I tried a major Samsung rival with three big battery perks – including ability to fully charge in LESS than half an hour

IT’S rare to find a flagship smartphone with top notch features for less than a grand these days.

But OnePlus may have nailed it.

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The company’s latest OnePlus 12 packs a lot of punch on several fronts, especially its battery.

Of course nothing is absolutely perfect – read The Sun’s full review to find out whether the OnePlus 12 is the Android phone for you.

OnePlus 12: Look and feel

The OnePlus 12 has quite a distinctive, polished look with glossy curved edges and an aramid fibre back (which helps keep it lighter).

I really like how the fibre material feels in my hand, providing extra grip and no prints from sweaty fingers.

OnePlus hasn’t made the titanium jump like Apple and Samsung, sticking to an aluminium frame which won’t be as strong against bumps.

The phone is available in a Silky Black colour or Flowy Emerald – the black model (which we’re testing) is great as a safe option but the Flowy Emerald has a real wow factor.

As for the display, it measures in at 6.82 inches roughly the same as the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra.

With a mega resolution of 3168 x 1440, it makes watching videos a real eye pleaser, I’m even mesmerised as I watch the animation that pops up when you unlock the device each time.

It’s also worth noting that OnePlus hasn’t made the phone truly water resistant – so no accidental drops down the toilet – only managing to withstand droplets like rain.

One unique feature OnePlus did shout about when announcing the phone in January was Aqua Touch, a screen technology that allows you to use the device when it’s wet – ideal for those of us in rainy Britain.

While I was able to slide through the phone and tap icons better than other phones I’ve had in the past, it wasn’t 100 per cent flawless as I was hoping.

OnePlus 12: Performance

The OnePlus 12 glides effortlessly no matter what I threw at it thanks to the powerful Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip, also used in the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra.

Whether I played games or switched between multiple apps, they all ran as smooth as butter.

With a starting price of £849 / $799.99 on a flagship handset, it packs some serious strength over competitors – especially with that mighty battery

You get up to 512GB of storage, plenty for most people to store high quality videos, pictures and apps.

There aren’t any headline-grabbing AI features like the Galaxy S24. This can leave the OnePlus 12 feeling a little plain but it helps keep the performance speeds up.

And unlike Samsung which has committed to maintaining security updates on the S24 series for at least seven years, OnePlus is only committing to at least four years of Android updates and five years of security updates on the 12.

OnePlus 12: Battery

One area where the OnePlus 12 excels is on battery.

It has a capacity of 5,400mAh (which is actually two battery cells) that easily lasts over two days.

Not only that, the battery charges super fast too, going from nothing to 100 per cent in just 26 minutes.

OnePlus has also decided to bring back wireless charging – the company claims the phone can fully charge using its own wireless charging in 55 minutes, though we haven’t been able to verify this.

OnePlus 12: Camera

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The OnePlus has teamed up with photography firm Hasselblad for its camera system once again.

It takes some decent snaps with plenty of detail and colour but I felt like it lacked richness compared to the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra.

The zoom can produce clear shots from afar too.

Video was pretty similar but zooming while you’re filming is not ideal as it gets a bit jittery.

As for night shots, the ProXDR display tech cleverly boosts photos so elements are pretty visible – though the snag is it only works on phone’s display itself, so when you share them they won’t look quite as glorious.

OnePlus 12: Verdict

The OnePlus 12 may lack fancy features but it’s a super functional phone for people who seek good value.

The absence of a strong titanium frame and a weaker water resistance rating to the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra and iPhone 15 Pro Max are obvious drawbacks.

However, with a starting price of £849 / $799.99 on a flagship handset, it packs some serious strength over competitors – especially with that mighty battery.

The OnePlus 12 is glorious to look at, to hold and to use – and your wallet will thank you for it.

All prices in this article were correct at the time of writing, but may have since changed.

Always do your own research before making any purchase.

This post first appeared on Thesun.co.uk