ICYMI: The OnePlus 12 and 12R Are Now Available!

Priced beyond Belief!

Two weeks ago, OnePlus released the OnePlus 12 and 12R. And to everyone’s shocked, it truly was a phone beyond belief. With other honorable and magical flagship phones coming this week, and a few others with white flower petals, the new OnePlus devices are somehow pricey, especially with the OnePlus 12R. The “R” serves as a sort of replacement to the once-popular “T” series.

We can only guess why the OnePlus 12R is priced at PHP 43,990. Oppo now handles the brand and OnePlus became the “flagship” line. We haven’t heard of the Find X since the first one and if this was their move, it isn’t surprising at the slightest. The OnePlus 12 also got a significant jump in price, shocking almost everyone. It’s priced beyond belief at PHP 63,990 from the OnePlus 11’s PHP 45,990.

OnePlus is a brand known by the tech community as a cheaper alternative to flagships, at least when it was first conceptualized. They popularized the niche “flagship killer” that brands like POCO and in some cases, Transsion, emulate. OnePlus phones are designed to have almost everything you need to know about a flagship at a price of a midrange. Yes, the whole package. Today, that goal is marginalized as OnePlus slowly becomes a mainstream brand absorbed by Oppo and ever since Carl Pei’s departure.

OnePlus 12:

The OnePlus 12 is the main flagship device, covering almost everything the OnePlus 11 had to offer. Yes, including the design. There were little to no changes externally so OnePlus improved on the software side, plus the chipset and cameras.

Hasselblad’s collaboration remains here, and that’s going to be for a while. The OnePlus 12 features a 120Hz LTPO3.0 AMOLED display, 2160Hz PWM Dimming, HDR10+, Dolby Vision, and with Oppo’s “ProXDR” enhancement. Do note this is a software enhancement and should not affect screenshots or recording. Gimmicky. Oppo opted to use a flat display this time. This screen can also replace your flashlight with a peak brightness worth 4500 nits!

Another feature OnePlus noted is “AquaTouch” that basically allows you to use the screen flawlessly in rain or wet conditions and prevent accidental taps. Speaking of using a wet phone, the OnePlus 12 is protected with Corning Gorilla Victus 2 and IP64 rating.

The phone uses the most obvious choice for a flagship, the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3. It also uses a brand new and improved cooling system OnePlus calls Dual Cryo-Velocity Vapour Chamber. This has a total coverage area of 9140mm² and has over 3x better heat dissipation versus the OnePlus 11.

There are four cameras here, counting the front camera as well. The main is a 50MP Sony Lytia LYT808, a specially designed flagship camera for smartphones. Alongside this is the 48MP Ultrawide, a 64MP Periscopic telephoto camera with 3x optical zoom, and a light sensor. This is the fourth generation since the OnePlus 9 Pro.

In particular, the LYT-808 has a large 1/1.4″ sensor and anti-glare coating so you can take pictures without reflections penetrating through the camera and creating unnecessary flare. As for the telephoto, it has 120x digital zoom making it really good for capturing the moon but knowing how the Reno10 Pro Plus turned out, the results here might be similar. This sensor has a 70mm focal length and a 1/2″ size.

Finally, the ultrawide camera which has 48MP resolution. Still better than what the OnePlus 12R has to offer. This sensor is not featured in the hero page but the brand did specify it more in the spec sheet section. This is the classic Sony IMX581 with 1/2″ size and 114-degrees field of view.

The front camera is the typical Sony IMX615 used for over three generations now. This is the same sensor as the Reno10 Pro Plus. We can see a pattern here.

The phone has a larger battery this time around. Now, it has a capacity of 5400mAh with 100W fast charging. Wireless charging? Present! 50W of AirVOOC charging here. The phone also has stereo speakers with High-Res certification and Dolby Atmos improvements!

The phone has 12GB RAM and 512GB storage for PHP 63,990. Is it worth the price considering the upgrades? Not really. Hold on to your OnePlus 11 folks! The OnePlus 12 again comes in two colors: Flowy Emerald and Silky Black. It is available in Oppo’s flagship stores and online via OnePlus’ Lazada and Shopee

SPECS:

• 6.82″ QHD+ (3168x1440px) LTPO3.0 AMOLED, 1-120Hz refresh rate, HDR10+, Dolby Vision
  • IP64 water/dust resistance
  • Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2
• Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 (4nm)
• CAMERAS:
  • 50MP (Primary), f/1.6, 1/1.4″, 23mm, EIS, OIS, Sony Lytia LYT-808, Hasselblad Natural Color
  • 48MP (Ultrawide), f/2.2, 1/2″, 14mm, EIS, Sony IMX581
  • 64MP (Periscope), f/2.6, 70mm (3x) – 140mm (6x), ALC coating, EIS, OIS, Omnivision OV64B, 3x optical zoom, 120x digital zoom
  • FRONT: 32MP, f/2.4, 21mm, 1/2.74″, EIS, Sony IMX615
• OxygenOS 14 based on Android 14
• 5400mAh, 100W fast charging
• USB-C, Stereo Speakers, In-display fingerprint sensor, IR Blaster, Color Temperature Sensor
• 5G services, 4G LTE, Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.4, Dual-band Wi-Fi, NFC
• Flowy Emerald, Silky Black
• PRICE:
  • 12/512: PHP 63,990

OnePlus 12R

The 12R. A OnePlus phone that isn’t exactly a Nord but feels like a Nord. Therefore, it can’t be priced like a Nord. Is this a compliment? Well, we’ll let you figure out.

When it comes to aesthetics, the OnePlus 12R strips the OnePlus 12’s AG Glass design with a nature feel to a more standard plastic, albeit shined and designed to feel like glass and metal for its Ice Blue and Iron Grey colours respectively. Be prepared to see fingerprints at the back!

The 12R is supposedly the “flagship killer” version of the OnePlus 12 but it has not exactly lived up to that expectation. For instance, it uses last year’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset. Not that it’s a bad chipset but that’s one heck of a downgrade. It can compete and is future proof for about 5 years, but it will age faster than the Gen 3 obviously. And also, with 3nm chips slowly being developed, this 4nm chip will feel somehow slow. Smooth beyond belief… for now.

The display here is once again flat but no more LTPO. It also has toned down 1.5K resolution instead of QHD+ It does keep the 120Hz refresh rate but now it’s only variable from 60Hz and above. This display is identical to the OnePlus Nord 3.

It uses a camera array exactly identical to the Nord 3. That is a 50MP Sony IMX890 with an 8MP ultrawide, a 2MP macro, and a 16MP selfie. Nothing much to say here.

The only significant difference between this and the Nord is the chipset. The Nord uses a MediaTek Dimensity 9000 chip opposed to the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, which is a chipset of comparable performance. The 12R has 16GB RAM and 256GB ROM. Exactly like the Nord 3.

The OnePlus 12R does have faster charging at 100W and also has a larger 5500mAh battery. Though, these are small changes in contrast to what the Nord has. 80W and 5000mAh. No, the OnePlus 12R has no wireless charging.

RELATED: The Tenty Lite: OnePlus Nord 3 Review! [PART 1]

Do the specs justify the PHP 43,990 price it asks for? Once again, no. It’s pretty hard to explain why this was the case. If we were to recommend, just get the Nord 3 for a similar experience, or the OnePlus 11 for better cameras and display with the same chipset.

However, if you still want the 12R, it is available online on OnePlus’ Lazada and Shopee and at OnePlus’ kiosks and stores nationwide.

SPECS:

• 6.78″ 1.5K (2780x1264px) Flat AMOLED, 120Hz refresh rate, Dolby Vision, L1 Widevine
• Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 (4nm)
• CAMERAS:
  • 50MP (Primary), f/1.8, 1/1.56″, 24mm, PDAF, EIS, OIS, Sony IMX890
  • 8MP (Ultrawide), f/2.2, 112-degrees FOV
  • 2MP (Macro), f/2.4
  • FRONT: 16MP, f/2.4
• OxygenOS 14 based on Android 14
• 5500mAh, 100W fast charging
• USB-C, IR Blaster, In-display fingerprint scanner, Stereo Speakers
• 5G services, 4G LTE, Wi-Fi 6/6e, Bluetooth 5.3, NFC
• Ice Blue, Iron Grey
• PRICE:
  • 16/256: PHP 43,990