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.
Read more: OnePlus 12: What to Expect With the Next OnePlus Flagship
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.
