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OnePlus 12: What we know so far about the new OnePlus flagship

The upcoming Android has the brightest screen of any phone and is rumoured to launch in the UK in January

Steve Hogarty
Tuesday 05 December 2023 18:27 GMT
Three colourways have been revealed so far: white, black and green
Three colourways have been revealed so far: white, black and green (The Independent/OnePlus)

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The next OnePlus flagship phone has been officially unveiled. The OnePlus 12 launched in China on 5 December, with a global release date predicted to follow in January.

The newest Android phone from the Chinese brand features a 120Hz AMOLED display capable of reaching a ludicrous (and record-breaking) 4,500 nits peak brightness.

A high peak brightness is useful for improving the appearance of HDR (high dynamic range) content, allowing the screen to show very bright highlights and very dark backgrounds at the same time.

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Peak brightness also makes a phone’s display much clearer in strong and direct sunlight, though this generally isn’t a problem in northern Europe or for anyone living at relatively high or low latitudes. For comparison, the iPhone 15 Pro Max tops out at 2,000 – which is already more than enough, even on the UK’s sunniest days.

OnePlus 12 cameras

The OnePlus 12 will use similar camera hardware to that found in the OnePlus Open – the brand’s first foldable phone, launched earlier this year – meaning it gets a 50MP main camera, 48MP ultrawide and a 64MP telephoto lens with a periscoping, 3x optical zoom.

OnePlus 12 specs

Under the hood, the OnePlus 12 runs on the newest Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor, and can be configured with up to 24GB of RAM and 1TB of storage, so expect flagship-grade performance and speed.

OnePlus has also revealed that the new phone will use a whopping 5,400mAh battery – that’s bigger than the high-end Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra.

The OnePlus 12 was officially revealed by OnePlus president Li JieLouis on Weibo
The OnePlus 12 was officially revealed by OnePlus president Li JieLouis on Weibo (OnePlus)

OnePlus 12 price

The OnePlus 12 starts at ¥4,299 in China (around £480 or $600), but international prices will be higher. Considering the OnePlus 11 launched in February starting at £729, we can guess the new flagship will arrive at a similar price or upwards of it.

If you can’t wait around for the newest OnePlus, the OnePlus 11 is still an excellent option, and features in our round-up of the best Android phones.

OnePlus 11: Was £729, now £646.54, Amazon.co.uk

(OnePlus)

OnePlus entered the market as a trendy challenger brand, producing superbly built and highly refined Android phones at a fraction of the cost of the big-name flagships.

Since then, OnePlus has moved towards the mainstream, making premium phones (with big price tags to match) but the OnePlus 11 is a small return to form for the Chinese manufacturer. It’s a mid-price 5G Android phone running on a clean and streamlined version of the operating system, with a decent camera, a brilliant 120Hz screen and top-end performance.

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