OnePlus’ ‘R’ series of smartphones are meant to be a toned-down version of their respective flagship siblings. But with the OnePlus 11R, the brand sort of bridged that gap. We even termed it as one of the most value-for-money smartphones last year. Its successor — the OnePlus 12R also aims for that crown with Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, an upgraded battery capacity, 16GB RAM, crazy fast charging, and more — at a starting price of Rs 39,999. OnePlus has also started selling the 12R globally, further showing its confidence in this series. While you will have to wait for our review of the phone, here’s a quick first impression of the OnePlus 12R. TLDR: I am impressed.
OnePlus 12R Pricing and availability in India
The launch price of the OnePlus 11R and the 12R are the same. Moreover, this pricing makes the OnePlus 12R the most affordable phone available with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2. Other options with this chipset will cost you above Rs 50,000.
- 8GB RAM and 128GB storage: Rs 39,999
- 16GB RAM and 256GB storage: Rs 45,999
OnePlus 12R First Impressions: Design
On initial impressions, there’s no way to tell apart the OnePlus 11R and the 12R — until you look at the gorgeous Cool Blue colour. This hue has had mixed responses from my peers — but I dig it. It slightly resembles the blue colour of the OnePlus 7T — but a with a lighter shade.
The Iron Gray would be a better choice for you if you prefer something more subtle.
The back panel is slippery and tends to attract fingerprint smudges, while the Gray variant comes with a matte finish. Thankfully, the included TPU case should help keep dirt and smudges at bay. The huge circular camera module is hard to miss, and the serrated edges around it are a fun fidget. This same design approach can be found on the OnePlus 12 (First Impressions) but with the Hasselblad branding.
The OnePlus 12R feels nice to hold, thanks to the curved edges at the back. The phone has metal frames on all sides, painted in a lighter shade of prominent colour. The ports and button placements remain largely the same, except for the volume rocker and alert slider which have switched sides. At 207 grams, the 12R is certainly not light, but the weight is well-distributed. The OnePlus 12R is also IP64 rated for water and dust resistance.
OnePlus 12R First Impressions: Display
The OnePlus 12R sports a tall 6.78-inch AMOLED display. It comes with LTPO 4.0, which means the refresh rate can go from 120Hz, all the way down to 1Hz, to save battery life. It has a resolution of 1,264 x 2,780 pixels and a screen-to-body ratio of 94.2 per cent.
OnePlus is still going for the curved display approach, and it looks gorgeous on the 12R. It tackles accidental touches well, which is one of the biggest caveats of a curved panel.
In our limited time with the OnePlus 12R, the display produced good and vibrant colours. It’s also quite responsive and comes with a peak brightness of 4500 nits — this is a big upgrade from last year. The display is protected by a layer of Gorilla Glass Victus 2.
OnePlus 12R First Impressions: Cameras
The triple camera setup at the back is entirely similar to the OnePlus 11R — and that’s not an issue. It comes with a 50-megapixel Sony IMX890 primary camera, an 8-megapixel ultra-wide angle camera with a 112-degree field of view, and a 2-megapixel macro camera — which is something that could have been skipped.
The primary camera also comes with OIS and EIS support. It can shoot videos at up to 4K 60 fps. At the front, you will find a 16-megapixel camera for selfies. We will be testing the cameras in the coming days, but till then you can refer to the OnePlus 11R review to understand what you can expect.
OnePlus 12R First Impressions: Hardware and Software
This is one of the highlights of the OnePlus 12R. With this series of smartphones, the company is focussing more on performance. The Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 is a flagship chipset, and the fact that you can get it at this price is quite good. This is paired with up to 16GB of LPDDR5X RAM and 256GB UFS 4.0 storage. The 128GB variant of the OnePlus 12R uses the UFS 3.1 storage tech.
Since the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 is a demanding chipset, OnePlus has chosen to cool it down by implementing a Cryo-velocity cooling system — something that can be found on both, the OnePlus 12 and 12R. We will be testing this rigorously during our gaming tests.
The OnePlus 12R is backed by a 5,500mAh battery, which is larger than last year. This is accompanied by a 100W fast charger. On paper, this seems like quite a reliable duo, you’ll have to wait till our review to find out the screen time numbers. It runs on OxygenOS 14, based on Android 14, and comes with almost no bloatware, except for the Netflix app.
Final Thoughts
The OnePlus 12R has left us amazed in the few days that we have spent with it. It has all the characteristics of a flagship, but with this pricing, it chooses the path of a ‘flagship killer’ — something that has always been OnePlus’ motto.
The 12R will be a good consideration for people looking for an all-rounder device, which can also be used for hardcore gaming. As of now, it faces competition from the Nothing Phone (2) (Review), iQOO Neo 7 Pro (Review), OPPO Reno 11 Pro, and its predecessor, the OnePlus 11R. So should you buy it over its rivals, you will have to wait for our full review of the OnePlus 12R to find out. So stay tuned to MySmartPrice for that.
