OnePlus 12R review
Software and performance
The OnePlus 12R boots Android 14 with a proprietary layer of OxygenOS on top - another name for what is called ColorOS on Oppo phones, and Realme UI on the that third brand's models. The 12R is promised 3 OS upgrades and 4 years of security patches - the OnePlus 12's numbers are 4 and 5, respectively.
Save for a few OnePlus specific clock faces and similar superficial bits, the UI is indeed the same between these three brands and we'd say that's no bad thing, even if long-time OnePlus enthusiasts may disagree. ColorOS and its reincarnations have all the polish, features and customizeability you could think of. And, at this level, all phones are plenty smooth in real-life use, so lamenting over the OxygenOS of old in that respect is really unwarranted.
We're working on a more detailed look at ColorOS 14 and we'll be sure to link it here, once it's finished.
The OnePlus 12R uses the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 - that would be last-year's top-tier chip, as opposed to the Gen 3 in the OnePlus 12. While the new chipset is undoubtedly superior, the previous version is plenty powerful too.
The OnePlus 12R can be had in one of two memory options - 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage or 16GB of RAM and 256GB of storage (our review unit's spec). The base version's storage is UFS 3.1, while the 256GB variant uses the faster UFS 4.0 chips.
Update, 16 Feb, 2024: OnePlus 12R 256GB official specs pages now list the storage used by the phone as UFS 3.1 instead of UFS 4.0. The company has issued a statement on the matter.
GeekBench 6
- Multi-core
- Single-core
iQOO 12
Motorola Edge 40 Pro
OnePlus 12R (perf. mode)
OnePlus 12 (perf. mode)
Xiaomi 13T Pro
OnePlus 12R
Pixel 8
AnTuTu 10
iQOO 12
OnePlus 12
Asus Zenfone 10
OnePlus 12R (perf. mode)
Xiaomi 13T Pro
OnePlus 12R
Pixel 8
3DMark (offscreen)
- Wild Life (1440p)
- Wild Life Extreme (2160p)
- Solar Bay (1440p)
iQOO 12
OnePlus 12 (perf. mode)
OnePlus 12
OnePlus 12R (perf. mode)
Asus Zenfone 10
OnePlus 12R
Motorola Edge 40 Pro
When it comes to sustained load handling, the 12R reuses the dual vapor chamber solution of the the 12 with a total area of 9,140sq.mm. It does quite well under long-term CPU load and ramps down performance fairly gradually posting a 72% rating in the CPU Throttling test. The 65% stability score in 3DMark Wild Life Stress test isn't half bad either.
CPU Throttling test • 3DMark Wild Life stress test
Reader comments
- Sam
- 24 May 2024
- Yde
Hey Use oxygen updater from play store and try to download the right version
- Boyke
- 15 Apr 2024
- 64h
After downgrading my OnePlus 7T with software update from HD1907 to HD1901 (from dual sim to single sim), and unsuccessful struggling with IT to send me another package to resolve the issue, i am afraid i will never buy OnePlus phone again. even thou...
- CarbonX
- 10 Apr 2024
- yaq
The most problem on this phone is the system, not the phone itself, OnePlus and OPPO don't update their system fast like any other phone brand, there is tons of issue or unsupported function that user provided feedback several years ago, and the...