OnePlus 12R review

Design, build quality, handling

The OnePlus 12R adopts the same design language as the 12, which it inherited from the previous generation, where the 11R also followed suit. The most noticeable stylistic element is the timepiece-like camera setup, only it's not quite as three-dimensional on the 12R as it is on the 12.

OnePlus 12R (left) next to OnePlus 12

Just like the 12, the 12R is protected by Gorilla Glass Victus 2 on the front and features an aluminum frame. Best as we can tell, the back of the phone is glass, but an uspecified type and make - unlike the Gorilla Glass Victus (one) back of the OP12. The 12R does get the same IP65 rating as the 12, which doesn't mean it's good for submersion, but it's been proven to resist water jets.

Update, 08 Feb, 2024: OnePlus 12R official specs pages now list the IP rating as IP64, which differs from the information initially provided to us. That downgrades the level of protection from 'water jets' to 'splashes of water'.

The OnePlus 12R is available in two colorways - Cool Blue and Iron Gray. Our review unit is the blue one (obviously) and has a gloss finish, while the other option (which is a lot closer to 'black' to our eyes, but whatever they say) has that shimmery glitter-like frosted treatment we've seen on numerous other handsets.

As you could probably guess, the glossy panel picks up fingerprints quite easily, but thanks to it being a relatively light color, they're not all too prominent. The other variant should be easier to keep clean, though we imagine it would be less grippy.

We found no issues with the curves of the 12R's display, though that's often a matter of personal preference and some people find it harder to live with such phones. OnePlus isn't giving you a whole lot of options anyway, with both the 12 and 12R featuring sloping edges.

OnePlus 12R (left) next to OnePlus 12

The underdisplay fingerprint reader on the OnePlus 12R is of the optical variety and is placed relatively high - high enough to be easy to reach without any significant grip adjustments. It generally works reliably, though we did encounter the occasional hiccup - perhaps more often than we've gotten used to recently.

The signature alert slider that's been a staple of the lineup since its inception is also here on the 12R. OnePlus insists it's been moved to the left side of the phone in order for them to fit antennas on the right side thus improving reception when the phone is held in landscape for gaming use cases, but that does sound a bit manufactured to us.

Overall, the 12R is a rather predictable OnePlus design which is largely a good thing. It's recognizable as a OnePlus phone, has some level of ingress protection and doesn't abandon the alert slider tradition. Even better, it features an infrared port like the 12 and 11R.