OnePlus’s transformation is full after the discharge of OxygenOS 15 this week. The Android 15-based replace for the OnePlus 12 is a shining instance of what an organization can obtain when it realizes its previous errors and resolves to repair them.
Now, OnePlus is without doubt one of the elite few corporations which have pushed an Android 15 replace out to its telephones in lower than a month after Google launched the OS. In the meantime, corporations like Samsung are saying to not count on its Android 15 beta launch for one more month, adopted by the total launch of One UI 7 someday early in 2025. I’d have misplaced cash if I needed to wager a guess in opposition to which of those two corporations would have had its Android 15 replace out first.
As a OnePlus 12 consumer, I am glad OnePlus acquired its act collectively and has been capable of ship such a monumental replace in such a brief period of time. OnePlus 12 customers can count on to see the replace seem on their telephones this week, whereas different OnePlus telephones ought to get the replace within the coming weeks and months.
That is one of many many causes the OnePlus 12 is a cellphone it’s good to take into account selecting up throughout Black Friday this 12 months. We have already seen nice gross sales on this cellphone simply this week, with the cellphone on sale for $649. However should you’re keen to attend simply 3 weeks for Black Friday OnePlus offers, I feel you can get it for even cheaper.
I’ve reviewed nicely over a dozen telephones this 12 months, however the one I maintain coming again to is the OnePlus 12. This is why I feel you may like it, too.
A refreshing feel and appear
OxygenOS 15 sports activities a contemporary coat of paint and refined iconography, together with a extra highly effective theme engine that feels nearer to OxygenOS’s golden days of yore. Not solely that, however the firm has added in a number of new options and choices which can be positive to get some customers excited.
Now you can select to separate the notification shade if you need, including room for extra fast toggles in a separate shade from notifications. You may all the time swipe left or proper to maneuver between these panes, so enabling the iOS-style characteristic is definitely extra helpful than it’s on iOS itself.
Talking of iOS, OnePlus joins the swath of OEMs which have added a Dynamic Island-style pop-up notification to the punch-hole digital camera within the show, however it’s disabled by default. Proper now, it would not appear to assist many apps so it is most likely not price utilizing outdoors of some first-party OnePlus apps.
The brand new animations and optionally available frosted glass UI look are all fairly stunning and will please anybody who appreciates little particulars all through the UI.
All of this ties in so completely with the haptics which have all the time been one of many actual stars of the present when utilizing the OnePlus 12. Transfer your finger alongside the brightness or quantity sliders and every little notch is felt such as you’re shifting a dial. Keyboard faucets are punchy and deep. Unlocking with the one’s glorious fingerprint sensor appears like urgent a button. It is all unbelievable, and it makes me love utilizing this cellphone over others.
AI to the rescue
OnePlus telephones hardly ever have the very best cameras within the business, however the OnePlus 12 has stunned me greater than as soon as with its distinctive Hasselblad shade tuning engine and the superb telephoto sensor on the again.
With that stated, I wholeheartedly welcome the brand new AI options that work to make the digital camera even higher. We already examined OnePlus’ AI eraser and discovered that it was higher than Google’s Magic Eraser, and now OnePlus is again with three different new instruments I will be utilizing on a regular basis.
AI Element Enhance will help fill within the gaps to make low-resolution photographs look crisper and cleaner, or simply add some extra wonderful element to a picture that is been zoomed into. This one’s good, however I like AI Unblur even higher since it will possibly assist clear up a few of my favourite blurry photographs. Take a look at this comparability of my son and his mates throughout Halloween, for instance.
There’s additionally a mirrored image eraser software that does precisely what it says on the tin, just like the software that shipped with Samsung telephones in 2023.
Lastly, a brand new world search app makes use of Google Gemini to domestically catalog something you give it permission to, together with photographs, messages, contacts, and extra. It isn’t fairly as sturdy because the Pixel Screenshots app on a Google Pixel, however it may be useful for shortly discovering photographs, movies, or messages in your cellphone with out switching between a bunch of apps.
OnePlus additionally upgraded the multitasking to make it extra just like the sensible OnePlus Canvas software program that debuted on the OnePlus Open. Floating home windows now assist gestures, the sensible sidebar can be utilized like a desktop dock to launch apps, and switching between apps is quicker and smoother than on another cellphone, due to OnePlus’s sensible UI design.
There are plenty of different little issues we have been loving about this replace and all of them culminate into an expertise that is higher than another cellphone available on the market. I maintain coming again to this cellphone time and time once more regardless of getting access to each different Android cellphone available on the market, and I feel you will discover the identical pleasure should you decide one up for affordable throughout Black Friday this 12 months.
Now even higher
The OnePlus 12 could be the most underrated flagship of 2024. It has a fantastic design and an outstanding digital camera that rivals different flagships just like the Galaxy S24 Extremely and Pixel 9 Professional XL. Now, with OxygenOS 15, it is one of many first to get Android 15, providing loads of new AI options.
