The Hot New OnePlus 12R Might Be The Best Android Phone Deal Going
In an era where premium smartphones now routinely command upwards of $1,000, it's refreshing to see OnePlus make another spirited run at disrupting the market with much more affordable handsets. We saw it firsthand in our OnePlus 12 review, a fully loaded $799 smartphone powered by Qualcomm's flagship Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip, and now the cheaper OnePlus 12R is creating buzz. Priced at $499.99, this could end up being a highly popular option in the Android space.
You can preorder the OnePlus 12R on Amazon for $499.99 and receive it just in time for Valentine's Day—it releases the day before (February 13, 2024). And while not as cutting-edge as the regular OnePlus 12, it's a lot of phone for $300 less, giving it a high bang-for-buck value proposition.
In looking at the specs, the OnePlus 12R is basically a slightly upgraded OnePlus 11. Both the OnePlus 12R and OnePlus 11 are powered by Qualcomm's previous generation Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 SoC, which remains a performant part, and each can be had with 8GB or 16GB of RAM, and 128GB or 256GB of built-in storage (it's the 8GB/126GB model that runs $499.99; the 16GB/256GB costs $599.99).
The OnePlus 12R also has a slightly bigger OLED display—it's a 6.78-inch LPTO OLED screen with a 2780x1264 resolution, 120Hz refresh rate, HDR support, and 4,500 nits of peak brightness. The OnePlus 11, meanwhile, offers up a 6.7-inch OLED screen with a 3216x1440 resolution, 120Hz refresh rate, HDR support, and 1,300 nits of peak brightness. So while the resolution is lower on the OnePlus 12R, it gets much brighter.
Sadly, the OnePlus 12R lacks a telephoto lens, but camera duties are otherwise managed by a 50MP main camera (f/1.8), 8MP ultra-wide lens (f/2.2, 112-degree angle), and 2MP macro lens on the rear. And for taking selfies, there's a 16MP front camera (f/2.4).
Note that we haven't spent any hands-on time with the OnePlus 12R. However, we would expect battery life to be longer compared to the OnePlus 11, thanks to its slightly bigger 5,500 mAh dual-cell battery (the OnePlus 11 flaunts a 5,000 mAh battery). That should be plenty enough to get you through the full day.
If you're looking for an Android phone that offers a lot, compromises little, and is reasonably priced, the $499.99 OnePlus 12R is definitely worth looking into. And if your significant other could use an upgrade handset, it would make a great Valentine's Day gift.
