The new year is coming, which means that a new range of smartphones will start arriving in a few months. One of the first we’ll see in 2024 should be OnePlus with the flagship OnePlus 12.
The OnePlus 11 is an excellent phone, as we indicated in our review. This is one of the best phones you can get in 2023, and is right up there with great competitors like the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra, Google Pixel 8 Pro, and iPhone 15 Pro Max.
But the OnePlus 12 should definitely be even better. From the looks of it, rumors indicate we’ll see a brighter display, an improved telephoto camera, and some welcome improvements to the charging situation. Here’s all you need to know about the OnePlus 12.
OnePlus 12: release date
Like other smartphone manufacturers, OnePlus also has a schedule that it follows every year, or at least sticks close to it. Let’s take a look at previous releases:
- OnePlus 9 series: March 23, 2021
- OnePlus 10 Pro (China): January 11, 2022
- OnePlus 10 Pro (Global): March 31, 2022
- OnePlus 11 (China): January 4, 2023
- OnePlus 11 (Global): February 7, 2023
As you can see, OnePlus has always launched its flagship phones in the first few months of the year. And for the past few years, OnePlus has started with a release in China first, followed by a global release later.
As for the OnePlus 12, there are rumors that it may launch in China in December 2023, with a global release in January 2024. This means we may actually see the OnePlus 12 a little earlier than expected.
OnePlus 12: price
OnePlus surprised everyone with the price of OnePlus 11, which is only $699. Previously, prices for Pro models of OnePlus phones ranged from $899 to $969, so the OnePlus 11 was a big shock — although sacrifices had to be made to get such a low price.
There have been no rumors about the price of the OnePlus 12 yet, but we can expect it to be at least $699, if not more. Since the OnePlus 12 appears to be quite a nice upgrade from its predecessor, it’s likely that the price could go higher than $699.
OnePlus 12: Design and display
For the most part, the design of the OnePlus 12 looks similar to the OnePlus 11. If you were expecting a radical design change, you’ll be disappointed.
Early renders of the OnePlus 12 from July indicate that the circular triple camera module on the back will have a square lens at the bottom, which will be a periscope zoom camera. But those renders were based on 3D CAD designs from Steve ‘OnLeaks’ Hemmerstoffer and SmartPrix.
In September, some more renders of the OnePlus 12 surfaced, this time based on pre-production unit images. The recent renders do not feature the square periscope lens; Instead, they go back to a standard telephoto lens, like the OnePlus 11. There is also an unknown component at the fourth position of the camera module.
We should expect the OnePlus 12 to come in black and green colors, which are quite traditional for OnePlus devices. But there is also a possibility that OnePlus 12 will have a white variant this year.
In terms of display, the OnePlus 12 will feature a 6.7- or 6.8-inch 120Hz OLED panel that can reach up to 2,600 nits brightness. That’s brighter than the 2,400 nits brightness offered by the Google Pixel 8 Pro, but can’t reach as much brightness as the OnePlus Open’s 2,800 nits. Still, it will be one of the brightest displays on the market.
Another display rumor is that it may have 2,160Hz PWM dimming. It’s a system that should, in theory, prevent your eyes from becoming rapidly strained when using a phone screen.
OnePlus 12: specs
OnePlus phones typically launch early in the year with Qualcomm’s latest 8-series chipsets. This means we should see the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 in the OnePlus 12.
There is already some information about what to expect from the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3. It will have a new core setup with a 1+3+2+2 configuration: one large core, five medium cores and two small cores. In theory, the chip should be more powerful than its predecessor and also more capable with multi-core benchmarks. Of course, how this translates to real-world use is yet to be seen.
The OnePlus 12 should also have 16GB of LPDDR5X RAM and 256GB of UFS 4.0 storage. It is also possible that there will be a variant with only 8GB RAM and 128GB storage.
OnePlus 12: cameras
OnePlus is notorious for doing something different with the camera every year, so it can be a little difficult to predict. However, with the OnePlus 12, we may be ready for a major camera upgrade.
According to the original leak, the OnePlus 12 may feature a 50MP main sensor, a 50MP ultrawide camera, and a 64MP periscope telephoto lens. On the front-facing camera, it could be a 32MP lens.
A recent leak from October suggested a 48MP ultrawide lens instead of 50MP. However, the main camera and telephoto should still be 50MP and 64MP respectively. The telephoto lens may also be similar to the OnePlus Open, with 3x optical zoom.
OnePlus has confirmed that the OnePlus 12 will feature the new Sony Lithium camera, which uses the same stacked pixel design found on the OnePlus Open. This means that more light can be captured for each scene, improving overall brightness and picture quality without overexposure.
And to continue the ongoing partnership, the OnePlus 12 should feature Hasselblad’s signature color science.
OnePlus 12: Battery life
Leaks indicate that the OnePlus 12 will have a large 5,400mAh battery with wired charging speeds of up to 100W, but that’s not the most impressive part. It appears that OnePlus is bringing back wireless charging – which was removed with the OnePlus 11 – and it will be up to 50W wireless speeds.
Of course, while OnePlus generally offers very fast wired charging speeds, it also depends on the region. For example, while the OnePlus 11 has wired charging speeds of up to 100W, you’ll only get up to 80W in the US, compared to 100W everywhere else. So, we’re not sure if the OnePlus 12 will be any different, but it will definitely be one of the fastest charging phones available in the US market.
It also looks like OnePlus will include a charging adapter in the box with the OnePlus 12. It’s largely been phased out by competitors, so OnePlus is one of the few remaining holdouts.
OnePlus 12: Software and updates
There are no rumors about the software we should see on the OnePlus 12, but it’s safe to say it will likely have some form of Android 14. OnePlus also has its own custom UI, so we should expect OxygenOS 14 on the OnePlus 12.
As far as updates are concerned, OnePlus recently committed to providing four years of major Android OS updates and five years of security patches. The OnePlus 11 was the first phone to fall under this scheme, so the OnePlus 12 should also see four major Android OS updates and five years of security updates.