OnePlus 12 to launch globally on Jan. 23
The OnePlus 12, which was released in China on Dec. 5, is set to launch globally on Jan. 23, along with its lower-priced OnePlus 12R sibling. This announcement comes after the company had kept quiet about the pricing and specs configurations for devices released outside of China. This move will give fans in other countries a closer look at what to expect from OnePlus’ next flagship phone.
This will mark the first time that OnePlus releases its R-branded line of phones outside of India and China, indicating the company’s expansion into the global market for midrange phones. With the previous OnePlus 11R priced at around $480, the introduction of the OnePlus 12R will offer a more affordable option, sitting between its premium-priced top-end phones and the budget line, which most recently included the $300 OnePlus Nord N30 5G.
The OnePlus 12 shares a similar design to its predecessor, the OnePlus 11, with most of the changes being internal. However, there are some external alterations, such as the move of the Alert Slider from the right side to the left side, as well as the translucent circular disk surrounding the cameras in the white and green colors (retaining last year’s shiny finish in black).
Camera improvements are evident in the OnePlus 12, with a sharper 64-megapixel periscope 3x optical zoom telephoto camera, up from 32 megapixels, and a similar 50-megapixel main camera and 48-megapixel ultra-wide camera as the previous model.
Internally, the OnePlus 12 is powered by Qualcomm’s top-end Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset, featuring performance enhancements and the introduction of on-device generative AI. The minimum storage has been doubled to 256GB and the baseline RAM has been improved to 12GB, with the maximum going up to 1TB of storage and 24GB of RAM. These enhancements put the OnePlus 12 ahead in terms of hardware compared to rival premium phones, pushing the margins for phone specifications.
The battery capacity has also seen an upgrade, with the OnePlus 12 boasting a 5,400-mAh battery, along with faster charging speeds at 100W wired and 50W wireless. This is particularly impressive as most phones’ wireless charging typically tops out at 15W.
It remains to be seen how the OnePlus 12 will perform in terms of benchmark tests, as rival phones, such as the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra, often outdo OnePlus in benchmark performance. However, with the promise of superior hardware and faster charging capabilities, the OnePlus 12 is set to make a splash when it launches globally on Jan. 23.
