After weeks of anticipation, OnePlus has officially introduced its 10th-anniversary flagship smartphone, the OnePlus 12. Making its global debut in China, following the footsteps of its predecessors OnePlus 11 and OnePlus 10 Pro, this latest offering is touted as the brand’s most advanced slab-style smartphone to date.
The OnePlus 12 showcases a plethora of high-end features synonymous with premium phones, addressing some of the brand’s previous missteps. Notable improvements include the reintroduction of wireless charging, a faster USB port, and an enhanced camera system.
With a commitment to rectifying past shortcomings, OnePlus aims to elevate the user experience with its latest flagship, marking a significant milestone in the brand’s decade-long journey. Tech enthusiasts and consumers can expect a device that combines cutting-edge technology with the celebrated design language that OnePlus is known for.
OnePlus 12 China Launch: Design and Specifications
The OnePlus 12 design maintains continuity with its well-received predecessor, the OnePlus 11, while introducing purposeful refinements. Notably, the alert slider has been relocated from the right to the left side, aiming to enhance gaming antenna signal by 3dB and reduce game latency by 15 per cent. The phone will be available in matte black, glossy white, and a green variant with a 3D depth effect, referred to as “flowy emerald.”
Coming to the display, the OnePlus 12 boasts a 2K LTPO OLED display sourced from BOE, likely measuring 6.82 inches. With a peak brightness of 4,500 nits, it surpasses current industry standards, incorporating rainwater touch technology for smooth touch responses in rainy conditions. Support for 2,160Hz PWM dimming is also confirmed.
The device will be driven the new Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor, with memory configurations of 16GB+512GB, 16GB+1TB, and 24GB+1TB. It uses LPDDR5x RAM and UFS 4.0 storage standards. The device also has a 9140 sq. mm Vapour Chamber cooling system which can cover an area of 38,547 sq. mm.
The device is expected to run on ColorOS 14 (OxygenOS 14 globally) based on Android 14.
As for the cameras, the OnePlus 12 features a robust camera setup, including a 50MP main Sony LYT-808 sensor, a 48MP Sony IMX581 sensor for the ultrawide lens, and a 64MP OmniVision OV64B sensor for the 3x periscope telephoto lens. The front camera is anticipated to be a 32MP selfie shooter. Morover, we also get to see Hasselblad working its magic on the camera, yet again.
All of this hardware will draw its power from a massive 5,400mAh battery, that supports 100W fast wired charging. This is because the OnePlus 12 is equipped with a USB Type-C port compliant with USB 3.2 Gen 1 for up to 10Gbps transfer speed. We also get to see 50W wireless charging with reverse wireless charging. Additional features include an IR blaster, “full-area multi-function NFC,” and Bluetooth 5.4, and WiFi 7 connectivity.
OnePlus 12 China Launch: OnePlus 12: Pricing in China
These price configurations for the OnePlus 12 have been revealed:
12GB RAM + 256GB Storage: 4,299 Yuan or roughly $606 or Rs 50,750
16GB RAM + 512GB Storage: 4,799 Yuan or roughly $677 or Rs 56,650
16GB RAM + 1TB Storage: 5,299 Yuan or roughly $748 or Rs 62,550
24GB RAM + 1TB Storage: 5,799 Yuan or roughly $818 or Rs 68,500
OnePlus 12 India Launch and Potential Pricing
OnePlus will launch the device in China first, and then bring it to the rest of the world, as has been its practice. In China, the device will be available for sale right after the launch. In India and rest of the world, however, the device will be launched later.
Reports suggest that the device will launch in India sometime around mid-January, 2024, after almost a month it does in China. This is mainly because of the resurgence of the smartphone market in the country after a slump of two years.
As for the pricing of the OnePlus 12 in India, it is likely to go higher than the OnePlus 11, but not by a lot. The base variant, with the 16GB+512GB variant is likely to start at around Rs 65,000. The top-end 24GB+1TB variant is likely to cross the Rs 80,000 mark, making it the most expensive device from OnePlus yet.
There are reports that OnePlus may charge north of Rs 1.00 Lakhs for the top variant, but that is highly unlikely, and contrary to OnePlus’ pricing strategy that we have seen so far
In a recent quarterly threat report released by Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, it was revealed that Meta has successfully dismantled a large network of over 4,700 fake accounts originating from China. These accounts, pretending to be Americans and Indians, were actively involved in disseminating misleading information on divisive topics related to US politics and US-China relations as well as Indian politics.
While Meta did not explicitly tie the profiles to Chinese officials in Beijing, the company expressed concerns about the surge in such networks originating from China, especially with the approaching 2024 US elections. According to Meta, China now ranks as the third-largest geographical source of such deceptive networks, trailing behind Russia and Iran.
The deceptive Chinese network, as outlined in the report, engaged in a variety of topics such as abortion, culture war issues, and aid to Ukraine. The accounts utilized profile pictures and names stolen from legitimate users worldwide, sharing and liking each other’s posts. Notably, some of the content appeared to be directly copied from X, formerly Twitter.
Among the accounts’ activities, some were found to copy verbatim posts from US politicians, both Democrats and Republicans, including figures like Nancy Pelosi, Gretchen Whitmer, Ron DeSantis, Matt Gaetz, and Jim Jordan. Meta emphasized that the network displayed no consistent ideological stance.
Meta’s report raised questions about the network’s objectives, stating, “It’s unclear whether this approach was designed to amplify partisan tensions, build audiences among these politicians’ supporters, or to make fake accounts sharing authentic content appear more genuine.”
The company’s moderation policies strictly prohibit “coordinated inauthentic behaviour,” referring to posts from groups of accounts working together with false identities to mislead users. While the content shared by these networks often references accurate news stories, Meta highlighted that the intent is to manipulate public opinion, sow division, and artificially boost certain viewpoints.
According to Meta, the extensive Chinese network was thwarted before gaining traction among real users. Ben Nimmo, leading investigations into inauthentic behaviour at Meta, commented that these networks “still struggle to build audiences, but they’re a warning,” emphasizing the ongoing efforts by foreign threat actors to influence people online ahead of the upcoming elections.
In addition to the large Chinese network, Meta also uncovered two smaller networks—one from China focusing on India and Tibet, and another from Russia posting primarily in English about the invasion of Ukraine and promoting Telegram channels. The report underscored that Russian networks, previously scrutinized since the 2016 election, have shifted focus to the Ukraine conflict, attempting to undermine international support for Kyiv.
In a notable development, Meta highlighted that the US government ceased sharing information about foreign influence networks with the company in July, following a federal ruling related to a First Amendment legal case. This decision is currently under consideration by the Supreme Court, contributing to the broader debate about the collaboration between the US government and tech companies and its potential impact on the free speech of social media users.
