OnePlus 12R Review: Great Advancements in Every Area Except One

The OnePlus 11R from last year was praised as a value-oriented flagship handset, providing a compelling combination for those looking for high-quality features at a lower price range than the premium OnePlus 11. OnePlus looks pleased with its dual-flagship policy, as seen by the recent announcement of the OnePlus 12R alongside the OnePlus 12. While the OnePlus 12 has top-tier hardware and premium features, the OnePlus 12R seeks a broader audience as a flagship product, but without claiming the moniker of "flagship killer."

The OnePlus 12R emerges as a remarkable value-driven flagship, with significant enhancements over its predecessor, the OnePlus 11R. Enhanced features include a brighter display, longer battery life, and faster performance. Nonetheless, the camera configuration stays identical, demonstrating both continuity and limitations in imaging capability.

Design and Display

The OnePlus 12R has a 6.78-inch ProXDR LTPO 4.0 AMOLED display with a crisp 120Hz refresh rate. With an outstanding peak brightness of 4,500 nits and Gorilla Glass Victus 2 protection, it provides both spectacular images and durability. With an IP64 rating, it has features like as the Alert Slider, NFC, and a Dual-nano SIM slot, as well as dual speakers for immersive audio. The gadget, weighing 207 grams, radiates a luxury feel, with curved glass on both the front and back, matched by a solid matte aluminum frame—an upgrade over the plastic frame seen in its predecessor, the OnePlus 11R. The Cool Blue edition, in particular, features a glossy surface on the back glass and camera module, which is accentuated with a matte finish that blends perfectly into the frame. Despite being a more cheaper alternative to the OnePlus 12, the OnePlus 12R lacks the Hasselblad logo.

A major change in the design is the repositioning of the Alert Slider, which is now on the left side of the frame rather than the right. This change is useful since it consolidates the power button and volume buttons on one side, improving accessibility. Furthermore, the presence of an IR sensor at the top allows for easy control of a variety of household equipment, such as TVs, air conditioners, and air purifiers, using the device's preinstalled IR Remote software.

The display on the OnePlus 12R is amazing and leaves little to be desired. It has brilliant colors, high clarity, and broad viewing angles. With a high peak brightness of 4,500 nits, seeing the screen in strong sunlight is effortless. Furthermore, Dolby Vision and HDR10+ support improve the visual experience, especially for content accessible on streaming platforms like Netflix and Prime Video that use these formats.

Performance and software

The OnePlus 12R is powered by a Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 SoC and 8GB or 16GB of LPDDR5X RAM, delivering fast and efficient performance. Users have plenty of storage options, ranging from 128GB of UFS 3.1 to 256GB of UFS 4.0. The smartphone runs OxygenOS 14, which is based on Android 14, and provides a smooth and easy user experience.

The OnePlus 12R's performance is nothing short of incredible, due to its formidable hardware. With the same processor featured in 2023 flagship products like as the OnePlus 11, Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra, and iQOO 11, consumers can anticipate excellent performance across a wide range of tasks and apps. Benchmark scores authenticate the device's skills and demonstrate its strengths.

The AnTuTu and Geekbench benchmarks show that the OnePlus 12R obtains great results, which are consistent with the performance of last year's flagship handsets. While the CPU Throttle test shows some performance throttling, it is far less severe than on the OnePlus 11, showing that OnePlus has improved its optimizations for the OnePlus 12R.

In real-world use, the OnePlus 12R easily handles a wide range of daily apps. With up to 16GB of RAM, users may multitask without any visible lag. Furthermore, the OnePlus 12R performs admirably as a gaming device, running graphically demanding games without latency or undue heat.

The OnePlus 12R's UI runs more smoothly thanks to the display's 120Hz refresh rate. While browsing through Instagram at the default 120Hz, I noticed some stuttering, which can be fixed by altering the refresh rate for particular applications under the Display settings. Switching Instagram's refresh rate to 90Hz cured the problem.

The OnePlus 12R's software is based on Android 14, with OxygenOS 14 overlaid on top. The layout is familiar to OxygenOS fans, with a clean UI and limited pre-installed apps, offering a clutter-free experience right out of the box. OxygenOS is extremely adaptable, allowing users to modify it to their own needs. OnePlus promises to give 3 years of software upgrades and 4 years of security updates for the OnePlus 12R, however this falls short of the 4-year software update commitment made for the OnePlus 12, which may upset some consumers.

The OnePlus 12R boasts the largest battery ever seen in a OnePlus device, resulting in exceptional battery life, especially with its optimized chipset. Even on days of heavy usage, including an hour of gaming and a few hours of video streaming, I still had around 20 percent battery remaining by the day's end. During days with lighter usage patterns, the OnePlus 12R showcases its exceptional standby capabilities, effortlessly extending its battery life to span up to one and a half days on just a single charge. Moreover, the phone performed remarkably well in the PCMark battery test, lasting an impressive 20 hours.

Aside from its outstanding battery life, the OnePlus 12R offers support for 100W SUPERVOOC fast charging, allowing you to charge from 0 to 100 percent in approximately 30 minutes. By activating the Smart Rapid Charge Mode, you can further reduce the charging time to around 25 minutes.

Camera Specifications:

50MP Sony IMX890 primary sensor with Optical Image Stabilization (OIS)

8MP ultra-wide-angle lens

2MP macro lens

16MP front-facing camera

While the OnePlus 12R shines in many areas, its camera system falls short of flagship classification. OnePlus has chosen to utilize the same camera arrangement as the OnePlus 11R, resulting in identical performance. In bright light, the primary 50MP IMX890 camera captures good details and colors. However, it issues with dynamic range when photographing situations with bright sunlight, such as sunrises or sunsets, frequently resulting in blown-out highlights in an attempt to improve contrast.

In low-light conditions, the OnePlus 12R's primary camera works brilliantly, keeping a nice balance while not overexposing highlights. With its fast shutter speed and Optical Image Stabilization (OIS), you can expect to take clean and stable shots even in low-light circumstances. Furthermore, OIS functionality ensures smooth video recording, allowing you to capture steady films at resolutions of up to 4K at 60 frames per second.

The 8MP wide-angle lens performs well during daytime photography, albeit there may be significant information loss and mild color distortion when compared to the main sensor. The 2MP macro lens has middling performance at best. Overall, neither the 8MP nor the 2MP cameras provide great performance, and it appears that OnePlus chose not to enhance them, most likely to keep the phone's pricing around Rs 40,000.

In contrast, the 16MP front camera performs a great job of capturing distinct face features and realistic skin tones under ideal lighting situations. However, selfies taken in low-light conditions may look softer and grainier.

Sample Images

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Final evaluation

The OnePlus R series has progressed to the point where one may question the justification for investing in the brand's premium flagship. With numerous notable improvements, the OnePlus 12R shines out, offering a convincing argument for the OnePlus 12 based purely on its value promise. It has a flagship-grade display with remarkable brightness levels, a well-optimized Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 CPU, a premium glass and metal design, and an exceptional battery life, which is enhanced by the ease of 100W fast charging.

While OnePlus has made major advancements, the camera system remains mostly same, exposing one of the few flaws in an otherwise excellent product. While the primary camera is reliable, the secondary sensors are quite ordinary. In conclusion, I would suggest the OnePlus 12R to people looking for a fast Android device with a simplified software experience and outstanding battery life, but not to those who value professional-grade photographic capabilities.