I’ve tested many Android phones in my time, and there are four key things I look for. Clean software, a durable yet striking build, decent battery life and an impressive camera. The OnePlus 12 (which I rated 4.5 stars) ticks all those boxes, and as such I keep coming back to use it as my main phone.
Better yet, it’s got an excellent offer for Cyber Monday. Right now, you can bag it for £200/$250 less than the standard price, knocking it down to just £649/$549. OnePlus is also throwing in a free 100W charging brick with purchase in the UK.
Both the Silky Black and Flowy Emerald options are available, though the OnePlus website only has certain configurations in store for each, and you may have to wait a week or two due to shipping delays. Alternatively, Amazon UK has both models in stock for the same price, though without the free 100W charging brick.
One of the reasons we’re seeing such a big discount is that the OnePlus 13 is expected to launch in UK and US markets in early 2025. Nonetheless, the OnePlus 12 will give you everything you’d need from a smartphone, and I can attest to this after using it solidly since the start of this year.
The phone is packed with a Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor. While not new, I’ve noticed no issues with lag and performance, despite months of use – it’s still lightning-fast. I also haven’t seen a depletion in the battery life, which lasts on average for around a day and a half. The 100W fast-charging support also means I can give it a quick juice before heading out the door.
The Corning Gorilla Glass 5 on the rear, Gorilla Glass Victus 2 on the front and IP65 rating has allowed the phone to survive multiple knocks, drops and sprays of water over the last year – that’s even without a case because this phone is too good looking to hide away behind some plastic.
I’ve also had multiple compliments on the camera, which captures a wonderful amount of detail and true-to-life colours – check out some of these shots from my honeymoon below:
Unlike many other Android phones, this OS is clean and easy to use and just benefitted from an upgrade to OxygenOS 15 which includes a new feature called Live Alerts that functions similarly to Apple’s Dynamic Island with useful updates such as when the battery is low, or when a podcast is playing.
Apps and videos are also a joy to look at thanks to the 6.82-inch AMOLED QHD display, which has a whopping peak brightness of 4,500 nits – I never have a problem viewing it under direct sunlight.
You can find more Cyber Monday deals with our picks below:
Author: Hannah Cowton-Barnes, Entertainment Editor, Tech Advisor
As Tech Advisor's Entertainment Editor, Hannah is the resident expert in all things streaming, film and TV. Before joining Tech Advisor in 2019, she studied Theatre and Performance at the University of Leeds and created a website dedicated to geek culture and lifestyle. She's also reviewed a whole range of gadgets including flagship smartphones, wearables and styling tools. Outside of Foundry, she's written freelance pieces for Polygon, Metro and Den of Geek, and is proud to be a Women Techmakers Ambassador for Google.