OnePlus 12 release date, price, specs and more

The wait is over. The OnePlus 12 is now officially available in the U.S., with more rollouts in other markets overseas, giving users yet that flagship experience at a value price.

The OnePlus 11 was 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 is much better placed to compete with these devices, as well as the Galaxy S24, which also launched at the same time frame.

All the news and rumors we've heard up to now are summarized below to give you a good idea of what it's all about, but our OnePlus 12 review goes into deeper analysis.

OnePlus 12: Specifications

OnePlus 12: Price and availability

OnePlus launched the OnePlus 12 on December 5, but only for the Chinese market. The global release of the OnePlus 12 is scheduled for February 6, and will be available to purchase from OnePlus and select retailer like Amazon and Best Buy.

Price-wise you're going to pay at least $799 for the OnePlus 12, which is $100 more than last year. This nets you a model with 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage space. Upgrading to 16GB RAM and 512GB of storage will set you back $899.

OnePlus will also be offering an exclusive trade-in bonus, which will earn you an additional $100 off the price of a OnePlus 12 handset.

While more expensive than previous years, the OnePlus 12 is still undercutting the competition — including the likes of the Google Pixel 8 Pro, Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra and iPhone 15 Pro Max.

OnePlus 12: Design and display

If you're familiar with the OnePlus 11's design, then the OnePlus 12 shouldn't have a hugely surprising look. Though there have been a few design tweaks that help it stand apart, and seemingly for the better.

The four-lens Hasselblad-branded camera is back, but with a slight lip around the rim that makes it look less like a flat glass panel protruding from the back of the phone. There's also metal trim sides and a textured casing, while the trademark OnePlus mute switch has swapped positions and lives on the left side of the phone.

There's also an IR blaster on the top edge of the OnePlus 12, letting you use it as a universal remote if you so desire.

Over on the front we have a 6.82-inch 2K ProXDR display, complete with 4,500 nits of peak brightness and an adaptive 120Hz refresh rate. That means you've got a screen that should look silky smooth in a variety of conditions, especially gaming, with brightness that should stand up well to use in direct sunlight.

OnePlus has also added what it called AquaTouch, which it claims will enhance sensitivity and accuracy when the phone's screen is wet. Which should prove ideal for the times you get caught out in a sudden burst of rain.

You don't need to worry about water damage in those situations either, with OnePlus promising an IP65 water and dust resistance rating. Just be aware that IP65 only means a device is protected from water jets, meaning complete submersion is out of the question.

OnePlus 12: Cameras

Cameras have never been OnePlus's strongest feature, but it seems like the OnePlus 12 is itching to break that stigma. The 4th Gen Hasselblad Camera for Mobile system includes a 50MP main camera lens, a 48MP ultrawide and a 64MP periscope telephoto lens with 3x optical zoom.

As we noted in our OnePlus 12 review, the 50MP lens offers some excellent photo results, though nothing too different in comparison to the OnePlus 11. We found that the 48MP ultrawide and Portrait mode shots came out with similar results. 

However the 12MP selfie cameras on the front did seem to produce more true-to-life tones, which is always beneficial. The 64MP telephoto lens also showed a stark improvement over the OnePlus 11, especially thanks to the boosted 3x optical zoom.  The results are sharper and more detailed, especially when you crop the shots down to size.

Image 1 of 4

OnePlus 12 camera samples

Low-light photos don't look so amazing, based on our testing, with a tendency to underexpose and offer warmer colors than the OnePlus 11. However there is a considerably lower amount of noise.

Other points of note include a dedicated Pro mode, which should prove beneficial for photography enthusiasts that like finer control over their camera settings. Video resolution also tops out at 8K at 30fps.

We'll have to do some more testing to see how the OnePlus 12 compares to come of its rivals from Apple and Samsung, though.

OnePlus 12: Performance

It should come as no surprise to hear that the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset is the one powering the OnePlus 12. Naturally the benchmarking tests show that the chip is no slouch, and it should mean the OnePlus 12 will be able to handle resource-heavy processes like gaming with no problems.

The OnePlus 12 proved incredibly well in the graphics department, clocking a score of 19,572 in 3DMark Wild Life Unlimited and 117.2 fps. That exceeds the iPhone 15 Pro, though it understandably falls quite far behind the Galaxy S24 Ultra — with has a Galaxy-optimized version of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3.

Of course the Geekbench scores weren't nearly as impressive, with the OnePlus 12 scoring 943 on the single-core testing and 4,859 on the multi-core test. We never expected it to beat the iPhone 15 Pro or Galaxy S24 Ultra, but we also didn't predict it would lag so far behind.

The same goes for Adobe Premiere Rush video transcribing either, with a final time of 59 seconds.

OnePlus 12: Battery and charging

The OnePlus 12's charging situation is a little bittersweet this year. While wireless charging is back, and at 50W speeds once again, the wired charging option has dropped to 80W outside of China. While that's still not exactly slow, it may seem disappointing for those of you that want to recharge as fast as possible.

Not that you should need to recharge much, thanks to the 5,400 mAh battery pack. What's remarkable is the superior power efficiency of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, and paired with the larger battery, delivers the best phone battery life in a flagship we've tested. Specifically, it reaches 17 hours and 41 minutes, easily besting the OnePlus 11's time of 13 hours and 10 minutes.

Adding yet more reason why it's a battery champ, the OnePlus 12 also makes a slight improvement to its recharge times as well. For the U.S. model, its 80W wired speed gets the phone to 60% in 15 minutes — with a full charge at 100% in 30 minutes flat. These are impressive numbers that are hard to beat.

OnePlus 12 Software

OnePlus hasn't really changed much in terms of software on the OnePlus 12. OxygenOS retains its clean, modern-looking version of Android with a few extra features thrown in for good measure, but there's very little else to write home about this year.

So if you were expecting OnePlus to go all in on AI like Samsung and Google, you're going to be very disappointed.

Though there are some AI features along for the ride, they're pretty basic and aren't that unique. Like Magic Compose, developed by Google, that uses generative AI to help you craft personalized messages. There's also an "Emojify" feature coming at the end of Q1 2024, which is supposed to use generative AI to turn picture of your face or pets into emoji.

But that's pretty much it on the software front.

OnePlus 12: Outlook

The OnePlus 12 certainly feels like one of the more competitive options the company has produced over thew past few years. More so with the improvements to the camera and the reintroduction of wireless charging. The fact that it offers a similar set of features at a much lower price point is also going to work in OnePlus's favor. 

Of course rival phones have invested more in the software side of things, particularly where AI is concerned. If that's the kind of thing that matters to you, then the OnePlus 12 may not be the phone for you. But if you have a tight budget and still want the flagship experience, this is looking like the phone for you.

More from Tom's Guide

• The best Android phones you can buy today
• OnePlus Open — the latest on OnePlus' first-ever foldable phone
• OnePlus Pad review: A new standard for Android tablets