The OnePlus 12 Will Launch Globally on Jan. 23

OnePlus' new phone is arriving at the end of January, though it's already on sale in China.

Lisa Eadicicco Senior Editor

Lisa Eadicicco is a senior editor for CNET covering mobile devices. She has been writing about technology for almost a decade. Prior to joining CNET, Lisa served as a senior tech correspondent at Insider covering Apple and the broader consumer tech industry. She was also previously a tech columnist for Time Magazine and got her start as a staff writer for Laptop Mag and Tom's Guide.

Expertise Apple, Samsung, Google, smartphones, smartwatches, wearables, fitness trackers

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Lisa Eadicicco

Dec. 15, 2023 10:03 a.m. PT

2 min read

Three OnePlus 12 phones are featured, all with different colors: white, green and black. — The OnePlus 12 will launch globally on Jan. 23 after initially arriving in China.
OnePlus

OnePlus isn't making us wait long for the OnePlus 12. The smartphone-maker announced on Friday that the OnePlus 12 and OnePlus 12R will launch globally on Jan. 23, coming after the OnePlus 12's previous launch in China.

It's the first time OnePlus is bringing its R-branded line of more affordable phones to markets outside of India and China, although it didn't specify exactly where the phone will be available. OnePlus will reveal more details about both phones at its event on Jan. 23.

The OnePlus 12 is the company's newest flagship phone designed to compete with other top-tier Android phones like the Samsung Galaxy S23 and Google Pixel 8. It will be among the first devices to run on Qualcomm's new Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor, which was announced in October and brings improvements to AI processing, among other tasks. The OnePlus 12 will also have a 64-megapixel telephoto camera with a 3x optical zoom (the same one found on the OnePlus Open foldable) compared to the 32-megapixel zoom camera in the OnePlus 11. That's along with the 50-megapixel main camera and a 48-megapixel ultrawide camera.

Previous models in OnePlus' R-line have typically been value-priced, with the OnePlus 11R costing the equivalent of roughly $480. If OnePlus follows the same strategy with the new OnePlus 12R, it could be a promising option for those who want more than the $300 OnePlus Nord N30 5G has to offer while being cheaper than the OnePlus 12.

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OnePlus' launch comes around the same time Samsung is rumored to launch its expected Galaxy S24 series. Korean news outlets SBS Biz and The Elec report that Samsung could introduce its new phone lineup on Jan. 17, indicating it will be a busy month for the Android world. The Galaxy S24 family is expected to run on Qualcomm's latest chip like the OnePlus 12, along with routine camera upgrades and some new AI features.