At 65K, Would You Buy OnePlus 12?

OnePlus launched its OnePlus 12 series at New Delhi's Pragati Maidan last month.

OnePlus's Never Settle theme gained its reputation by making flagship killer phones at affordable prices, but since last few years they seem to have settled a bit.

This year though they have broken the ice with their OnePlus 12 phone packed with flagship features at par with the competitors that won't dent your pocket.

One would definitely miss the AI tools on OnePlus 12 at a time when the AI revolution is coming to smartphones.

The OnePlus 12 is powered by the latest AI capable Snapdragon Gen 3 processor; only a software and firmware would be needed to upgrade its AI capabilities; it would be interesting to keep a watch if and when OnePlus does that.

The price which starts at Rs 64,999 for 12GB RAM + 256GB ROM and Rs 69,999 for 16GB RAM + 512GB ROM would attract users who don't care much about AI.

Mind you AI doesn't come cheap yet as can be seen with the pricing of its competitor Samsung's Galaxy S24 Ultra which comes with AI and costs Rs 129,999 for 12GB RAM + 256GB ROM; annoyingly, the AI features on the Ultra are free only for a year after which Samsung would charge users for this feature.

The main reason for any consumer to buy an expensive smartphone is its camera.

The race is on to shrink the capabilities of a professional camera in a slim case of the phone that fits in your pocket.

Oneplus12 boast of a triple camera setup in the rear with Sony's new LYT-808 as the main sensor.

It is a 50 MP camera with a 1/1.4-inch image sensor. It uses double-layer transistor pixel technology and has stacked CMOS image sensor technology.

According to OnePlus the technology allows the LYT-T808 sensor to capture more light, boosting dynamic range and image quality without needing a large sensor.

The next new upgrade is the 64MP 3X Periscope Telephoto camera, that allows three-times optical zoom and 120X digital zoom (technically speaking, optical zoom allows the camera to zoom in to the object before its captured, while in the digital zoom the camera magnifies and crops the part of image to be zoomed in and sizes it only after taking the picture, losing its image quality in the process).

And the third is the 48MP Ultra-wide camera.

The phone powers-up on 5400 mAh battery; OnePlus claims that it can be charged fully in 26 minutes with the 100W charger SUPERVOOC included in the box (Thank OnePLus for not charging extra for the charger).

And yes it also supports Wireless Charging, which allows the phone to charge in 55mins using its 50W prosperity AIRVOOC charger not included in the box.

If your budget is even tighter the OnePlus 12R will not unsettle you.

It's powered with last year's flagship processor Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2.

See the specification and price comparisons below.