OnePlus 12: release date, price, features and everything you need to know
Following an initial unveiling in China on December 5, the OnePlus 12 has now gone global, so if you've been waiting for this flagship, you can now buy it, and you might well want to, as we awarded the phone four stars in our OnePlus 12 review.
Ahead of either launch though, OnePlus had already revealed quite a few specs, including the phone's use of Qualcomm's latest Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset, up to 16GB of RAM, up to 512GB of storage, huge 5,400mAh battery, and IP65 rating.
The phone charges at 100W or 50W wirelessly, with a compatible charger, while the camera system, which is included in a design not dissimilar from the OnePlus 11, borrows heavily from the company's debut foldable – the OnePlus Open.
Below, you'll find full details of all the specs, along with the price and availability of the OnePlus 12.
OnePlus 12: Specs
OnePlus 12: release date and price
Announced on December 5 in China, launched globally on January 23
Priced from $799.99 / ￡849 (around AU$1,215)
As expected, the OnePlus 12 arrived on December 5, 2023, at a dedicated event for the Chinese market. More recently, the OnePlus 12 got a global launch on January 23, and shipped on February 6, so it's readily available now.
Starting prices are $799.99 / ￡849 (around AU$1,215 but with no Australian availability). That's for a model with 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage.
For comparison, the OnePlus 11 started at $699 / ￡729 (around AU$1,010) when it launched globally.
There is also a version of the OnePlus 12 with 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage, which costs $899.99 / ￡999. That price equates to roughly AU$1,360, but again with no Australian availability.
OnePlus 12: design and display
Continuation of OnePlus 11's TIME Design language
IP65-certified against dust and water ingress
6.82-inch 120Hz 1440 x 3168 (2K) 'Super Fluid' LTPO AMOLED screen
Peak brightness of 4,500nits
If you're familiar with the OnePlus 11's design, the OnePlus 12 follows a similar path, with a "design philosophy inspired by luxury watches," with the "starry dial" – the circular rear camera element – meant to reflect the "passage of time."
In a more practical sense, it's a distinct-enough aesthetic – especially with that rear camera module – that you should be able to pick the OnePlus 12 out from a lineup of similarly-specced flagship phones.
This is helped by the new 'Flowy Emerald' signature colorway, while the phone also comes in a black finish and a white finish, though the white one is currently only available in China.
The phone is also confirmed to be IP65 certified, which means it's slightly more water resistant than its predecessor, but still short of the mark when compared to key rivals, like Samsung's Galaxy S24 Ultra and the iPhone 15 Pro Max; at least from a certification standpoint.
As for the display, the phone boasts a 2K 'Super Fluid' LTPO AMOLED panel with a dynamic 120Hz refresh rate and a peak brightness of 4,500 nits, which makes it the brightest smartphone screen on the planet. Do note though that these brightness claims don't relate to a constant brightness, but rather its (still admittedly impressive) limit under certain conditions.
OnePlus 12: cameras and battery
50MP main, 48MP ultra-wide and 64MP 3x telephoto rear cameras
Massive 5,400mAh battery
100W wired and 50W wireless charging
Cameras and battery are two key details that the company couldn't resist revealing ahead of the OnePlus 12's launch and – in the camera department – immediate comparisons can be drawn to the OnePlus Open, as the 12 seemingly uses the same trio of rear sensors.
The photographic hardware is headed up by a 50MP Sony LYT-T808 “Pixel Stacked” sensor (with optical image stabilization/OIS) that OnePlus reportedly collaborated with Sony on, serving as one of the Japanese company's top smartphone camera sensors after the one-inch IMX989 found in rivals like the Xiaomi 13 Pro.
It's accompanied by a 48MP Sony IMX581 ultra-wide, with a 114o FoV and a 64MP OV64B 3x telephoto sensor, also with OIS, rounding out a more diverse total focal range compared to the OnePlus 11's rear cameras.
As for the battery, the OnePlus 12 packs a massive 5,400mAh power pack, which is bigger than the batteries on most other phones. It also comes backed up by 100W 'SuperVOOC' wired and 50W 'AirVOOC' wireless charging.
However – like the OnePlus 11 – the US version of the OnePlus 12 "suffers" from slightly slower 80W wired charging.
OnePlus 12: Performance
One of the first phones on the market with a Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset
Tops out at 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage
Another pre-launch confirmation that OnePlus hammered home at its launch, the OnePlus 12 runs on the latest Qualcom Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset, which promises a quoted 30% improvement in CPU speeds, 25% improvement in graphics and a 10% increase in power efficiency.
This is paired with up to 16GB of the latest LPDDR5X RAM, paired with OnePlus own RAM Vitalization feature, baked into Oxygen OS 14, while up to 512GB of UFS 4.0 storage is available too. There's also a 24GB / 1TB model, but this is currently exclusive to China.
