I put the OnePlus 12 and OnePlus 11 through a 7-round face-off — here’s the winner

When it comes to making affordably priced flagship phones, you only need to look at OnePlus. The company has built its reputation on offering premium features at not so premium prices. That’s why a OnePlus 12 vs. OnePlus 11 is needed to reveal what extra value, in any, is the company providing with its newest flagship model.

I’ve been quite critical about the last few generations of OnePlus phones, especially when they’ve been overhyped — yet unable to shed the stigma that has followed all OnePlus phones since the beginning. However, my perception changed dramatically when the OnePlus Open proved to me wrong in attaining the coveted top spot in our best foldable phones list.

In this OnePlus 12 vs. OnePlus 11 face-off, I’ll compare them in all the critical areas to see which one comes out on top — and ultimately — the one that offers the better value.

OnePlus 12 vs. OnePlus 11: Specfications

OnePlus 12 vs. OnePlus 11: Price and availability

The OnePlus 12 officially released on February 6, 2024, with a starting price of $799.99. That’s an increase over the OnePlus 11’s $699.99 when it launched on February 7, 2023. Price bumps have been common of late in the world of phones, evident in recent phones such as the iPhone 15 Pro Max, Pixel 8 Pro, and Galaxy S24 Ultra.

However, OnePlus does something different that effectively makes the OnePlus 12 the same price as its predecessor. Through a special trade-in offer only available through OnePlus’ website, you can trade in any phone in any condition and receive a guaranteed $100 instant credit. Meaning, it can be your broken flip phone from a decade ago — and you’ll still get this offer.

Both phones come in only two color options: black and green. But I think the more important thing you should know about them is that the OnePlus 12 offers the better value because of its two configuration options — 12 GB RAM / 256GB ROM and 16GB RAM / 512 GB ROM. In contrast, the OnePlus 11 is available in 8GB RAM / 128GB ROM and 16GB / 256GB ROM.

With increased RAM and double the storage with the base model, the OnePlus 12 easily has the better value.

Winner: OnePlus 12

OnePlus 12: was $899 now $699 with trade-in @ OnePlus
OYou don't need to spend a fortune on a premium flagship phone because the OnePlus 12 has everything you need at a fraction of the cost. With its superb triple cameras and outstanding battery life, it has one of the best values around.
Price check: $799 @ Amazon | $799 @ Best Buy

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OnePlus 12 vs. OnePlus 11: Design

Apart from its slightly larger size and denser feel, the OnePlus 12 doesn’t look awfully different from the OnePlus 11. The same design language is evident on both phones, proven by their textured matte backs, curved metal trimmed edges, and the prominent camera humps.

Speaking of cameras, the way the housing protrudes more with the OnePlus 12 gives it this slicker, more aggressive aesthetic that I like. Another change that I appreciate is how the OnePlus 12’s front-facing camera is positioned on the middle edge of the phone’s display, rather than the corner position, as on the OnePlus 11. I think it’s worth pointing out that an infrared blaster is incorporated into the the trim of the OnePlus 11 — giving it double duty as the ultimate universal remote.

And finally, the OnePlus 12 benefits from a marginally better IP65 rating. Therefore, it’s a bit more protected against water splashes than the IP64 rating of the OnePlus 11.

Winner: OnePlus 12

OnePlus 12 vs. OnePlus 11: Display

The OnePlus 12’s larger size is also related to the larger 6.82-inch ProXDR OLED display it’s packing — versus the OnePlus 11’s 6.7-inch AMOLED screen. Both screens look lovely and exhibit the same wide viewing angles and rich color tones. While the default screen mode tends to produce more muted colors, I often find myself changing them to Vivid mode to make the colors pop more.

The OnePlus 12 is reportedly able to reach a peak brightness output of 4,500 nits, which is unheard of in the work of phones. This rating is an ambitious one, especially considering how the OnePlus 11 is rated for up to 1,300 nits. Our testing is unable to confirm these claims, as they’re often obtained by specific conditions, but the OnePlus 12 reaches 1,115 nits.

Nevertheless, I placed both phones outside on a sunny day with auto brightness enabled. From what my eyes tell me, the OnePlus 12 is the one with the brighter display — albeit, it’s by a narrow margin. They also benefit from the same 120Hz refresh rates to make animations look more smoothly on their respective displays, which definitely comes in hand for gaming.

Winner: OnePlus 12

OnePlus 12 vs. OnePlus 11: Cameras

Similar to its past releases, OnePlus hypes the new 4th Gen Hasselblad Camera for Mobile system of the OnePlus 12. They consist of a main 50MP camera, 48MP ultrawide, and a 64MP periscope camera with 3x optical zoom. The latter’s important because it oversteps its predecessor by offering a longer telephoto zoom camera.

The newer and larger sensor in the OnePlus 12 inherently gives it the edge, which should be most noticeable with photos taken in low light. But you still can’t count out the OnePlus 11, which features a 50MP main camera, 48MP ultrawide, and a 32MP telephoto with 2x optical zoom.

I took both phones out and shot the same exact scene to determine which is the better camera phone. Here’s what I found.

The perfect example of the OnePlus 12’s superiority is the beachside wooden sign I shot above. There’s clearly a bright image with the OnePlus 12, which seems to boost the exposure in the shadows. Although, I’m still pleased by the OnePlus 11’s image as well because of its slightly stronger contrast.

Looking at the same shot using their respective ultrawide cameras, the results are nearly identical as well — where the OnePlus 12 generally has the brighter image with the shadowy parts of the grass getting a boost in exposure.

For their telephoto performance, I kept the OnePlus 11 at 2x zoom and the OnePlus 12 at 3x zoom. When I look at the yellow badge near the bottom right of the wooden sign, there’s better clarity and finer details with the OnePlus 12’s shot.

Oddly enough, I prefer how the OnePlus 11’s portrait mode shot better because it’s crisper and has more definition, which is most noticeable with the red hoodie I’m wearing. In contrast, the OnePlus suffers from just a softer, overall look.

When it comes to selfies, the OnePlus 12’s 32MP front-facing camera reveals details like the scruff around my face that I don’t see as much with the OnePlus 11. Adding to that, my skin tone looks more realistic compared to the lighter tone of the OnePlus 11.

So far up until now, the OnePlus 12 typically produces the brighter images between the two, but that changed when I took shots under low light conditions. The results are actually flipped, as the OnePlus 11 is the one with the brighter image with the photo of my garage in the backyard. It could very well be the result of where I tapped on the screen to set its exposure and brightness.

In another low light shot of the tree above with LED string lights on it, the OnePlus 11 delivers the brighter image. Somehow the lights themselves have a stronger glow, which as a result, tends to overexpose the highlights in the shot.

When it comes to video, there’s a lot of excitement around these two — like how they offer 8K video recording. I took them both out to Bryant Park and recorded video at 4K 30 fps. Again, the OnePlus 12 has the habit of looking brighter with its videos, which is especially most noticeable when I zoom into the skyscraper in the back. The darker brick pattern is brighter, more recognizable with the OnePlus 12. 

Winner: OnePlus 12

OnePlus 12 vs. OnePlus 11: Performance

Benefitting from the newer Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip, it's no surprise that the OnePlus 12 comes out on top in every synthetic performance test we ran on both phones. In GeekBench, it puts out impressive single and multi-cores scores of 2,188 and 6,525 — versus the OnePlus 11’s scores of 1,166 and 4,962. Don’t get me wrong, the OnePlus 11 performs smoothly with everyday operations, but there’s simply a better response from the OnePlus 12.

Gaming performance is also much better with the OnePlus 12, where it absolutely crushes with its score of 19,440 with 3DMark’s Wild Life Unlimited test. Compare that to the OnePlus 11’s 14,089 score, it’s simply no match. This is also attributed to the redesigned vapor cooling that better distributes heat buildup on the OnePlus 12. I fired up a quick session of Diablo Immortal on both flagships and can easily spot the smoother frame rates from the OnePlus 12.

Winner: OnePlus 12

OnePlus 12 vs. OnePlus 11: Battery life and charging

Not only does the OnePlus 12 flex its muscles in the processing department, but it does the same with its battery life and charging. First of all, it gains a larger 5,400 mAh battery that makes it a one-sided affair in Tom’s Guide’s battery benchmark test. Just for context, the OnePlus 11’s 5,000 mAh reaches a better than average time of 13 hours and 10 minutes. However, the OnePlus goes the distance by lasting 17 hours and 41 minutes — easily making our list of best phone battery life.

Its endurance isn’t solely due to its larger battery cell, but rather, the improved power efficiency of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3. Typical year-over-year battery improvements amount to an hour tops, so to find such a huge leap here is almost unreal. My day-to-day use also confirms this, as the OnePlus 12 easily carried me through an entire day with ease.

OnePlus kept the same 80W wired charging as before with the U.S. version of the OnePlus 12. Interestingly, even though both phones offer 80W wired charging, the OnePlus 12 somehow manages to complete a full charge to 100% in 30 minutes. The OnePlus 11 isn’t too far behind, reaching about 97% in that same span.

Yet, the biggest change I’m most ecstatic to see is the return of wireless charging with the OnePlus 12. This makes it a more rounded flagship model and undoubtedly boosts its value at the same time.

Winner: OnePlus 12

OnePlus 12 vs. OnePlus 11: Software

I wouldn’t say the software isn’t a total wash, but I was hoping to see something different with the OnePlus 12. Instead, we have the same OxyGenOS 14 experience running on top of Android 14 on both the OnePlus 11 and 12. Functionally, they’re identical at the moment, but that can change in the coming months.

That’s because the company plans to introduce AI features to the OnePlus 12 with software updates. The company’s late to the party following the efforts from Google and Samsung with their respective flagships, but at least these AI features will help to distinguish the OnePlus 12 over the 11.

Specifically, the OnePlus 12 will gain a feature called Magic Compose, which suspiciously sounds a lot like the Galaxy S24 Ultra’s Chat Assist feature to change the writing tone and style of your messages with the help of AI. Another AI features that’s coming to the OnePlus 12 is called Emojify, which will use AI to generate emojis by analyzing photos of a person or their pets. I wouldn’t say they’re the most practical AI features I’ve come across in phones, but at least OnePlus is committing to having more AI presence in its phone.

 Winner: OnePlus 12 

OnePlus 12 vs. OnePlus 11: Verdict

OnePlus’ flagships have consistently marketed themselves as the best affordable flagship phones to buy. They always undercut the competition in price, but there’s no denying that it’s a bigger leap with the OnePlus 12 this time around.

Even though I wish more work could’ve been done around the software, its ridiculous long battery life, stronger processing performance, and better cameras make the OnePlus 12 worthy of buying — more so if you intend on getting it from OnePlus directly, where it effectively has the same starting cost as the OnePlus 11. There’s also the return of wireless charging and the addition of an IR blaster, which again justified the OnePlus 12’s incredible value.

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