OnePlus 12R review: the mechanics are rolling

In the ever-evolving smartphone landscape, the "flagship killer" moniker has become synonymous with the OnePlus brand. The latest iteration, the OnePlus 12R, arrives with the promise of delivering flagship-worthy experiences at a more accessible price point. But does it live up to the legacy established by its predecessors, and how does it stack up against the current competition? Let's delve deeper into the design, performance, camera system, and overall value proposition of the OnePlus 12R.

Alongside the OnePlus 12, the OnePlus 12R was released on February 12, a cheaper version since it costs 700 euros. A few concessions, but to have on paper a smartphone with a good quality/price ratio. Is this the practice case? Our OnePlus 12R review is here to verify it.

OnePlus 12R Review: Technical sheet

A design has already been seen, but still pretty

The lines of the OnePlus 12R follow those of its big brother as well as those of last year's OnePlus 11. Namely a rectangular parallelepiped with rather rounded corners and edges. On the back, what makes the identity of the brand's high-end smartphones: is the photo block in a circle connected to the edge. Inside, three photo lenses and a flash. All in “ hob ” format, although the color scheme removes this effect somewhat. The rest of the back is in black plastic that is not completely matte, veering a lot towards gray.

If the frame is aluminum and the screen is glass, the rest of the elements are plastic. Right away, the premium effect is less great. OnePlus also has the Alert Slider, this small switch allows you to switch from a ringtone, vibrate, or silent mode. It's very practical to have this little button and it very rarely changes position in the pocket (but it happens).

although I have the annoying habit of leaving it on silent mode. What is rather frustrating, however, is that it has a slight play in the length and width. A game that can be found on the OnePlus 11, but not on the OnePlus 12. This is again a bit of a shame as a concession on the design. Apart from this small problem on this switch, the rest of the finishes are good. An Alert Slider is located on an edge, which is quite thin: in fact, the screen and the back come on it by curving.

This is the case on both sides, but not at the top or bottom of the smartphone. A fairly classic choice of design, which does not follow Samsung or the iPhone, with rounded edges.

Turning the OnePlus 12R over, you find a large 6.78-inch screen. As mentioned previously, it is very slightly curved on the sides. At the very top in the middle of the panel is the traditional punch selfie lens. The borders are not that thin: neither the thinnest nor the thickest. Let us recognize, however, that the lower border is barely thicker than the upper border, but the “chin effect ” is not noticeable.

As for the dimensions, they are 163.3 by 75.3 by 8.8 millimeters. This still makes it a fairly large smartphone and not that thin. If finesse matters a lot to you, other models exist. As for the weight, it is correct: 207 grams. In terms of resistance, the device is IP64 certified, which means that it is completely resistant to dust and water splashes from all directions. We would naturally have preferred IP68 here, but hey, you can't have everything. The protective glass is Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2, a good protective glass. Finally, this OnePlus smartphone has a repairability index of 7.3/10.

Getting started with the OnePlus 12R

If the edges are a little rounded, they are sufficiently protruding to provide a good grip: the OnePlus 12R does not slip out of the hands. However, the back is quite slippery, but overall, the phone is not slippery enough to scare you.

Moreover, the texture is almost sandy, just enough to provide texture, not enough to be completely smooth. The buttons are not located as high as on the OnePlus 12: smaller hands will struggle to reach the volume down button. As for the one to increase the volume, it is probably located a little too high. Finally, the power button falls nicely under the thumb. With dimensions of 163.3 by 75.3 mm, it's difficult to fit this smartphone into every pocket.

To unlock the device, two “smart ” solutions exist. The first is facial recognition. It configures very quickly, almost instantly. But the unlocking is also and it is very appreciable: I have rarely seen such speed. There is also the fingerprint sensor, which is quite easy to configure. In practice, it is fast, not as fast as facial recognition, but almost. We can feel OnePlus' progress over the years in this area.

When the OnePlus 12R is laid flat, you can quite easily type text and manipulate the touch screen up to two-thirds of the way down. However, the device is not completely stable, it shakes slightly.

A beautiful, well-calibrated 120 Hz LTPO screen

The screen has a fairly large diagonal: 6.78 inches, or 17.22 centimeters. All for a definition of 2780 by 1264 pixels (i.e. a resolution of 450 ppi). OnePlus announced a screen-to-body ratio of 94.2%, which is very correct. The image format is a bit unusual: 19.8:9. This may seem quite strange and it doesn't change much compared to a 20:9 format model, but it offers a certain balance between verticality and width.

This panel offers a maximum refresh rate of 120 Hz and is LTPO-type. This allows the refresh rate to dynamically change (between 1 and 120 Hz), depending on usage. For example, a news article does not require you to refresh the screen 120 times per second, so the screen displays many fewer images, which saves a little battery. The screen is Dolby Vision, DisplayMate A+, HDR10+, and HDR Vivid compatible. OnePlus promises wonders with this screen: a maximum brightness of 4500 cd/m². However, the high brightness mode only allows you to go up to 1600 cd/m².

The automatic brightness works quite well, although it sometimes goes wrong. Sometimes she sets the brightness a little too low. The colors are rather pretty, at a visibly correct temperature. Compared to what OnePlus usually does (like on the 12), they don't seem too bland. Warning: the default definition is not the maximum definition. You have to go to the settings to go from 2376 by 1080 to 2780 by 1264 pixels. The image is sharper, however, we lose a little autonomy.

The OnePlus 12R has, like all the other smartphones we test, gone under the knife, or rather under our probe using the CalMAN Ultimate software from Portrait Displays. All measurements were taken in “vivid ” mode, which is the default color mode. The color temperature that we measured is 7304 K, which is rather cold, and we are looking to get closer to 6500 K.

The maximum brightness that we measured is also rather disappointing compared to what we could expect (and compared to what the manufacturer says). In SDR, it is 792 cd/m² and 855 cd/m² in HDR. Compared to the 1600 cd/m² announced, our measurements are quite far off. It can be assumed that we were not able to reproduce the conditions necessary to obtain the real maximum brightness of the smartphone.

As for colorimetric coverage, we measured 148% coverage of sRGB, 99% of DCI-P3, and 67% of BT2020. 100% DCI-P3 (or almost), that's what we ask for on a smartphone at this price, so no fault at this point.

We measured an average Delta E (the average difference between what the screen displays and what it's supposed to display) of 3.2 in SDR and 6.25 in HDR. Considering that below 3, the human eye cannot see the difference, this means that the calibration of the OnePlus 12R is very good. More generally, the screen is good in all respects (except perhaps maximum brightness).

Software: OxygenOS 14 (Android 14) is still good

OnePlus is making a small concession here compared to old promises: the OnePlus 12R will only be entitled to three years of Android updates and four years of security patches. At 700 euros, we would have appreciated having four years of updates. The competition manages to do the same and Samsung and Google are starting to do better.

Fortunately, the manufacturer also chose Android 14 directly and not Android 13, with the OxygenOS 14 interface.

Overall, the user experience is the same as with the OnePlus 12, since their performance and technical characteristics are relatively similar. If the interface is quite clear and very detailed, certain parameters are difficult to find, and there are sometimes options that we would like to have already activated.

Personalization options

Monet is naturally there, as always with OnePlus. As a reminder, this Android feature allows you to adapt the colors of the interface (icons, buttons, etc.) according to those of your wallpaper.

Other customization options include the ability to change the shape of the quick settings icons, the fingerprint animation, or even add edge lighting. Same thing for the home screen icons (you can even automatically change the style of third-party application icons).

Lock screen shortcuts can also be changed, among these options: Google Assistant, Google Pay, device controls, flashlight, Snapchat, QR code, or nothing at all. Up to two shortcuts can be displayed.

Always-on mode

The OnePlus 12R's always-on mode is quite classic but rather complete. It allows you to display the time, date, remaining battery, notifications, and even the music that is being played (on Spotify for example).

You can choose when to display it (activation, new notification, scheduled). It is possible to display different patterns, texts, images, animations, or clocks.

Multitasking and floating window

By swiping upwards with three fingers, the split view is activated. Enough to display two applications simultaneously on the screen. A fairly practical function once you get the hang of it, especially after having activated the maximum definition on the OnePlus 12R.

Floating window mode can be activated on certain applications. The window that appears once launched can be moved and resized quite easily. It is even possible to combine multitasking mode and the floating window, to have three applications open.

Shelf mode

OnePlus has offered Shelf mode for a few years: it allows you to display some shortcuts by sliding your finger from the bottom to the top of the home screen. It's a tile system with a clock, weather, health data, notes, music control, show map, etc.

You can add, remove, or move these cards. It may be a duplicate of the widgets that already exist, but it allows you to clean up your home screen. In short, unless you get the hang of Shelf, you probably won't use it.

Home screen options

We know the large folder system on MagicOS well: OxygenOS is also doing it. These are folders that take up four boxes (like four applications, in 2x2), but which display nine. The idea is to fit more applications into a smaller space. As a bonus, you can even scroll through the pages without having to go into said folder. The home screen with the different application and widget pages can go hand in hand with the application drawer: no need to choose.

Applications included with OxygenOS 14

Unfortunately, there are two pieces of bloatware on this smartphone: Netflix and TikTok. But the brand's overlay brings other applications, in addition to its cloning tool or its web browser. The smartphone has an infrared transmitter, and via the IR Remote application, you can control certain devices. The set-top box, TV, projector, camera, heater, etc.

Configuring a device is quite simple, for example, I was able to use the OnePlus 12R as a remote control for my TV.

We also find O Relax, a relaxation application, which allows you to broadcast ambient sounds (sea, forest, white noise, singing, etc.) for a certain duration. You can even mix your sound, adding noises (city, nature, ASMR, etc.). There are also small relaxation games, including a breathing exercise as well as an experience of exploring cities or extra-terrestrial planets.

There is also Zen Space, which allows you to create modes, a bit like on One UI. They can mute notifications, filter certain calls, and limit smartphone use to a few applications. In short, it is the application that allows you to cut yourself off from the device, helping with concentration and work. Each “  space ” has a timer, which can be modified, depending on your concentration session.

Finally, the OnePlus 12R has Widevine L1 DRM, which guarantees compatibility with maximum video quality on SVoD services. However, to activate HDR in video, you must activate the “  Video color enhancement ” option in the settings.

The OnePlus 12R never blinks

The manufacturer seems to have made a wise choice for its chip: it is nothing more and nothing less than the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, Qualcomm's most powerful SoC in 2022/2023. Since then, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 has appeared and it can also be found on the OnePlus 12. This chip is known to be reliable, efficient, and not too energy-consuming. It is accompanied by 16 GB of LPDDR5X RAM and an Adreno 740 GPU.

Looking at the benchmarks, the OnePlus 12R is doing quite well for a 700-euro smartphone. There is a certain difference with its big brother the OnePlus 12, but it does not appear ridiculous. Compared to the Samsung Galaxy S23 FE released a few months ago and sold at the same price, the advantage narrowly goes to the OnePlus model.

Daily, naturally no slowdown, applications launch quickly. In gaming too, the OnePlus 12R does very well. You can play  Fortnite in maximum quality (epic) at 60 FPS almost constantly (and with HD textures). There may be drops to 45 FPS during combat phases with multiple players, but that's it.

As for Genshin Impact, you can also play it at 60 FPS in maximum graphics quality without slowing down, including during battles. There is no denying that the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 may be a year old, but it is still very current. Please note: to fully unlock the performance, you must switch to “  Pro Player ” mode via the game menu but also activate “ High Performance ” mode in the battery settings. Without it, performance will be a little more limited.

To cool the smartphone, there is a double steam chamber inside. Enough to theoretically reduce the temperature by 7°C. The mechanical framework, for its part, makes it possible to reduce the temperature by 1.5 to 2°C. In the game, however, it gets hot: depending on the smartphone, up to 39°C (this is what the game mode displays). In practice, it's probably a little higher than that: the OnePlus 12R heats up, but not enough that it's worrying.

As for storage, you can count on 256 GB in UFS 3.1, which cannot be expanded using a microSD card. If it is a good thing not to offer a configuration with only 128 GB, it is a shame not to find a version with 512 GB for the greediest.

A satisfactory photo section, but with photos that are too dark

In total, the OnePlus 12R has four

:

• A 50 Mpx Sony IMX890 main sensor, OIS, 1/1.56″ size, 1 µm pixel size, 24 mm equivalent, f/1.8;

• An 8 Mpx Sony IMX355 ultra-wide-angle sensor, 112° field of view, 1.12 µm pixel size, f/2.2;

• A 2 Mpx macro sensor, focusing at 4 cm;

• A 16 Mpx selfie sensor, 1 µm pixel size, 24 mm equivalent, f/2.4.

Main sensor

This was the great strength of the OnePlus 12: color fidelity. Considering what the main sensor of the “R ” version of this device offers, the OnePlus 12R also has this advantage. The sharpness is also quite good.

On the other hand, what can go wrong is the management of the dynamic place. In most photos, the dark areas are quite dark. It's a real shame because we feel that OnePlus could have had room to look for details. As for the highest exposures, it is generally handled well, but not without errors. Finally, the corners are often a little too blurry.

Ultra-wide-angle sensor

As with the OnePlus 12, the OnePlus 12R offers very good color consistency between its sensors. Enough to have the advantages of the main sensor on ultra-wide-angle, but also its shortcomings.

If the advantages are a little tarnished, the defects are accentuated: the ultra-wide-angle, as a secondary sensor, is logically less good. The problem is that some photos are underexposed and would have deserved much more pronounced HDR treatment. However, this may delight some users of the OnePlus 12R: tastes and colors, as they say.

Macro sensor

Even on a 700-euro smartphone, a macro sensor is still pretty useless. OnePlus replaced the very good telephoto lens of the OnePlus 12 with this 2 MP sensor and it was not a good idea.

The colors are a little too yellow, the definition is rather poor and the background blurs appear duplicated, which is quite strange. In short, favor the main sensor, even if it means digitally zooming in the image.

Night mode

Without a doubt, the OnePlus 12R's night mode is disappointing. First of all, because it does not collect enough light in situations which would allow it. The result is photos that are often a little too dark: at 700 euros, it's a shame.

With the ultra-wide angle, we generally recover more light, but we also recover more digital noise. In addition, it is very prone to lens flares, which means that photos can be covered in light reflections. 300 euros less compared to the OnePlus 12, that seems to make a world of difference.

Portrait mode

In terms of portrait mode, it's quite satisfactory. The skin tone is good in several lighting situations, the digital noise is sufficiently low. However, we lost a bit of the details of my colleague's sweater.

Fortunately, clipping does not lose too much hair: although it is rather harsh, certain isolated strands are brought to the foreground. We don't notice too many clipping errors and the background blur seems quite natural.

Selfie sensor

Considering the price of the OnePlus 12R, the selfie sensor is pretty good, but far from being the best. The advantage is that the colors are still good, even in situations with less light.

On the other hand, dynamic range management can leave something to be desired. We easily have under or overexposed areas and that's a bit of a shame. The smartphone is a little too lazy about recovering details when taking a photo in the dark. For the rest, it's pretty decent.

Video

The OnePlus 12R is capable of filming in 4K at 60 frames per second. It also offers a slow-motion mode to film up to 480 fps in 720p (and 240 in 1080p).

Audio and sound

To make the most of your music or films, the OnePlus 12R is entitled to Dolby Atmos compatibility. No jack socket on this model: you must either use the USB-C port or Bluetooth 5.3 to listen to wired music.

The two speakers remain if you don't have headphones, headphones, or speakers. What's quite a shame is the volume disparity between the two: the lower speaker is more powerful than the other. This is a shame since it creates an imbalance when holding the phone horizontally.

Network and communication

No eSIM on this 700-euro smartphone, we might regret that. This is in favor of a classic layout with two nanoSIM slots. 5G is required, as is Wi-Fi 7 compatibility, Bluetooth 5.3, NFC, and GPS.

Audio calls are very good on this model. In busy and noisy streets (because of driving cars), we cannot hear the cars, and the voices of passers-by next to us can be heard, only if they are loud.

The voice is quite natural and not too cut off by the algorithms when you start speaking and when you stop speaking. In windy situations, there is no need to worry: the wind cannot be heard and our voice is always audible. Finally, it is possible to hear echoes in empty rooms, but nothing prohibitive.

The audio is focused on the mids and that seems quite logical. The problem is that the bass is too flashy and lacks depth. The highs are quickly too distended to make listening pleasant. In the end, the sound of the OnePlus 12R is a little disappointing, especially for 700 euros, we would have appreciated more precision in the sound reproduction.

Excellent autonomy underlined by very powerful charging

To power the OnePlus 12R, a 5500 mAh battery (double cell of 2750 mAh each) is found inside it. According to the manufacturer, the autonomy of its product is good enough for it to last 17.6 hours playing videos on YouTube.

In the game, the autonomy is rather correct. Over a 20-minute session of  Fortnite with all performance settings enabled and the brightness set to 50%, we lose 8% of our battery. The same session on  Genshin Impact and it's 9% less battery. Given the brightness and performance offered, it is not the best, but it remains entirely respectable.

In practice, the autonomy of the OnePlus 12R is very good. You can easily go up to two days of autonomy in mixed-use, which mixes browsing, playing videos, sending messages, and a few video games (not too demanding). What impressed me was a morning I spent during which I only lost 2% battery (from 100 to 98%).

However, I listened to music, consulted social networks, sent messages, and even made a call lasting more than fifteen minutes. However, I only lost 2% of my battery: if of course the first 2 percent takes the longest to lose, it is still quite revealing of the endurance of this OnePlus smartphone. Same thing with connection sharing, which consumes a lot of energy: this use case does not cause the device to fail.

We put it through our Smart Viser automated testing protocol, which simulates the same activity (browsing, messaging, video playing, etc.) on all models we test, from 100 to 10% battery. During this test, the OnePlus 12R lasted 15 hours and 27 minutes, which is excellent: this makes it the fifth longest-lasting model in all our tests.

Recharge

The brand is always expected on the charge: it is one of the players who offer the highest powers. This is again the case here: 100 W thanks to proprietary SUPERVOOC technology. Enough to go from 1 to 100% in 26 minutes in theory. OnePlus claims to be able to maintain the battery capacity above 80% for four years (around 1600 charge cycles). During our charging test, it took us 24 minutes to go from 10 to 100%:

• 10 minutes: 60%;

• 20 minutes: 90%;

• 24 minutes: 100%.

Price and release date

The OnePlus 12R is already on sale in a single configuration with 16 GB of RAM and 256 GB of storage for an introductory price of 699 euros. Two colors are available: blue or black.