OnePlus 12 vs OnePlus 12R: Is the extra Rs 25,000 worth it?

However, the OnePlus 12 offers more grip compared to the OnePlus 12R’s glossy back which might feel slippery at times. Another difference between the two is that the OnePlus 12 carries over the marble textured back panel design to the camera island whereas the OnePlus 12R’s camera island has a slightly more glossy look compared to the back panel.

The flagship device is a bit heavier (220 grams) compared to the premium mid-range phone (207 grams), making it more comfortable when used for a long time. Also, the former offers IP 65 water and dust resistance, the latter misses out on the same.

Display

The OnePlus 12 has a slightly bigger 6.82-inch display compared to the 6.78-inch screen on the OnePlus 12R. Another area where these two differ is in terms of resolution, with the OnePlus 12 having a slight advantage over the OnePlus 12R on paper, but you won’t be able to figure out which is which since both of them look the same.

These phones use the same panel that can go up to 4,500 nits when watching HDR videos. Under direct sunlight, they max out at 1,600 nits, meaning you can use them on the sunniest of days without a problem. Also, both AMOLED screens have a max refresh rate of 120Hz and support variable refresh rate (LTPO).

Performance and software

While the design and display may be similar, the OnePlus 12 beats the OnePlus 12R by a huge margin when it comes to processing power. The former is powered by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 whereas the latter packs the OnePlus 11’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset. In synthetic benchmarks, the newer processor might look like it’s miles ahead compared to the year-old chipset, but when it comes to multitasking, you might not be able to differentiate between the two.

However, the flagship device might beat the much-affordable phone when it comes to playing games. Qualcomm claims that the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 has a much more faster GPU than its predecessor, but both devices can comfortably run the latest Android titles at the highest settings available.

Camera

Another major difference between the OnePlus 12 and the OnePlus 12R is the camera setup. The OnePlus 12 comes with a 50MP Sony LYT-808 primary camera alongside a  64MP 3x periscope telephoto lens and a 48MP ultrawide sensor tuned by Hasselblad.

On the other hand, the OnePlus 12R has a 50MP primary camera with a pretty standard 8MP ultrawide lens and a 2MP macro sensor. To make it more affordable, it looks like the company has done away with the Hasselblad branding on the OnePlus 12R.

When it comes to image quality, we cannot compare the two since the phone maker is yet to launch the OnePlus 12R, but we are pretty sure the OnePlus 12 will come out on top with the new 50MP sensor that can be also found on last year’s OnePlus Open. If you are someone who takes a lot of selfies, the OnePlus 12 with its 32MP shooter might be the way to go compared to the Oneplus 12R’s 16MP camera.

Battery and storage

Both phones support 100W fast charging, but the OnePlus 12 has a slightly smaller 5,400mAh battery compared to the OnePlus 12R, which packs a 5,500mAh battery. However, the former supports 50W wireless charging whereas the latter does not support any form of wireless charging.

The base variant of the OnePlus 12 comes with 12GB RAM and 256GB UFS 4.0 storage compared to the OnePlus 12R’s base version, which has 8GB RAM and 128GB UFS 3.1 storage. The RAM difference might not matter much in real-world usage, but the jump from UFS 3.1 to UFS 4.0 is pretty huge since the latest storage technology offers almost double the speed compared to its predecessor.

Price

OnePlus has once again increased the price of its flagship device by Rs 10,000, with the OnePlus 12 starting from Rs 64,999. However, the OnePlus 12R starts from Rs 39,999, which is the same as OnePlus 11R.

OnePlus 12 vs OnePlus 12R: Which one to buy?

The OnePlus 12 offers top-of-the-line hardware and good cameras at almost half the price of Samsung’s and Apple’s offerings, whereas the OnePlus 12R is aimed at those who want a phone that offers excellent performance and a good-looking phone at a much lower price.

If you want a flagship experience and are a camera enthusiast, we recommend going with the OnePlus 12. But if you don’t care about things like wireless charging image quality and a faster processor, the OnePlus 12R is the way to go since the Rs 25,000 price difference feels like a lot.