The arrival of the OnePlus 12 marks its entry into the highly competitive premium smartphone league, challenging stalwarts like Apple’s iPhone 15 and Samsung’s Galaxy S23. Adhering to an upgrade strategy akin to industry giants, OnePlus retains its design while upgrading internal specifications, promising to rival its counterparts in the global market.
Design and Build
Each smartphone in this segment boasts top-tier build quality, comprising metal and glass. The OnePlus 12 introduces a refreshed design with a stylized Hasselblad logo on its revamped rear camera module and captivating gradient colorways on the back glass. The device’s curved display edges exude a fashion-forward appeal.
The Samsung Galaxy S23 showcases minimalist aesthetics with unique droplet-style camera lenses, a matte color scheme, and flat sides. Contrarily, the iPhone 15 retains the design from its predecessor, refining sharp edges, adopting gentler curves, a slimmer profile, and introducing a new USB-C port alongside the Dynamic Island replacing the previous display notch.
Display
The OnePlus 12, despite being the most cost-effective among the trio, offers a superior display. Featuring a 6.82-inch 1,440 x 3,168-pixel LTPO Oriental OLED display with a variable refresh rate (1Hz to 120Hz) and exceptional HDR brightness, it includes an optical fingerprint sensor within the display for biometric authentication.
Samsung’s Galaxy S23 sports a smaller 6.1-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X panel with a 120Hz refresh rate and commendable HDR brightness levels. Its advanced ultrasonic fingerprint sensor operates even with wet fingers.
Apple’s iPhone 15 houses a 6.1-inch Super Retina XDR OLED display with a 60Hz refresh rate and notable HDR brightness, featuring Face ID through a TruDepth camera system.
Performance
Powered by the 4nm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset, the OnePlus 12 achieves an AnTuTu benchmark score surpassing 2 million, outclassing both the Samsung Galaxy S23 and the iPhone 15. While the Galaxy S23’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 delivers solid performance under One UI 6 based on Android 14, the iPhone 15’s A16 Bionic chip, limited by 6GB RAM and 128GB storage, relies on optimized iOS 17 for its noteworthy performance.
Cameras
The OnePlus 12 showcases advanced camera hardware, including a 50MP Sony LYT-808 main camera, a 48MP ultrawide lens, and a 64MP telephoto camera with 3x optical zoom and OIS, alongside a 32MP front camera for selfies and video calls.
Samsung’s Galaxy S23 features a 50MP primary wide camera, a 12MP ultrawide lens, and a 10MP telephoto camera with 3x optical zoom. The iPhone 15’s camera setup involves a 48MP sensor with sensor-shift OIS and a 12MP ultrawide camera.
Battery and Pricing
With a sizable 5,400mAh battery and swift charging capabilities, the OnePlus 12 offers extended battery life. Priced attractively in China at CNY 4,899 for the base variant, translating to SGD 922, it includes a 100W wired charging adapter, offering significant value compared to its counterparts.
The Samsung Galaxy S23 and iPhone 15, priced at SGD 1,298 and SGD 1,299 respectively for their base variants, offer distinct features but with varied pricing strategies.
In this detailed comparison, the OnePlus 12 emerges as a standout performer, excelling in specifications and value. Its powerful chipset, superior display, robust cameras, and competitive pricing position it as an appealing choice in the premium smartphone segment.
While the Samsung Galaxy S23 boasts commendable features, it may be prudent to consider it once prices drop. Similarly, the iPhone 15, despite its acclaimed iOS experience and decent cameras, lags behind the OnePlus 12 in terms of specifications and overall recommendation.
