For the first time here in the States, the R Series arrives in the form of the OnePlus 12R. The R Series was always looked as more of a value series bringing you the best of its flagship counterpart while making sacrifices to make it more accessible and affordable.
Interestingly enough, OnePlus 12R may grab your attention morseo than its powerful flagship brother the OnePlus 12…
Style
We get two colors of the OnePlus 12R in Iron Gray which has a matte feeling while the Cool Blue which OnePlus provided to us is glossier but has a nice reflective touch when the light hits its glass backing right. It also pairs up nicely color wise with the OnePlus Buds 3’s Splendid Blue colorway.
OnePlus 12R has a curved unibody that feels nice to hold in the hand and it helps that the phone itself is light coming in at only 207g. This makes it slightly lighter than 220g of the OnePlus 12.
There are volume controls and power on the right side while the left side has the lovely Alert Slider. The bottom of the phone has a USB-C port while at the top there is an IR blaster if you want to control your TV or some other household devices you may have. Both ends feature a speaker to give you that surround sound while taking in media or gaming. Sound quality is quite good when watching movies and gaming, virtually eliminating the need for headphones in certain environments.
Included with the OnePlus 12R is a SUPERVOOC 80W Power Adapter and USB-A to USB-C Cable.
Hardware
Even though this is the R Series, the 12R is still packing some serious heat behind it. There is a Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset that was in the OnePlus 11 but now more fine-tuned as well as an Adreno 740 GPU. There are two models with RAM/Storage configurations of 8GB/128GB and 16GB/256GB. This is all backed by OnePlus’ Trinity Engine which enhances the CPU, RAM, and ROM for multitasking. Also, it has a cooling system called Cryo-Velocity. This allows your smartphone to stay cool even in the most intense gaming battles.
I was able to game on with Fortnite and other titles like Brawlhalla with the phone barely catching any heat. This was even when I had it paired with a BackBone One controller attached to it.
Surprisingly, the OnePlus 12R packs the biggest battery ever in a OnePlus phone at 5,500mAh (OP12 is 5,400). You are still getting that 80W fast charging that will get you back to 100% in under 30mins. There is not any wireless charging support if you are interested in that though.
Display
This screen is packing serious heat. It is a 6.78” 1.5K 120Hz ProXDR Display that supports Dolby Vision and HDR+ while hitting an astounding 4500nits of peak brightness that is also on the OnePlus 12 flagship. Consuming content on it like Hot Ones on YouTube looks detailed and clear with the right amount of color. As well as movies like Spider Man: No Way Home catching all the action sequences without any hesitation.
OxygenOS
You get the latest OS of Android 14 with support for future versions down the pipeline. It’s snappy on the 12R easily scrolling through the menus with its 120Hz utilization. Gestures, fingerprints, and customization work as good as it does on its flagship model. OnePlus has been consistently tweaking the software with updates to make sure the phone lives up to its standards.
It oversees multitasking easily with me being able to game something like Genshin Impact and listen to some music via Spotify at the same time. Also, this allows me to utilize Holo Audio. With the right pair of headphones (such as the Buds 3 or Buds Pro 2), you can place audio in different “areas”. So, I can have music and notifications in my left ear or “behind me” while I can have gaming at the front and placed to my right.
Cameras
Missing from the OnePlus 12R that is has been a staple on the OnePlus flagship line including this year’s OP12 is that Hasselblad partnership we grown to love. That does not mean the photos aren’t great on the 12R though. You are still getting a Triple Camera system with lenses such as 50MP(Main), 8MP(Ultrawide), and 2MP(Macro). Photos have a natural feel to them sometimes feeling like they could use just a bit more pop in the color department. But it is still clear. Zoom isn’t bad on the 12R, but I do miss the 6x In-Sensor Zoom I grown accustomed to on the Open and the 12.
Connections
This phone is unlocked and supports various carriers such as T-Mobile and Verizon in the U.S. Also, it supports home internet connections such as Wi-Fi 7 which is rolling out shortly but surely. You do get great call quality from the OnePlus 12R with the various antennas and positioning thanks in part to OnePlus moving the Alert Slider from right to left.
Verdict
OnePlus is looking for like days of old with them dropping flagship-esque spec phones at killer prices. The OnePlus 12R may have some of the internals of the OnePlus 11 from year but OnePlus has done a superb job fine tuning it to blur the lines of this device with its headlining OnePlus 12. The display looks good, it handles multitasking and gaming thanks to its Trinity Engine, Cryo Cooling, and all is available starting at only $499.99. This puts it hundreds of dollars behind its own OnePlus 12.
You can double the storage and memory for $100 more (or $30) depending on when you read this. If you don’t need the latest but are still looking for a powerful capable android smartphone the OnePlus 12R should hit all the checks.
You can check unboxing of the OnePlus 12R on TikTok / Instagram.
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