While only a few companies dominate the U.S. smartphone market, other manufacturers are steadily making their way into the market with compelling products that have the potential to upend the status quo. The OnePlus 12 and 12R are two such phones that have some nearly unbelievable features (particularly in terms of hardware).
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The flagship OnePlus 12 is significantly more expensive than its direct competitors, but the OnePlus 12R makes additional compromises to emerge as one of the greatest mid-range smartphones to date.
| Features | OnePlus 12 | OnePlus 12R |
|---|---|---|
| SoC | Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 with CPU-Vitalization | Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 |
| RAM | 12GB or 16GB LPDDR5X | 8GB or 16GB LPDDR5X |
| Storage | 256GB or 512GB | 128GB or 256GB |
| Battery | 5,400mAh | 5,500mAh |
| Ports | USB-C 3.2 | USB-C 2.0 |
| Operating System | Android 14 with OxygenOS 14 | Android 14 with OxygenOS 14 |
| Front camera | 32MP, f/2.4 | 16MP |
| Rear camera | 50MP, f/1.6, OIS main; 48MP, f/2.2 ultrawide; 64MP, f/2.6, OIS, 3x telephoto | 50MP, f/1.8 main; 8MP, f/2.2 ultrawide; 2MP, f/2.4 macro |
| Connectivity | IR blaster, NFC | NFC |
| Dimensions | 164.3 x 75.8 x 9.2mm | 163.3 x 75.3 x 8.8mm |
| Colors | Flowy Emerald, Silky Black | Cool Blue, Iron Gray |
| Display type | LTPO AMOLED, 120Hz | LTPO AMOLED, 120Hz |
| Weight | 220g | 207g |
| Charge speed | 80W wired (100W international), 50W wireless | 80W wired (100W international) |
| IP Rating | IP65 | IP54 |
| Price | From $800 | From $500 |
| Stylus | No | No |
| Display dimensions | 6.82″, 19.8:9 | 6.78″, 19.5:9 |
| Display resolution | 3168 x 1440 | 2780 × 1264 |
| Charge options | USB-C SuperVOOC wired, AirVOOC wireless | USB-C SuperVOOC wired |
| SIM support | Dual nano-SIM slot | Dual Nano-SIM |
| Cellular connectivity | Sub-6 5G, LTE | Sub-6 5G, LTE |
| Wi-Fi connectivity | Wi-Fi 7 | Wi-Fi 7 |
| Bluetooth | Bluetooth 5.4 | Bluetooth 5.3 |
OnePlus series: Cost, accessibility, and specifications
The OnePlus 12 and 12R, which were announced for the American market on January 23 and will arrive on February 6 and February 13, respectively, have lower MSRPs than many other phones with comparable features. The top-tier OnePlus 12 is almost a deal at $800, and the $500 price of the 12R is also not too bad.
The one catch to these fantastic deals is that they aren’t linked to any US carriers, so you can’t use your present provider to get a better deal. Pre-order discounts from third-party retailers include savings on upgrades to higher-capacity versions, but this time you might want to consider purchasing directly from the manufacturer. According to OnePlus, trading in “any phone in any condition” will guarantee you a $100 recycling incentive, which is a decent deal in and of itself. Depending on the type of phone and its condition, you can trade in an eligible handset to receive up to $700 off the high-end model and $450 off the midrange one.