OnePlus 12: Price, specs, and what you need to know

It's been a while since the OnePlus 11 launched, and even though it met a pretty great price point, it's far from the perfect Android phone. Luckily, we're just weeks away from experiencing what OnePlus has to offer with its next smartphones, the OnePlus 12 and OnePlus 12R. These devices are already on sale in China, so we have a complete picture of the upgrades and features to come. Furthermore, OnePlus has set a date for its OnePlus 12 series launch event and confirmed a few significant hardware upgrades. If you're intrigued by the upcoming OnePlus smartphone, we have all the details right here.

Pricing and availability

The OnePlus 12 is already on sale in China, but the rest of the world has to wait a few weeks to get access to the new smartphone. OnePlus has announced a Jan. 23, 2024 date for the launch event, which will be live-streamed at 9 a.m. EST. This is where we'll get a full look at the OnePlus 12 and 12R variants set to debut in North American markets.

We aren't sure about the official retail prices in the U.S., but we do have the official pricing in China. It lists for 4,299 yuan there, which is equivalent to $605. That's less than the OnePlus 11's starting price of $700. That doesn't mean you should expect a price cut for the OnePlus 12. The phone has a lot of key hardware improvements that will likely keep the phone at or slightly above the MSRP of the OnePlus 11.

Specifications

New features

Packing a better telephoto camera

Although the OnePlus 11 has solid primary and ultrawide cameras, its telephoto camera left much to be desired. The 32MP telephoto camera is limited to 2x optical zoom, which is rather short compared to the telephoto cameras on competing flagships. Even some of OnePlus' previous phones offered up to 3.3x optical zoom. With Samsung's Galaxy S23 Ultra offering up to 10x optical zoom and the iPhone 15 Pro Max and Pixel 7 Pro offering up to 5x optical zoom, the 2x telephoto camera on the OnePlus 11 just can't compete.

OnePlus will be moving in the right direction, but it won't be competitive with Apple, Google, or Samsung's offerings. The OnePlus 12 will include a 64MP periscope telephoto lens capable of 3x optical zoom. The other cameras will also get a boost, with leaked specs suggesting new 50MP main and ultrawide cameras. This is according to multiple rounds of OnePlus 12 leaks, the latest reported by GSM Arena, and the China-only launch of the OnePlus 12 so far. For what it's worth, the OnePlus Open did ship with a 64MP periscope camera as part of an impressive triple-camera system, so it's in the realm of possibility.

Wireless charging support

While most modern flagships offer wireless charging support, the OnePlus 11 does not. The device does support 100W wired fast charging (80W on the U.S. model), which is plenty fast. Still, it's a bummer you can't charge it wirelessly, especially because OnePlus offered 50W wireless charging support and reverse wireless charging on the OnePlus 10 Pro.

Luckily, 50W wireless charging will come to the OnePlus 12. That's a big deal because it puts the OnePlus 12 ahead of some bonafide flagships in terms of charging speeds, including the iPhone 15 Pro series. Since the just-released OnePlus Open didn't debut with wireless charging, there was reason to doubt whether it will be included on the OnePlus 12.

Faster USB-C port

It comes as no surprise that OnePlus cut some corners to keep the OnePlus 11's price low. For instance, the device has a slow USB 2.0 Type-C port, which pales in comparison to the USB 3.2 Type-C port on the latest flagships from Samsung and Google. Now, OnePlus will match the offerings of its competitors thanks to a USB 3.2 Type-C port. It might not seem like a big deal, but it could be useful when transferring photos, data, and files over a cable.

A Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor

The OnePlus 12 will be one of the first smartphones to get a boost to Qualcomm's new Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 platform. The chipset is manufactured using the 4nm process and is an improvement over the OnePlus 11's Snapdragon 8 Gen 2. The Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 is an octa-core processor with one 3.3 GHz Cortex-X4 core, five 3.2 GHz Cortex-A720 cores, and two 2.3 GHz Cortex-A520 cores.

The OnePlus 12 is also getting a pretty crazy memory upgrade, offering 16GB and 24GB RAM configurations. The latter is only available on the model paired with 1TB of storage, though, so it will be pricey. We'll have to wait and see how the OnePlus 12 actually performs, but this spec bump keeps the phone on par with other flagships.

Android 14

Android 14 has been out for a while now, and the OnePlus 12 will ship with OxygenOS 14 at launch. OnePlus has been hard at work testing beta versions of OxygenOS 14 this year, and while stable versions are out, we haven't seen a public rollout yet. Like Android 14, the new OxygenOS 14 update won't bring a massive overhaul to the OnePlus 12. However, it's still good to see the newest Android version shipping on OnePlus' newest smartphone.

OnePlus 12R

OnePlus is bringing the "R" variant worldwide

OnePlus has ditched the "Pro" moniker that some OEMs have gone all-in on, but it's apparently bringing the OnePlus 12R worldwide this year. Previously, the R-series devices were only available in India. Since the R variants are typically a value pick, it'll be great to see another more budget smartphone hit the U.S.

Should you wait for OnePlus 12?

For now, the OnePlus 11 is still the newest smartphone offered by the company, even though the OnePlus 12 is available in China. It's still a good buy, with a flagship Qualcomm chipset, solid battery life, and competitive software, especially at frequent discounts. But if you want the latest and greatest tech, wait for the OnePlus 12. Plus, if you do go with the OnePlus 11 after the OnePlus 12 launches, you'll probably pay less for it.

There are a few things the OnePlus 11 is missing, like a better camera and wireless charging, but those are some of the sacrifices you make when you're looking for a budget flagship. With the release of the OnePlus 12, the company will tweak the device to make it even more competitive with similarly priced flagships like the Google Pixel 8.

If do you grab the OnePlus 11, be sure to check out the best OnePlus 11 cases and OnePlus 11 screen protectors to add an extra layer of protection to your brand-new device.