OnePlus 12 vs OnePlus 11: The biggest upgrades

OnePlus 12 is now official, but what upgrades does it bring over the OnePlus 11? Here’s everything you need to know.

OnePlus went ahead and announced its latest flagship smartphone, OnePlus 12, for the global market. The new installment from the brand brings features that make it one of the most impressive smartphones we’ve seen this year.

The OnePlus 12 packs everything from a powerful processor and a bright display to an improved camera system and a particularly large battery. But is it worth upgrading if you already have the OnePlus 11?

Launched in January 2023, the OnePlus 11 itself is a complete flagship, which impresses with its Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor and fast charging.

So, in case you’re planning to switch, here’s a comparison between OnePlus 12 vs OnePlus 11 to help you decide.

Price

OnePlus

OnePlus 12 is $100 more expensive than its predecessor. The 12GB RAM + 256GB storage variant of the OnePlus 12 costs $799. You’ll pay $899 for the 16GB RAM + 512GB storage trim. OnePlus 11, on the other hand, starts at $699 for the 128GB storage model.

OnePlus 12 will go on sale on February 6. However, you can already pre-order the smartphone to get free storage and a 50W wireless charger.

Design & Display

Physically, the OnePlus 12 isn’t all that different from the OnePlus 11. It has the same circular camera module on the rear, albeit it’s now slightly larger. OnePlus has continued to use a curved panel on the front but the camera notch has been shifted to the top center.

While the design is almost the same, the biggest OnePlus 12 vs OnePlus 11 difference is the display. The new smartphone brings a larger 6.82′ display while the OnePlus 11 features a 6.7-inch panel.

Both phones get an AMOLED panel but the OnePlus 12 gets LTPO3 tech, meaning it can go from 1Hz to 120Hz refresh rate. OnePlus 11 is limited to 10Hz-120Hz.

The most dramatic difference is the brightness of the two phones. The latest OnePlus flagship brings 4,500 nits peak brightness, which is not only more than 1,300 nits OnePlus 11 but also more than any other smartphone in the market.

Elsewhere, OnePlus 12 brings improved protection, featuring Gorilla Glass Victus 2. It also comes blessed with an IP65 rating against dust and water jets.

Cameras

The OnePlus 12 still packs a 50MP main camera, but it uses Sony’s dual-layer stacked Lytia 808 sensor with 1.12µm pixels and a 24mm equivalent f/1.7 lens with OIS.

Complementing the main shooter is a brand-new 64MP periscope telephoto camera with 3x optical zoom and up to 6x lossless magnification.

OnePlus 11 only features a 32MP telephoto with 2x optical zoon, so the OnePlus 12 clearly has a better camera system. The ultrawide sensor remains the same on the two phones at 48MP.

For clicking selfies, the OnePlus 12 gets a 32MP camera while its predecessor makes do with a 16MP shooter. The cameras on both come color-calibrated by Hasselblad.

Specifications

	OnePlus 12	OnePlus 11
Price	$799	$699
Display	6.8-inch OLED,	6.7-inch OLED
CPU	Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3	Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3
Storage	256GB, 512GB	128GB, 256GB, 512GB
Rear cameras	50MP main/64MP telephoto with 3x zoom/48MP ultrawide	50MP main/32MP telephoto with 2x zoom/48MP ultrawide
Front camera	32MP	16MP
Battery	5,400 mAh	5,000 mAh
Charging Speed	80W wired, 50W wireless	80W wired
Weight	7.76 ounces	7.23 ounces
Colors	Black, Green, Silver	Black, Green, Silver

The OnePlus 11 already has a powerful chip in the form of Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, but the new Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip takes everything to the next level.

This powerful processor from Qualcomm packs a cryo-core CPU that’s up to 30% faster, a GPU that’s up to 20% faster, and a Neural Engine that’s up to 98% faster.

On Geekbench 6, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 manages to receive 5693 points while the 8 Gen 3 posts a whopping 7501 points.

What does this mean in real life? You will be able to play even the most demanding mobile games without any lag or stutter. The day-to-day tasks you perform will also feel smoother and you’ll be able to juggle between apps easily. We used the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 on the iQOO 12 and were definitely able to notice a performance difference.

OnePlus packs its latest smartphone with a whopping 16GB of RAM while the OnePlus 11 maxes out at 16GB. Both phones get up to 512GB of storage.

Another major difference lies in the battery life. OnePlus 12 packs a 5,400 mAh battery, one of the largest you’d see on a flagship smartphone.

It keeps the same 80W wired charging but also adds impressive 50W wireless charging, which is faster than wired charging on most premium phones.

Which phone is better?

OnePlus 12 is a solid upgrade over the current model. You don’t often see phones bringing these many new features over their predecessors. Based on the dry specs, the OnePlus 12 is the better phone.

If you already have the OnePlus 11, you might want to keep it for another year. But if you have an older phone, the OnePlus 12 upgrade seems worthwhile.

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