Andy Boxall / Digital Trends
Since it arrived , theOnePlus 12has been sit on a shelf , unused , behind my desk . asunder from a few 24-hour interval when I test out the camera , battery , and performance , I have n’t had a chance toreallydig into the phone .
Do n’t mistake this for indifference , though . I ’ve been scratch to use it for more than just those former few day , but due to various cause , it has n’t been possible until now . Was it deserving the wait ?
Andy Boxall / Digital Trends
Why did it have to wait?
I ’m always excited about a Modern OnePlus phone , and the OnePlus 12 was no different . I have a personal affinity with the make , and when talking over the basis of this article with Joe Maring , Digital Trends ’ mobile editor program , I realized why . It turns out I ’ve reviewed almost every major OnePlus phone release starting with theOnePlus 2 in 2015 and right up to theOnePlus 11last year — and even including theOnePlus Xand models like theOnePlus 7 T Pro McLaren Edition . I feel like I sleep together the steel moderately well .
To see the OnePlus 12 wait for me suffer , but unluckily , due to logistics and timing , it made more good sense for my confrere Christine Romero - Chan to fully survey the phone and for me to revisit it a few months after handout to see how it was hold up . It link up theOnePlus Openfolding phone as one of the few flagship OnePlus phones that does n’t have my name at the top of the review on Digital Trends .
Last week , it was ultimately time for me to put the OnePlus 12 into day-by-day use and prepare for a separate extroverted news report on the camera , too . As I set the phone up , I wondered what kind of OnePlus phone it would be , as there have been a few time I ’ve lost a little religion in the brand over the retiring few years . I really liked the OnePlus 11 and deliberate it a recent high period for the company , and I wanted to find the same way about the OnePlus 12 .
Predictable in a good way
However , when I last used the OnePlus 11 at the end of 2023,it was a bit ho-hum . Excellent , just not very exciting . I had been botch up by the inflow of brilliant devices with corking intent and sight of characterwe see toward the end of last year , which made the OnePlus headphone appear a trivial moth-eaten . The OnePlus 12 is n’t all that unlike from the OnePlus 11 when it number to figure and software , but where it perfectly excels is in its entire reliability and absolute efficiency .
I sure as shooting do n’t require to load the OnePlus 12 every night , even with three hour of screen door time during the daytime . Its incredible efficiencywas something I directly noticed over those initial few days , and it is helped greatly by theQualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3processor . mightily now , at the prison term of writing , I ’ve used the OnePlus 12 for 30 minutes today , and it has eaten one individual pct of battery life . It gives me complete authority that I wo n’t have to touch the charger the next night , provided I do n’t suddenly do something dramatically dissimilar from my common utilization . Ilovethis predictability .
I ’m discover to trust the software more , too . OxygenOS is n’t ( and never will be ) like it wasbefore Oppo come on the scene , but it’sdefinitely better these days , provided you take it needs some care and tending during the first few week . For example , it ’s overly protective of the bombardment , force you to interact with various warning signal just to keep things break away , but once you ’ve done this , it does n’t feel the need to ask twice .
Now that I ’m past this , I can delight how friendly and welcoming the phone feels , let in the wonderfully tactile tactual vibration alerts and the “ aquamorphic ” strait , along with the gelid bear on the always - on screen . The software is degenerate and reliable , too , plus I ’ve had it connected to theXiaomi Watch S3for some of the time , which has n’t importantly drained the battery or caused problem with notifications . Predictable and reliable speech sound boring , but it has been a immense part of the OnePlus 12 ’s ingathering while using it this time .
OnePlus of old
Looking back at my review of former OnePlus sound , I can see a very similar pattern . I rarely get worked up about one particular aspect of the earpiece , but unremarkably admired how well the rudimentary features had been implemented . A OnePlus speech sound should do what I ask , when I expect , without much fuss . There have been a few funny decisions over the years , such as the OnePlus 8 Pro ’s bizarre Color Filter camera and the horrid misstep that was theOnePlus 10T. But almost without exception , a OnePlus phone has been a superb choice for fuss - free use .
I ’m so pleased to find the tradition continues with the OnePlus 12 . I ’ve accepted the OnePlus of erstwhile has go everlastingly , but I am relieved the mark has settled down to produce good flagship sound again — and at a reasonable cost . The OnePlus 11 was a true return to form , and the OnePlus 12 go along it . I do n’t think it ’ll ever make you say “ wow ” about one particular feature , but it will get you to breathe a sigh of relief when you go to utilise it , knowing it ’s just going to turn and work well .
Further proof that OnePlus has drop dead back to its old ways is theOnePlus 12R , which is a fantastic earphone for the price . It reminds me of the days when there was a choice between theOnePlus 8 Proand theOnePlus 8 . Back then , the OnePlus 8 had many of the same positive face the OnePlus 12R has today , but was operose to advocate at $ 700 or more . But the OnePlus 12R is $ 500 , construct it a great value . This focussing on value and monetary value is another OnePlus trait that I ’m glad has pass .
Worth the wait
It has taken me a while to get to the OnePlus 12 , but it was worth the hold . I was due to generate to it after I had reviewed the Punkt MC02 , butthat did not go to plan at all , making it even more special to start using a phone with superb computer hardware , a powerful processor , an enviable photographic camera , and software I quickly understood and prize . From the matt textured rear dialog box to the glossy , 3D - result camera module aim , there ’s a lot to like here . I ’m even affectionate of the basic dim color scheme , and still absentmindedly push the Alert Slider up and down when it ’s in my pouch , just like I have on so many OnePlus phones .
The OnePlus 12 is like so many of the great OnePlus phones I ’ve reviewed over the years , and I ’m going to use what I say about theOnePlus 6to describe how I feel about it — it deliver everything you want from a headphone at a price you do n’t mind paying . It makes me happy that OnePlus has found its direction back from a curt clip out in the wild , and although I did n’t get to fully review the OnePlus 12 , that does n’t stop me from giving it a strong testimonial here .
