I've reviewed nearly 30 phones over several years, but I've rarely had a chance to play with a OnePlus device outside of the budget-friendly N300 5G. OnePlus phones just never grabbed my attention, which is a sentiment I feel I share with many U.S. consumers. However, after finally getting my hands on the OnePlus 12, I feel like I've been missing out on something great, and it's mainly due to its impressive camera.
I haven't had the OnePlus 12 for very long, but in the short time I've been using it, the phone has already replaced my Pixel 9 for photos. Fortunately, Black Friday deals are already here, and the 16GB/512GB OnePlus 12 is currently down to its lowest price, making it a great time to snag one.
Money well spent
The OnePlus 12 sports an impressive camera array, consisting of a 50MP Sony LYT-808 primary sensor, a 48MP ultrawide, and a 64MP telephoto sensor with 3x optical zoom. The camera system is tuned by leading camera manufacturer Hasselblad, which brings improved color tuning and sensor calibration.
That first image in the above gallery was the first photo I took with the OnePlus 12, and that's when I realized just how good this phone is. I was surprised at the amount of depth in the image, with plenty of detail on the lamp and some of the most natural-looking bokeh I've seen from a phone. The lamp really stands out from the multicolored leaves, even against the similarly-colored tree branches.
Since then, I've carried the OnePlus 12 with me just about everywhere in an attempt to see what this thing is made of. Suffice it to say, I've been extremely pleased with the results. The phone produces extremely crisp and detailed images with punchy colors and often with a lot of contrast, and it beautifully blurs the background enough to really highlight the subject. This type of color processing may not be for everyone, and it wasn't for me for a long time. However, fall is my favorite season, and taking images of fall colors is just so much better when images are more vibrant and saturated.
Even when zoomed in, the results are detailed images that rival even the Pixel 8 Pro at the same zoom levels. I captured the below images at 3x zoom, which highlights the OnePlus 12's strong telephoto lens. I then captured the same image at 4x, which is the Pixel 8 Pro's standard telephoto zoom level. Fortunately, the OnePlus 12 performed well thanks to in-sensor zoom, which should kick in up to 6x.
I also compared the OnePlus 12 against the Pixel 9, which is the phone I often carry around just for photos (the camera on the Razr Plus 2024 that I use daily is perfectly fine, but it doesn't hold a candle to these). While I can't say that the OnePlus 12 is definitely better than the Pixel 9 in terms of quality (it's all subjective), I will say that it goes toe-to-toe with Google's image processing.
Both phones clearly have different approaches to color and dynamic range. OnePlus tends to maintain the colors you see while punching them up, while the Pixel seems to go for a more dramatic look with deeper contrast while often changing the color temperature to what it thinks you want to see. In a sense, the Pixel images almost seem artificial when I compare them to what I see versus what the OnePlus 12 captures, which is often more true to life.
This is highlighted by the tree in the above image, which appears almost exactly how I saw it in the OnePlus 12 image, while the Pixel made it much cooler, which made the bushes appear greener and the sky a tad bluer than it was.
In the image above, the OnePlus retains the color of the house while the Pixel darkens it. I like both images, but I prefer the more realistic OnePlus 12 photo over the dramatic Pixel image.
That's not to say the OnePlus 12 camera is better than the Pixel 9, as that's not a call I can definitively make. There are definitely times when I prefer Pixel images over OnePlus. That said, I've been thoroughly and pleasantly surprised at how well the camera holds its own, and I would say that the Hasselblad partnership was money well spent.
You don't need to wait for the OnePlus 13
Aside from the camera, the OnePlus 12 is just a beautiful and powerful phone. The design stands out like no other phone you can buy in the U.S., you get plenty of power with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 and 12 or 16GB of RAM, haptics feel great, and you get a large battery with very fast charging. Plus, it's one of the first phones in the U.S. to receive Android 15. There's a lot to like about this phone.
The OnePlus 12 launched globally in January 2024, so it's been on the market for less than a year. The OnePlus 13 is already out in China, but we probably won't see it come state-side until the new year. This is why I think it would be a perfect time to snatch up the OnePlus 12, even if you've considered getting a Pixel or waiting for the OnePlus 13. We've seen some impressive deals in recent months on the OnePlus 12, and I wouldn't be surprised if it went on sale for Black Friday. If it does, this is definitely one of the phones you should think about picking up.
