The OnePlus 12 is set to launch on December 5 in China. Ahead of the launch, OnePlus has revealed a teaser and several images of the upcoming flagship. These confirm some major changes in the design and cameras. While the OnePlus 12 seems to build on this year’s OnePlus 11 design language, it is more refined and looks absolutely incredible in the green color option.
OnePlus is shifting the iconic Alert Slider to the opposite side. Up until now, all OnePlus flagship phones have featured the silent/vibrate switch above the volume buttons on the right side. But the OnePlus 12 is shifting it to the left side, and OnePlus has a good reason for it. “By relocating the Alert Slider to the opposite side of the phone, better gaming antennas can be deployed on the OnePlus 12,” says the company. It is said that the repositioning of Alert Slider will allow OnePlus to offer better antenna signal performance and reduce the “game latency by 15%.”
OnePlus has also confirmed the presence of a periscope lens on its upcoming flagship. The OnePlus 12 will sport a 3x periscope telephoto camera, which will be accompanied by the “4th Gen Hasselblad Camera for Mobile.” You can expect better color tuning with the next-gen Hasselblad integration. For reference, the OnePlus 11 features a 2x telephoto camera, but a dedicated 3x periscope lens will bring better zooming capabilities, both in range and quality.
The OnePlus 12 features a textured pattern on the green color options, which is said to replicate “the interwoven strands and breathing vibrant life into the device” and is labeled as “Dart River” by the company. Whatever the OnePlus marketing team might say or however want to intertwine the design with nature, there is no doubt that the new pattern on the back looks gorgeous. The other two colors include Silver (which looks classy) and Black, which is similar to the OnePlus 11.
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This year’s OnePlus flagship had no glaring omissions, but there was room for improvement with a better telephoto camera and the addition of wireless charging. While the company has confirmed the former, rumors suggest that the OnePlus 12 will support wireless charging capabilities. I like the fact that OnePlus has worked on refining the design while also adding more features to the mix. However, this will likely trigger a price increase, and you shouldn’t expect the OnePlus 12 to launch at the same $699 the OnePlus 11 costs.
Coming to the rumor mill, the OnePlus 12 is said to feature the new Sony LYT-808 sensor for its 50MP primary camera, which was first used on the OnePlus Open. It is said to be accompanied by a 64MP 3x periscope camera and a 48MP ultrawide-angle lens. This looks like a solid camera setup on paper.
The OnePlus 12 will be powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor and is said to feature a 2K display. It will likely start at 256GB of storage and pack a 5,400mAh battery with 100W wired and 50W wireless charging.
According to Engadget, the OnePlus 12’s global launch date will be announced on December 15, but that doesn’t stop us from speculating. As per Android Authority, the OnePlus 12 could go global as soon as January 23, 2024. The speculation is based on OnePlus’ marketing materials, where it is running a giveaway until the end of January 23, 2024.
The OnePlus 12 giveaway campaign also mentions that six winners will be selected to win “another” new phone. This could mean that OnePlus might launch the OnePlus 12R – a successor to the excellent OnePlus 11R. Historically, the OnePlus R series has been limited to the Indian market. These devices have also typically shipped with a generation-old processor and lower camera specs, but they offer great value.
The OnePlus 12R could be a great marketing plan to undercut the next-gen flagship from the OnePlus 11 by launching the OnePlus 12R at $699 or cheaper and pricing the true flagship, the OnePlus 12, above this year’s price.
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