be better in terms of detail, but they are generally still very good for social media updates.
For video recording, the main camera can capture up to 4K 60fps, while the ultra-wide unit only maxes out at 1080p 30fps. The overall quality is good, so is the stabilization.
Performance
While not the latest, the OnePlus 12R’s Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset still has more than enough punch to handle anything you may want to throw at it. May it the usual day-to-day apps, or even graphics-intensive games. Paired with 16GB of LPDDR5X RAM, it also offers plenty of room for multitasking. Sure, the 256GB of UFS 3.1 storage is slower than the UFS 4.0 storage on the OnePlus 11. But to be honest, I couldn’t tell the difference in day-to-day use.
One thing to note is that the USB-C port only supports USB 2.0 transfer speeds, which can really be a hassle when transferring large amounts of data from the device to say, your PC.
Gaming-wise, you get what you’ll expect from a last-gen flagship chipset. It will handle almost anything you throw at it with ease.
Battery Life and Charging
OnePlus 12R houses a substantial 5,500mAh dual-cell battery, delivering excellent battery life. With a 1080p YouTube video playing on loop at 50% brightness, the device managed to run for almost 24 hours straight before running out of juice.
Additionally, the device supports 100W SUPERVOOC fast charging, enabling a full charge in under an hour, which is a remarkable feat.
While the battery capacity remains unchanged from the OnePlus 11 5G, the improved power efficiency of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset and software optimizations should result in better battery life overall.
Audio and Multimedia
OnePlus 12R delivers an immersive multimedia experience, thanks to its dual stereo speakers and support for Dolby Atmos audio. Whether you’re watching movies, playing games, or listening to music, the device provides a rich and engaging sound experience.
The OnePlus 11 had a fantastic display, and the OnePlus 12R follows it up with an even better one, at least on paper. You get a 6.78-inch AMOLED ProXDR display with LTPO 4 technology, 1Hz-120Hz refresh rate, up to 2160Hz PWM dimming, HDR10+ support, and Gorilla Glass Victus 2 protection.
In short, this display showcases punchy colors, deep blacks, and excellent levels of detail along with buttery smooth transitions that make it a treat for the eyes when watching movies, scrolling through websites, and using compatible apps.
Software
OnePlus 12R runs OxygenOS 14 on top of Android 14, offering a clean and intuitive software experience. It offers the usual features for multitasking like floating window, as well as the smart sidebar which lets you quickly access select apps and functions like taking screenshots and screen recordings.
This take on Android also offers a decent amount of room to personalize the UI to the user’s preferences. You also get an Always on Display feature, an Edge Lighting, which is one of my favorite ways of receiving alerts.
OnePlus 12R: Verdict
OnePlus 12R is an impressive addition to the company’s lineup, offering a compelling combination of powerful hardware, impressive camera capabilities, and a refined user experience. While it may not match the top-tier specifications of the OnePlus 11 5G in certain aspects, the 12R delivers an excellent overall package.
The only downside is that it’s priced very close to other flagships that offer better hardware where it matters the most, including the OnePlus 11 5G.
Emman has been writing technical and feature articles since 2010. Prior to this, he became one of the instructors at Asia Pacific College in 2008, and eventually landed a job as Business Analyst and Technical Writer at Integrated Open Source Solutions for almost 3 years.
