OnePlus 12R Smartphone Review – The OnePlus 12R was announced in January 2024 and it went on sale in February 2024. This is OnePlus’s cheaper flagship smartphone that is designed to give other flagship smartphones a run for their money. Like OnePlus’s other smartphone, the OnePlus 12R will launch globally but gradually.
It follows the design language of the OnePlus 12 and comes in a new Cool Blue color that looks quite majestic. OnePlus has provided it with almost everything to make it worthy of destroying other flagship smartphones, but is this the smartphone for you? Let’s begin with a detailed review of the OnePlus 12R smartphone and find out if this smartphone is worth purchasing.
Table of Contents
OnePlus 12R Smartphone Review
Highlights
- The OnePlus 12R smartphone features a 6.78-inch LTPO4 AMOLED display with support for 120Hz high refresh rate.
- The chipset inside the OnePlus 12R is the 4nm Qualcomm SM8550-AB Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 5G SoC, which is capable of reaching clock speeds of 1×3.2 GHz.
- The OnePlus 12R smartphone arrives with Android 14 out-of-the-box with OxygenOS 14 for more customization options.
- The OnePlus 12R smartphone has a 50MP triple rear camera system, while the selfie camera has a 16MP sensor.
- The phone has a 5500 mAh battery with 100W wired fast charging support.
Design and Display
The OnePlus 12R doesn’t look any different from the OnePlus 12 or the OnePlus 11R. The OnePlus 12R doesn’t look any different but it is an upgrade over the 11R. You will feel it as soon as you hold both smartphones side by side. That’s because the OnePlus 12R features an aluminum side frame while the OnePlus 11R has a plastic side frame. This elevates the in-hand feel of the new smartphone.
The rear panel still has glass with a frosted finish just like how it was with the OnePlus 11R. All in all, you get a smartphone that has a solid design that is even better than what they provided last time. The smartphone is available in two colors, Iron Gray and Cool Blue. It also retains the alert slider swiped places. The smartphone also carries an official IP64 certification for dust and splash resistance. On the front, OnePlus 12R features a 6.78-inch LTPO4 AMOLED display.
This display panel features a 1.5K resolution, which will certainly enhance user experience. The panel also features Dolby Vision, HDR10+, and support for up to 1 Billion colors. The display can get as bright as 4500 nits at peak brightness levels under direct sunlight. The display is also protected by the Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2, which will protect your new smartphone against drops and scratches.
Memory and Internal
OnePlus equipped the OnePlus 12R with the latest and Qualcomm’s flagship Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 5G chipset. In terms of performance, the chipset will breeze through any app or game as the chipset is capable of reaching a clock speed of 1×3.2 GHz. This chipset may not be as the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 but it’s still so fast that you will never notice that in day-to-day usage or even gaming. Speaking of gaming, the Adreno 740 GPU will take care of all your gaming needs.
Playing games such as PUBGm, Summoners War, CODm, and Genshin Impact at their highest settings won’t be a problem. The OnePlus 12R also has a beefy internal cooling system, so the smartphone remains relatively cooler. The OnePlus 12R also has support for 5G connectivity for gigabit speeds. The smartphone also comes with Android 14 out of the box along with an OxygenOS 14 user interface.
OnePlus promises to provide 4 years of OS and security updates, making the OnePlus 12R a viable smartphone in the long run. For memory and storage, the OnePlus 12R is available for purchase with up to 8GB to 16GB of RAM and 128GB/256GB of fast UFS 4.0 internal storage.
Camera
The OnePlus 12R features a 50MP triple-camera setup. The primary camera consists of a 50MP sensor and pictures taken from this camera have great details, natural color tone, and high dynamic range. The details in the shadows are also preserved carefully without blowing up the highlights in the background. The quality of the pictures is comparable to its bigger brother, OnePlus 12. There’s portrait mode as well and pictures taken with this mode are also quite good with near-perfect background blur.
The second camera is an 8MP ultra-wide camera and it takes quite average pictures. The detail level is just not on the same page as its primary camera but considering the price of the smartphone, we can certainly look past it. However, there’s no color shift between the two cameras. On the front, the OnePlus 12R has a 16MP selfie camera. The selfies from this camera are quite decent with natural color tone and the fine details in the face are properly preserved.
When it comes to video recording, the rear cameras can shoot videos at up to 4K@60FPS. But the selfie camera can only shoot at a maximum resolution of 1080P@30FPS. The main rear camera also has support for OIS and gyro-EIS, which will make any footage extremely stable when recording videos. The selfie camera only has gyro-EIS, but it’s still better than no stabilization at all.
Battery and Others
The OnePlus 12R has a 5500 mAh high-capacity battery, which can run the smartphone for a day or 2 with light and moderate usage that includes using the camera, music, and a bit of social media. But if you play a lot of games, then the battery will drain quickly and require you to charge the smartphone by the end of the day.
Speaking of charging, the OnePlus 12R supports 100W wired fast charging. This charger can fully charge the smartphone in just 26 minutes. Apart from that, the smartphone has support for tri-band Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.3, an under-display fingerprint sensor, NFC, infrared sensor, stereo speakers, and a USB Type-C connector for charging. The smartphone will start at $500 (Rs 41,500 in India) approx.
OnePlus 12R Specifications Detail
Down below you can see the full specifications of the OnePlus 12R smartphone.
| Specifications | OnePlus 12R |
| Network | 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G |
| Announced | January 2024 |
| SIM | Dual SIM |
| Dimensions | 6.43 x 2.96 x 0.35 inches |
| Weight | 207 g |
| Size | 6.78 inches |
| Display | LTPO4 AMOLED 1B colors 120Hz HDR10+ Dolby Vision 1600-4500 nits brightness ~450 PPI density |
| Protection/Others | Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2 IP65, waterproof and dustproof |
| Resolution | 1264 x 2780 pixels |
| OS | Android 14, OxygenOS 14 |
| Chipset | 4nm – Qualcomm SM8550-AB Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 |
| CPU | Octa-core 1×3.2 GHz Cortex-X3 2×2.8 GHz Cortex-A715 2×2.8 GHz Cortex-A710 3×2.0 GHz Cortex-A510 |
| GPU | Adreno 740 |
| Card slot | No |
| RAM | 8GB, 16GB |
| Internal | 128GB, 256GB UFS 4.0 – 256 GB UFS 3.1 – 128 GB |
| Camera | 50 MP (wide), PDAF, Laser AF, OIS 8 MP (112˚ultrawide) 2 MP (macro) LED flash, HDR, panorama Max – 4K@30/60fps, gyro-EIS, OIS |
| Selfie | 16 MP (wide) HDR, panorama Max – 1080p@30fps, gyro-EIS |
| Loudspeaker | Yes (stereo speakers) |
| 3.5mm jack | No |
| WLAN | Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/6/7, dual-band |
| Bluetooth | 5.3, A2DP, LE, apt-X HD |
| GPS | GPS, GALILEO, GLONASS, BDS, QZSS |
| NFC | Yes |
| Infrared port | Yes |
| Radio | No |
| USB | USB Type-C 2.0 |
| Sensors | Under display fingerprint, accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass, color spectrum |
| Battery | 5500 mAh 100W wired |
| Colors | Iron Gray, Cool Blue |
| Expected Price | $500 (Rs 41,500 in India) approx |
Conclusion
The OnePlus 12R brings improvements in every area of the smartphone when compared to its previous iteration, OnePlus 11R. They both indeed look the same but internally they are on the opposite ends of each other. Even if you compare this to every other smartphone with the same price tag, the OnePlus 12R will still look and feel more premium. Its pros include design, display, chipset, and even battery.
The display, in particular, is significantly brighter than its predecessor. Its cons include the camera and the lack of wireless charging. Don’t get us wrong, the main camera of the smartphone is quite capable but it’s not much of an improvement compared to its predecessor. We were hoping for a significant upgrade here but considering the price, it is more than acceptable. That’s because the price of the smartphone puts it in a place that is affordable for many people. But is this smartphone for you?
Well, if design, display, performance, and battery are something that you care about, then there can be no better smartphone than the OnePlus 12R, especially at this price. But if camera performance is your priority, then the Oppo Reno 11 Pro is quite the performer. However, the final decision is up to you, so it is better to choose a smartphone based on your needs and requirements.
