What’s Up with OnePlus? A Look at the OnePlus 12 Anticipation

OnePlus has been quite unpredictable lately. First, they rolled out the OnePlus 11 and dropped the bomb that there won’t be a OnePlus 11T. Oh, and they decided to ditch Pro models altogether, so no OnePlus 11 Pro either. Confused yet? In 2022, they gave us a OnePlus 10 Pro and OnePlus 10T but skipped the regular OnePlus 10. Now, the big question is: What’s cooking with the OnePlus 12?

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Cracking the OnePlus 12 Code

With no OnePlus 11T in sight and Pro models being benched, all eyes are on the OnePlus 12. OnePlus is known for keeping us on our toes, and this time is no different. As the rumor mill starts churning, let’s explore what might be in store for the OnePlus 12.

Rumors are buzzing around the OnePlus 12, but details are scarce. Early hints suggest OnePlus could be gearing up for something interesting.

What’s the Scoop on OnePlus 12?

OnePlus sure knows how to keep us guessing. After all the twists and turns, there’s a glimmer of clarity about the OnePlus 12. Brace yourselves; it’s officially on the horizon. The big day is December 4, 2023, in China. While the global launch details are still under wraps, it’s a safe bet to expect the OnePlus 12 to hit the global stage in early 2024.

Now, let’s rewind a bit to 2023. OnePlus surprised us with the OnePlus 11R, mainly targeting the Indian market. This phone took a few shortcuts compared to the OnePlus 11 but threw in some nifty upgrades, creating quite a buzz for its price. With only the OnePlus 11 and the 11R making waves in 2023, it’s not a stretch to anticipate another “R” edition in 2024. Guess what? We’ve got a sneak peek at the design of the OnePlus 12R already. It’s like unwrapping a gift you know you’re going to love!

What specs and features could the OnePlus 12 have?

OnePlus has this habit of keeping us on our toes, especially with its flagship smartphones. It’s a bit like a box of chocolates; you never know what you’re going to get. Take wireless charging, for instance. It made its grand entrance with the OnePlus 8 series, and then, poof, disappeared with the OnePlus 11. The saga continues with high-end camera hardware—they bring it, they take it away. And let’s not even get started on those official IP ratings; introduced and then, just as quickly, abandoned. It’s a wild ride with OnePlus, and the OnePlus 11 launch is no exception. Buckle up for the unexpected!

Design: Unveiling the Aesthetics

OnePlus has released official device renders of the OnePlus 12, and they give us the best and final confirmed look of the device.

As we can see, the OnePlus 12 has a design that is very similar to the outgoing OnePlus 11 and the OnePlus 10 series before it. There are some changes, but overall, the company has established its design language and is sticking to it.

OnePlus has given us a sneak peek into the OnePlus 12’s design, revealing three colors for the Chinese market: White, Green, and Black. However, global releases traditionally stick to Green and Black. The design remains consistent with previous models, but with noticeable changes. The camera island is larger and more pronounced, housing a revamped Hasselblad branding. Notably, the button placement has shifted, and leaked renders showcase a new camera LED placement. Official cases leaked by Evan Blass include a Fiber case, a Sandstone case, and a Wood case.

If you look closely, you can spot that the OnePlus 11 has an IR blaster on the top. The screen also looks slightly less curved on the edges

Reliable leaker Steve ‘OnLeaks’ Hemmerstoffer and SmartPrix revealed renders of the OnePlus 12 on July 12. These images (seen above) are based on a prototype and suggest that OnePlus is sticking to the same design language as the OnePlus 11. Save for what appears to be a periscope zoom camera at the bottom of the camera island. In saying so, we also get a center-aligned punch-hole cutout this time rather than a left-aligned cutout. We can also make out an alert slider here, which should please long-time OnePlus users.

It’s worth noting again that these images are based on a prototype rather than 3D CAD designs, as is usually the case for Hemmerstoffer.

In September, we were treated to a few more renders obtained by OnLeaks and MySmartPrice. These renders are based on real-life images of pre-production units.

Unlike the previous renders, these images show a device without a periscope zoom lens (though, as we know, OnePlus is now using a periscope zoom lens). There also appears to be an unknown component sitting with the cameras in the camera bump’s fourth spot.

Meanwhile, we’ve also seen some leaked renders of the India-exclusive variant, the OnePlus 12R:

The 12R will likely cut back on a few specs to keep the price down. Most notably, we expect the 12R to launch with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor. That’s state-of-the-art today, but the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 will likely debut with the OnePlus 12, so the 12R will be a generation behind.

Specs

OnePlus

Specs and Features: Unraveling the Mystery Box

OnePlus is renowned for its unpredictable features, reminiscent of a box of chocolates. Wireless charging made a grand entrance with the OnePlus 8 series and disappeared with the OnePlus 11. The OnePlus 12, following this tradition, introduces changes and surprises. Leaks suggest a Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor, 16GB of LPDDR5X RAM, and 256GB of storage. The display is anticipated to be a star feature, with conflicting leaks suggesting a 6.7-inch QHD OLED screen or a 120Hz 6.7-inch AMOLED display with 2K resolution.

Additional leaked specs hint at a 5,400mAh battery with 100W wired charging (50W wireless).

The latest OnePlus numbered flagship always comes with the newest Qualcomm 8-series chipset. In 2024, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 will grace the OnePlus 12.

The Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 SoC has a new core setup in a 1+3+2+2 configuration. This means you can expect one big core, five medium cores, and two little cores. Essentially, this makes the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 more powerful than its predecessor and more capable regarding multi-core benchmarks.

Cameras

The camera setup is the talk of the town, with OnePlus confirming a 50MP IMX 966 sensor and a 64MP periscope zoom camera with OIS. OnePlus promises enhanced imaging with OPPO image algorithms and Hasselblad’s color optimization. The phone is expected to boast a ProXDR display with 2K resolution.

OnePlus tends to switch up its strategy regarding cameras with every new year. Although the configuration of cameras remains relatively constant — primary, ultrawide, telephoto, and sometimes a fourth — the types of sensors and the star features of those sensors vary wildly. For example, the OnePlus 10 Pro had a crazy-wide ultrawide camera that was almost a fisheye lens. OnePlus used software trickery to “unwarp” the image, but the results weren’t super impressive and prevented it from becoming one of the year’s best camera phones. The company abandoned this lens style for the OnePlus 11, opting for an ultrawide with a normal field of view — while simultaneously dropping the sensor quality of this lens significantly.

We also learned from OnePlus that the secondary camera will be a 64MP periscope zoom camera with a 1/2-inch sensor, f/2.6 aperture, and OIS, It will be capable of outputting 3x optically zoomed images.

Regardless of hardware, you can expect a continued partnership with Hasselblad, as OnePlus has made a massive deal of that over the past few years. This partnership brings Hasselblad’s signature color science to OnePlus phones.

Price Speculations: Decoding the Cost

OnePlus has kept fans on their toes with varying price points. The OnePlus 11, despite lacking “Pro” in its name, shocked with a $699 price tag. Speculations about the OnePlus 12’s price range from continued affordability to a potential return to higher prices. The success of the OnePlus 11 could influence the pricing strategy for its successor, with sacrifices in features likely determining the final cost.

OnePlus 8 Pro (2020): $899
OnePlus 9 Pro (2021): $969
OnePlus 10 Pro (2022): $899
OnePlus 11 (2023): $699

The OnePlus 11 landed at a shocking price of just $699. Although it lacked the word “Pro” in its name, OnePlus assured us that it is the top-of-the-line company flagship for 2023. Compared with the previous Pro-level phones, the OnePlus 11 was hundreds of dollars cheaper.

To Wait or Not to Wait: The OnePlus 12 Dilemma

For avid OnePlus fans, the decision to wait for the OnePlus 12 boils down to priorities. If a better processor and camera system are crucial, holding out for the 2024 release might be worthwhile. However, the market offers tempting alternatives. The Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra and Google Pixel 8 Pro present formidable competition, with features like ultra-fast wired charging and extended software support.

OnePlus 12 Wishlist: What Fans Crave

Above, we’ve told you all about the latest leaks, rumors, and historical data to suggest what we’ll likely see with the OnePlus 12. Below, we have a few things that we hope to see. Please note that these differ from leaks and rumors in that we have no evidence these things are coming. We just would really like to see them happen.

Wireless charging

It took six years for OnePlus to finally launch a phone with wireless charging: the OnePlus 8 Pro, which landed in 2020. After finally getting the feature, we lost it in 2023, as the OnePlus 11 lacks wireless charging, and we don’t expect any other flagship phones from OnePlus this year (at least outside of the foldable phone realm). It seems we’re right back where we once were, with buying a OnePlus phone requiring the user to not care about wireless charging.

We really hope this problem goes away in 2024. All flagship phones should come with wireless charging — full stop. With sub-$500 phones like the Google Pixel 7a now having it and every modern iPhone supporting it along with the advantages of MagSafe, there can’t be any excuses anymore. Wireless charging may have been a nice perk a few years ago, but it’s increasingly become a standard feature. If you plan on owning your OnePlus 12 for many years, you’re going to want it to be able to charge wirelessly, either now or in the future.

Thankfully, early rumors suggest we will see wireless charging on the OnePlus 12, so we’re cautiously optimistic. We’ll be more certain as we get closer to the end of the year.

A no-compromises camera

Every year, we anticipate the newest OnePlus flagship camera experience. And every year, we walk away slightly disappointed. The closest we’ve gotten to a true win was the OnePlus 9 Pro. But even that phone had a superfluous fourth lens (a 2MP monochrome sensor) that didn’t do much for the user besides increasing the phone’s price. For whatever reason, OnePlus refuses to do what we actually want, which is to offer a triple-lens system with high-quality primary, ultrawide, and telephoto sensors. No extra lenses, no old/sub-par hardware, and no weird gimmicks.

We truly hope the OnePlus 12 bucks this trend. The fact that we’ve heard OnePlus could be testing a periscope telephoto lens is undoubtedly encouraging. OnePlus also revealed the OnePlus 12 would be the first phone to feature Sony’s new Lytia sensor. However, we’ve been burned so many times before. We are cautiously optimistic but not getting our hopes up too high for this one.

A full IP rating

As with wireless charging, a full IP rating was a thing we always wanted from OnePlus and didn’t get until 2020 with the OnePlus 8 Pro. Eventually, IP ratings went away as well, with the OnePlus 11 lacking it (at least for the unlocked model).

Once again, as with wireless charging, a full IP68 rating should be a standard for any flagship phone. Getting this certification takes time and costs more money, but skipping it isn’t an adequate solution. This is especially clear when even mid-rangers can at least get IP67 ratings, as is the case with the Pixel 6a and Pixel 7a. Even if OnePlus doesn’t want to fork out for an IP68 rating for the OnePlus 12, it should at least give us IP67.

NewsFeedz: The OnePlus 12 Adventure

As the tech world gears up for the OnePlus 12 launch, the journey has been nothing short of exhilarating. The anticipation fueled by leaks, official reveals, and fan expectations paints a vivid picture of what might unfold. Whether the OnePlus 12 lives up to the hype or brings forth new surprises remains to be seen, but one thing is certain – the OnePlus adventure continues.

OnePlus 12 rumors : Release date , specs, expected price