OnePlus 12 Review: On point, as phones need to be | Technology News


OnePlus 12 Camera Review: Though a relatively young brand, OnePlus has managed to capture enough mind space to demand a certain amount of anticipation every year for its new flagships. This year was no exception, and fans of the brand have been keeping track of the OnePlus 12 for a few weeks now. But will the phone push the envelope enough when it comes to specs and experiences to keep the OnePlus devotees happy? Read in our review of the OnePlus 12.

At first look, the OnePlus 12 has a trademark with the round Hasselblad camera module, alert slider on the left and curved-edge front display. But the Flowy Emerald colour we got for review this time feels very different from anything we have seen before. This marble-like finish somehow blends with nature and still stands out in the crowd. The phone feels heavy but still offers a good grip. The round camera module at the back gets a full glass cover which protects the lenses, but I ended up feeling the glass cover itself might need some protecting.


OnePlus 12 camera sample. (Nandagopal Rajan / Express photo)

As always, the display is one of the standout features of this OnePlus phone. This time, the phone packs a no-nonsense 2K 120Hz ProXDR Display with LTPO+. I say no-nonsense because the screen is fluid and sharp at the same time and works in the worst of conditions — be it the murky winter mornings in Delhi or the harsh January sun in California. That’s also because this is the brightest phone screen ever at 4500 nits. You do feel that bright screen, which is powerful enough to bring an untimely end to a drowsy early evening and make you focus more on the test at hand. That said, there is no need for the screen to do beyond 60% brightness with whatever you do with the phone. Also, this phone offers good haptic feedback when playing games, even if it is something as silly as CandyCrush.

The OnePlus 12 is powered by Qualcomm’s much-improved Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 mobile platform. (Nandagopal Rajan / Express photo)

The OnePlus 12 is powered by Qualcomm’s much-improved Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 mobile platform. Now, it is hard to find a change in performance when using top-end processors these days because the incumbents are anyway so powerful. But OnePlus is really stepping up the game when it comes to gaming, and this is where users will feel the different when pushing the phone to be that bit faster and responsive. In fact, the phone also comes with dual Cyro VC cooling system which kept the phone at normal temperatures even when I was into my second hour of Asphalt 9 during the 16-hour no-entertainment San Francisco-Delhi Air India flight. A simple drag on the left side of the screen brings in the gaming controls that lets you easily switch other the Pro Gaming or Champions mode with higher frames and the like. I’m no gamer to tell you whether this is exactly what younger folks are looking for, but I could feel that the graphics were a bit choppy on games like Asphalt 9 and I have seen smoother rendering on the iPad for instance.

OnePlus knows that it will be the camera that will draw a lot of users to this new phone. Even I have better expectations from this camera after the OnePlus Open, which really surprised me with what it can do with its lenses. The OnePlus 12 has a similar-looking camera module consisting of a new 50MP Wide Camera with Sony’s LYT-808 Image Sensor, 64MP 3x Periscope Telephoto Camera and 114° FOV Ultra-wide Camera. What really thrilled me, though, was the Hasselblad camera branding, which means a lot to those who love their photography. And this does make a difference in most frames.


The OnePlus 12 comes across a very natural camera that does not amp up anything on its own and tries to reproduce frames and colours you saw them. (Nandagopal Rajan / Express photo)

The OnePlus 12 comes across a very natural camera that does not amp up anything on its own and tries to reproduce frames and colours as you saw them. On a walk one chilly morning in California, I got the sense that this camera was really doing great sorting its greens and pastel colours, where many cameras have fallen short over the years. Thanks to the 16GB memory on the phone, the images save instantly after a split-second correction, which does not seem like AI at work and has more to do with getting frames in place.

Back home in sultry Kozhikode, I took the camera on a spin of the older part of this ancient city and captured some amazing frames using the X-Pan mode, which is unique to Hasselblad. Inside the dark upper floors of the 750-year-old Mishkal Mosque, the camera showed its true versatility, just as it did outside, where the locals were congregating for an evening chat.

Then in the Hasselbald portrait mode, there was a stunner when I trained the camera on a popular character in Kuttichira. The frame captures the depth of this small-time trader who regales his customers with his unique way of selling.

OnePlus 12 camera sample. (Nandagopal Rajan / Express photo)

The zoom is great till 6x after which it starts losing clarity as you go up to 120x. That said, this camera was able to capture a pretty decent moon shot that can compete with the S24 Ultra if needed.

Overall, you feel this is a very versatile camera with no gimmicks, offering the kind of natural colours and dependability seasoned photographers will be looking for. This is clearly one of the strong points of the OnePlus 12. And on top of all this the camera can capture stunningly detailed videos at 8K/24fps, which means this has everything today’s creators are looking for.

OnePlus 12 camera sample. (Nandagopal Rajan / Express photo)

The 5400mAh battery easily lasted me a couple of days with full charge and moderate use and can be recharged in under an hour with the 80W VOOC wall charger — yes, OnePlus still packs one — that comes in the box.

OnePlus 12 camera sample. (Nandagopal Rajan / Express photo)

Except for the 120X zoom, which turned out to be a bit of a disappointment for me, maybe because I expected too much, the OnePlus 12 is clearly in contention for being one of the best flagship phones out there, one that ticks all the boxes without teasing you with features that are not really needed.

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Nandagopal Rajan writes on technology, gadgets and everything related. He has worked with the India Today Group and Hindustan Times. He is an alumnus of Calicut University and Indian Institute of Mass Communication, Dhenkanal. … Read More

First uploaded on: 23-01-2024 at 21:01 IST




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