Top OnePlus handsets

The OnePlus 12 is the traditional flagship device from the brand for 2024, available alongside the OnePlus 12R and OnePlus Open.

This is an evaluation of the already excellent OnePlus 11 – a phone we still recommend if the price is right – rather than a full reinvention but it still stands as the most complete OnePlus phone on the market. Features like an IP rating and wireless charging are included, and there’s plenty of power thanks to the high-end Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset.

Our expert was thoroughly impressed by the phone’s display, which he called a ‘real treat for the eyes’. The 2K resolution is sharp, the 120Hz refresh smooth and the 4500 nits of brightness put it right up against the Galaxy S24 Ultra. It’s a similar story for the cameras, a traditional weak point for OnePlus devices.

With the OnePlus 12, the main sensor has picked up a welcome upgrade and the 48MP 2x telephoto found on the OnePlus 11 has been swapped for a much better 64MP 3x periscope lens. Aside from the main camera’s tendency to brighten things up a little too much, all the cameras here snap excellent shots.

The rest of the phone is made up of parts OnePlus knows how to use very well. There’s a fast 8 Gen 3 chipset giving it a boost over the OnePlus 11 and OnePlus 12R, up to 512GB storage and a new cooling chamber that keeps things cool all the time.

The icing on the cake is the seriously speedy 100w charging that can take a completely depleted phone to 100% in under 30 minutes.

Reviewer: Lewis Painter
Full Review: OnePlus 12 review

OnePlus certainly wasn’t the first company to hit the foldable scene, but with the OnePlus Open, the company has definitely raised the bar for what these phones are capable of.

Starting with the design, the OnePlus Open is a technical marvel. There are no major reinventions of the foldable concept, but rather tons of refinements that result in a sturdy hinge and a near creaseless inner screen that provide the best book-style foldable experience yet.

More than design however, OnePlus has made sure that its software is ready to embrace the foldable form factor with Open Canvas. This bit of tech allows for seamless split-screen multitasking, which delivers on the OnePlus Open’s promise of being a productivity device for when you’re on the go.

As a final flourish, OnePlus has also made sure that its camera tech has successfully made the transition to foldables. The main 48MP sensor on the OnePlus Open can produce truly jaw-dropping pictures, brimming with vibrant colours and tons of detail that implore you to zoom in and crop. Other companies need to take note – this is how you make a foldable phone.

Reviewer: Lewis Painter
Full Review: OnePlus Open

The OnePlus 12R, launched alongside the flagship OnePlus 12, represents a solid attempt at a mid-range smartphone that manages to stand out in a busy market with unique features and, in some cases, better tech than the most expensive flagships around.

Let’s not bury the lede here; the OnePlus 12R’s display is an absolute treat. While the 6.78-inch AMOLED screen isn’t quite as high-res as the OnePlus 12, it boasts the same smooth 120Hz refresh rate and, rather importantly, LTPO 4.0 tech.

It’s one of the first phones on the market to sport the tech, and essentially allows the phone not only to drop down to as little as 1Hz, but to adjust the refresh rate as you scroll. This not only translates to a more responsive screen, but one that’s much more battery-friendly too.

That also means that the OnePlus 12R has the best battery life of any OnePlus phone to date, managing around 7-8 hours of screen-on time before needing a top-up. This makes it a solid two-day device for most people. Even then, with the same 100W SuperVOOC charging as the OnePlus 12, it’ll get a full charge in under 30 minutes.

It’s also a decent performer with the 2023 flagship Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset, especially when coupled with OnePlus’ various software and hardware optimisations. It can run apps smoothly and even play games like Genshin Impact at a solid 60fps.

Elsewhere, it has a solid primary 50MP8 camera, though it is let down by its supporting 8MP ultrawide and 2MP macro cameras that our reviewer came away feeling underwhelmed with, and it also lacks some key features like wireless charging.

Still, if you want a great phone at a mid-range price point, the OnePlus 12R represents a solid choice.

Reviewer: Max Parker
Full Review: OnePlus 12R review

Editor’s Note: Though the OnePlus Nord CE 4 Lite only garnered 3.5 stars in our review, we felt it was still worthy of inclusion here as it’s one of few budget-friendly options available from OnePlus right now.

The OnePlus 12 might be the best high-end OnePlus phone, but if your budget is a lot lower, we’d recommend the Nord CE 4 Lite instead. This is a more modest phone, but it still outperforms its price tag in many ways by offering a great build, decent performance, some of the fastest charging around, nice software and 5G support.

It improves upon last year’s OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite in important ways, sporting a more elegant, premium design with a reflective rear in place of the solid colours, OLED screen tech that replaces the ageing IPS LCD tech and even a boost to the already-fast charging, now up to 80W. The latter is pretty impressive for a budget phone, offering a full charge in around 50 minutes in tests.

You’ll also get a headphone jack and expandable storage – two things you won’t find on the OnePlus 12 – alongside OnePlus’ spin on the Android OS dubbed OxygenOS, introducing a handful of AI features in the process. It isn’t on par with the likes of Galaxy AI, but it’s also not too far from what you’ll get with the flagship OnePlus phone.

Though the camera offering seems to have been downgraded, going from a 108MP main to a 50MP main, it’s the same Sony LYT-600 sensor used in the regular Nord CE 4, and importantly, it offers OIS. That boosts night performance by quite a bit compared to last year’s lacklustre option, though it’s only flanked by a 2MP depth sensor, so you don’t have much in the way of versatility when capturing shots.

But it’s likely performance that most users will struggle with, offering the same Snapdragon 695 5G as the CE 3 Lite and even the CE 2 Lite, and the benchmarks reflect this with lower scores than similarly priced phones like the Nothing Phone (2a). It’s still fine for day-to-day use with OnePlus’ software optimisations, but how long it’ll continue to feel that way is up for debate.

Reviewer: Alex Walker-Todd
Full Review: OnePlus Nord CE 4 Lite review

Even though the newer OnePlus 12 is amongst the best smartphones you can buy right now, its predecessor still has plenty of great features and can be picked up for just a fraction of its original cost.

After the somewhat disappointing OnePlus 10 Pro, the company went back to the drawing board and returned with a far more eye-catching handset that feels great in the hand, and it’s backed up by the powerful Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset.

Whether you’re catching up on a bit of YouTube or scrolling through your favourite apps, it all looks incredible thanks to the OnePlus 11’s 6.7-inch AMOLED display. With a screen that spills over the sides and minimal bezels to boot, it really feels like you’re getting a cinematic experience with this phone.

Where the OnePlus 11 really stepped up to the plate was in the camera department. There are three rear-facing cameras but it’s the main 50MP sensor that impressed us the most particularly in daytime shots, although it can’t quite match certain competitors like the Samsung Galaxy Ultra series when it comes to low-light photography.

Reviewer: Lewis Painter
Full Review: OnePlus 11