OnePlus 12R Review: Perfectly Balanced

The OnePlus R-series of devices focuses on giving you a premium experience at half the cost of a flagship phone.

The OnePlus 12R is a premium smartphone that's relatively affordable, going by the specs on paper. Priced starting at just under Rs. 40,000 in India, it comes across as a game changer because of what you get at this price.

The OnePlus R-series of devices focuses on giving you a premium experience at half the cost of a flagship phone. Interestingly, with the 12R, OnePlus seems to have thrown its usual playbook out of the window because this phone has received upgrades across the board, which make it mightier than the OnePlus 11. But do these upgrades translate into advantages in real-world usage? Let's find out.

Design

The OnePlus 12R builds upon the foundation of the 11R with a refined design and better material quality. It is offered in two colour options— Cool Blue with a reflective finish and Iron Gray with a frosted matte finish.

The design is essentially the same as that of the OnePlus 12, sans the Hasselblad logo on the camera module, but it has been improved in some ways, such as rounded corners and a reflective finish on the camera module. It measures 8.8mm thick and weighs 207 grams.

The OnePlus 12R has an aluminium chassis, making it durable in daily use, while the IP65 rating should mean it is protected against dust and water splashes. The frame has a matte finish to avoid fingerprints, but the back glass on the blue colour model is prone to fingerprints & smudges.

Up top is an infrared emitter that can control compatible home appliances such as TVs, refrigerators, ACs and more. Another upgrade we get is Gorilla Glass Victus 2 for the screen for protection against scratches or sudden falls.

Display

One of the most significant features of the OnePlus 12R is its 6.7-inch ProXDR curved-edge display. It uses an LTPO 4 AMOLED panel, which allows the phone to switch between refresh rates dynamically based on what's on the screen. It does two things— it makes every interaction so smooth, and it allows the phone to conserve battery life. The relatively sharp 1.5K resolution is excellent for watching videos and movies.

The display on the OnePlus 12R can get really bright. OnePlus claims that it is capable of outputting 1600 nits in High Brightness Mode and 4500 nits of peak maximum brightness. It also supports Dolby Vision and HDR10+.

We tested this display using a light meter, and we got around 837 nits in SDR and 1100 nits in HDR modes with the brightness locked at 100%. But that's not all; the panel reached 1360 nits in HDR mode with auto-brightness enabled. However, in our experience, it couldn't reach 4500 nits,  as OnePlus claims.

Sunlight legibility won't be an issue with the 12R. Vivid colours and details make it one of the best screens in this price segment.

OnePlus says it has developed a feature called Aqua Touch, which uses the display driver chip and CPU to detect water drops on the screen, enabling you to use the 12R in the rain without registering accidental touches.

Performance

The OnePlus 12R has the same flagship chip as the OnePlus 11, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2. While not the latest, it is a tried and tested chip that performs well. Be it scrolling through your Instagram feed, watching videos on YouTube, or gaming on the go, the OnePlus 12R does it all without breaking a sweat.

OnePlus has also implemented a dual vapour chamber cooler (3686 mm² + 5454 mm²), which helps dissipate heat while using demanding apps or playing games for hours at a stretch. The company claims it reduces temperatures by up to 7 degrees Celsius, resulting in better sustained performance.

A lot of optimisations under the hood help performance of the 12R remain snappy. OxygenOS 14 brings in what OnePlus is calling the “Trinity Engine”, which is said to enable faster app launches, smoother multi-tasking, and lower touch latency. 

I played a couple of rounds of Call of Duty Mobile, Battlegrounds Mobile India and Genshin Impact, and not once did I feel any apparent frame drops or heating. 

The GPU calibrates brightness levels in real-time for HDR gaming and enhances individual frames to make them more vivid in games such as Genshin Impact. Meanwhile, support for a 1000Hz touch sampling rate reduces touch latency, while the 4D Haptics motor offers immersive feedback during gameplay.

Battery & Charging

The OnePlus 12R has a 5500mAh battery, the largest on any OnePlus phone yet. That is 100mAh more than the OnePlus 12's battery and 500mAh larger than the one in last year's OnePlus 11R. 

Of course, battery life depends on usage habits, but I managed to get over a day's use on a single charge. I got around 8-9 hours of screen time with heavy use, which is pretty good.

If you are a casual user and your job doesn't require you to be on your phone constantly, you should be able to squeeze more battery life out of the OnePlus 12R. If your typical usage is very intensive, you'll love that this phone supports 100W fast charging with the bundled charger, so you can charge it fully in just around 30 minutes.

Cameras

The cameras on the OnePlus 12R are where this company has minimised costs. It features the same primary and macro cameras that we got on the OnePlus 11R. The primary 50-megapixel camera uses the Sony IMX890 sensor, while the ultrawide camera uses the IMX355 sensor.

Being a relatively affordable model in the OnePlus number series, the 12R doesn't get to taste the benefits of the company’s tieup with Hasselblad. Still, it has a capable set of cameras, and the primary one produces good-looking, colourful images in the daytime without any hassle. 

During the night or in low-lit environments, the 12R struggles to balance exposures, highlights and textures, but you can get decent images with some trial and error.

The ultrawide camera offers a massive field of view and can match colours to those from the primary camera. However, the same can't be said about the macro sensor. Meanwhile, the selfie camera does a decent job of capturing selfies, but only in well-lit conditions.

Verdict

The OnePlus 12R is now a middle child between the OnePlus 12 and the OnePlus 11. It borrows most of the good things from these two flagships, resulting in a great combination of hardware and software starting at just under ₹40,000. 

With the flagship-level performance of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 SoC, a gorgeous and incredibly bright ProXDR display, long-lasting battery life, and fast charging, the 12R delivers many of the key experiences one expects from a flagship phone, all at a much more affordable price point.

While the cameras are a compromise compared to more expensive flagships, they still capture good images and video in most situations. If you prioritise cameras over everything else, I can think of only two alternatives at this price level right now— the Google Pixel 7A and the Nothing Phone 2.

For those who prioritise overall performance and features over just the camera experience, the OnePlus 12R is a superb value choice that doesn't compromise much for its relatively affordable price point.