Look, it’s Black Friday — you already know how this is bound to go down. There are a lot, and we mean a lot of smartphones on sale ahead of the holidays, but not every discount is created equal. If you’re looking for a new Android phone, you have a couple of choices worth pursuing. Either you can opt to try to get a top-of-the-line flagship device for a few hundred bucks less than usual, or you can look to score a mid-range phone at bare-bargain costs.
No Thanks, Keep Reading
If you’re in the second category, you’ve come to the right place. You’ll find no shortage of Android devices marked down below $500 right now, some for as low as less than $100 upfront. But while there are plenty of good, cheap Android smartphones right now, not every cheap phone is worth your hard-earned cash, no matter how cheap. If you’re looking to buy a budget smartphone this year, and you want exactly one recommendation, the OnePlus 12R is the best bang-for-your-buck you can find right now.
OnePlus 12R
The OnePlus 12R is the cheaper sibling of the OnePlus 12, delivering almost the same experience as the flagship at a lower price point. It achieves this using a Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip, a 6.78-inch FHD+ OLED display, and a beefy 5,500mAh battery.
The OnePlus 12R was a steal at launch — at $400, it’s even better
Here’s why you should consider the OnePlus 12R this Black Friday
Although it’s been nearly a year since I reviewed the OnePlus 12R, it hasn’t slipped out of my memory. It’s one of the few $500 smartphones I’ve used in recent memory that felt every bit like a true flagship smartphone. With an expansive and bright 6.78-inch display, a massive battery, and a Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, this feels every bit as premium as the 2023 flagships it drew inspiration from. You can get through a day’s worth of gaming, messaging, and browsing the web, and still have gas in the tank the next morning — it’s seriously that impressive.
OnePlus even managed to keep some of its tried-and-true highlights with this phone. The mute switch is still here, capable of quickly sliding between different sound modes without needing to turn on the display. I’m also a huge fan of the company’s fast-charging, especially paired with this battery. A 30-minute session is all you need to get back to a full charge, and not every phone can handle that sort of speed.
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Is there any reason not to get the OnePlus 12R?
It’s not a perfect phone — here’s what to know before you go in
Okay, there are a couple of things you should consider before adding the OnePlus 12R to your cart. First of all, the cameras aren’t particularly impressive, especially in low light. Without the Hasselblad color profiles typical of OnePlus flagships, everything looks a little muddled and washed out. If a phone’s camera quality is top of mind for you, consider the $400 Pixel 8a or $450 Pixel 8 this holiday season.
Secondly, that impressive specs sheet does come with some caveats. No wireless charging, just like the OnePlus 11 before it. You’re limited to IP64 water and dust resistance, something I’m hoping OnePlus improves on this phone’s eventual successor. And perhaps most frustrating of all, this phone will only see three major OS upgrades in its lifecycle, with Android 17 set to be its final new version.
Still, for $400 — or $500 for even more storage — it’s hard not to see this device as a new bellwether for what to expect out of mid-range smartphones. This is one impressive phone, and while I’m betting the upcoming OnePlus 13R will be even more impressive, at this price, it gets my Black Friday seal of approval.
OnePlus 12R
The OnePlus 12R is the cheaper sibling of the OnePlus 12, delivering almost the same experience as the flagship at a lower price point. It achieves this using a Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip, a 6.78-inch FHD+ OLED display, and a beefy 5,500mAh battery.
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OnePlus 12R review: A real flagship killer for $500
A phone that packs all the power you need for the price you want to pay
