The first official photos of the OnePlus 12 are released

The OnePlus 12 is scheduled to be unveiled in China on December 4th, a week from Monday. Per Android Authority, the company has just released the first official images of the phone with some interesting changes. The popular Alert Slider, which allows the user to change the phone from Ring, to Vibrate, to Silent, has been moved from the right side of the phone to the left side. Why did OnePlus decide to make this change? The answer is that by moving the Alert Slider, it allows the manufacturer to deliver improved gaming performance with the addition of a new integrated antenna. 

In a press release, OnePlus said, "Based on internal testing, it has been determined that the optimal position for gaming antennas is between the forefingers of the user when the phone is held in landscape orientation. However, the space is currently occupied by the Alert Slider on the OnePlus 11. By relocating the Alert Slider to the opposite side of the phone, better gaming antennas can be deployed on the OnePlus 12." The same press release says, "According to the lab test data by OnePlus, the gaming antenna signal can be improved by 3dB, with the game latency reduced by 15%."

OnePlus also points out that the OnePlus 12 will have a glass body and a post from the company on Weibo that was translated says that the color options of the device will be Pale Green, Rock Black, and White.

We expect the OnePlus 12 to sport a 6.82-inch OLED display from China's BOE with 2k resolution and a 120Hz refresh rate. The display will deliver 3000 nits of peak brightness. Under the hood will be the powerful Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 application processor (AP). The device will sport up to 24GB of LPDDR5X RAM and up to 1TB of UFS 4.0 storage.

The rear camera array should include a 50MP primary camera, a 48MP ultra-wide camera, and a 64MP periscope camera with 3x optical zoom. Keeping the lights on will be a large 5400mAh battery that supports 100W wired charging and 50W wireless charging.

The OnePlus 12 could be released in the U.S. during the first quarter of 2024. If the device performs as well as its specs suggest, the OnePlus 12 should be in the running to be the top Android phone of 2024.