OnePlus 12 rumour roundup: When is it launching and what to expect

OnePlus’s most intriguing phone right now is the OnePlus Open, the brand’s first foldable device, and arguably one of the better folding smartphones out there today. However, the OnePlus Open is not for everyone. For those looking for a more stable, rigid design with powerful flagship specs, that would be the upcoming OnePlus 12.

The OnePlus 12 is the direct successor to the OnePlus 11, and is expected to pack improvements in many key areas over the 2023 flagship. Some of these include the chipset and the display panel. Here’s everything we know about the OnePlus 12 so far.

OnePlus 12: When is it launching?

The OnePlus 12 is expected to launch in China on December 4 this year, as per multiple reports. However, the phone may not come to the global market, including India until early 2024. While there is no official confirmation from OnePlus on the matter, leaks suggest we could witness the phone launch globally in January itself.

ALSO READ: OnePlus Open is the brand’s first foray into the foldable smartphone segment

X (previously Twitter) tipster Max Jambor (@MaxLmb), who has a had a good track record of predicting OnePlus’ moves ahead of official reveals, has suggested that the phone may launch globally in January, which would be about a month after the China launch. This should also make the OnePlus 12 one of the first Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 smartphones to launch in many countries.

OnePlus 12: What to expect

The OnePlus 12 is expected to feature the latest flagship chipset by Qualcomm, which is the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3. The new chip improves upon the performance and thermal capabilities of the 8 Gen 2, and will help phones be faster, better at RAM management and smarter when it comes to optimizing battery. The Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 also comes with AI capabilities that will help on-board AI functionality on smartphones powered by the chip.

The OnePlus 12 is also expected to a new 2K resolution display panel. Dubbed the “Oriental Screen” by manufacturer BOE, the new display panel will not just be quite high-res, but also offer a peak brightness of 2,600nits, a full 600nits more than the iPhone 15 series displays. This screen is also expected to last twice as long as regular AMOLED panels, while offering 13 per cent lower power consumption.

Coming to the design of the phone, we don’t expect very big changes. So don’t look forward to the phone looking drastically different from the OnePlus 11. With brands increasingly adopting a more consistent design language to set their identity, OnePlus seems to be doing the same, and as per leaks, the OnePlus 12 will carry a glass sandwich design and an off-centre, large camera island on the back.

ALSO READ: 5 upcoming Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 smartphones

Leaked images of the device from a recent Oppo and OnePlus event in China also suggest the presence of an alert slider and what looks like an IR blaster on the top. We also see a centre-aligned punch-hole front camera.

That’s all we can decipher about the OnePlus 12 for now. The device is expected to launch in December this year in China and may make its way to other markets including India early next year.

Note that OnePlus has not officially confirmed any of the above details, and that we will only get concrete details about the phone closer to the official launch date.