OnePlus 12 vs. Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra
So, you've decided to really treat yourself and get a true flagship heavy-hitter. Welcome to the big leagues, and particularly the interesting showdown between Samsung's still relatively "hot off the presses" January-release Galaxy S24 Ultra and the best OnePlus currently has to offer in the OnePlus 12. It is admittedly a bit older and technically came out last year in December 2023, but that has mostly resulted in a nice and steady depreciation in price, and it does not actually take away from the truly premium nature of the OnePlus 12.
The two devices are definitely worthy of rubbing shoulders. They are based on the same flagship Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset, and both offer excellent all-around hardware from build quality through excellent large AMOLED displays and large batteries all the way to some of the most potent camera setups currently out there.
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For starters, you can compare the complete specs sheets or directly continue with our editor's assessment in the following text.
Size comparison
The OnePlus 12 and Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra are both very large devices. It should come as no surprise with their 6.82 and 6.8-inch respective display diagonals. The OnePlus is arguably easier to handle single-handedly due to its taller and narrower form. With a width of 79 mm, the Galaxy is frankly too much for most people to comfortably stretch their thumb across. However, the OnePlus 12 is notably taller than the S24 Ultra, arguably making it less pocket-friendly.
The OnePlus 12 is also a bit thicker than the S24 Ultra at 9.2 mm, compared to 8.6 mm. This was presumably done to allow for the bigger 5,400 mAh battery inside the OnePlus, compared to 5,000 mAh inside the S24 Ultra. Interestingly enough, despite rocking a bigger battery, the OnePlus is slightly lighter than the Galaxy, tipping the scale at 220 grams against 232 grams. It's not an insignificant difference either, but one that can be felt in practice, especially if you don't add a case on the phone.
Speaking of cases, both phones utilize high-quality materials. The OnePlus 12 has an aluminum frame sandwiched in between Gorilla Glass Victus 2 on the front and another sheet of undisclosed Gorilla Glass on the back.
The Samsung trumps that with a titanium frame and the newer and supposedly sturdier Gorilla Glass Armor on its front and back.
The S24 Ultra also offers "full-fat" IP68 ingress protection, which should allow for dips in fresh water for up to 30 minutes at a time at up to 1.5 meters depth. All the while, the OnePlus 12 settles for a less impressive IP65 rating. If you are not versed in IP ratings, that means both phones have the highest possible level six protection against solid particles and differ in their water protection.
Both devices have their ups and downs in handling and in-hand feel. Neither is particularly easy to wild one-handed, but we would probably say that the OnePlus, with its curvier body both on the front and back, sits a bit more comfortably in the hand. On the flip side, we did like the subjective ergonomics of the newly flattened display of the S24 Ultra better.
Color and visual design-wise, neither phone is really pushing the envelope. The OnePlus 12 arguably has the more "out there" finish option in the Flowy Emerald variant. Then again, Samsung has a wider color choice, particularly if you count the colorways available exclusively through the Samsung store.
Finally, before we finish this section, we need to mention the S Pen on the Galaxy S24 Ultra since we won't get a better opportunity. It remains one of the most versatile and well-integrated, not to mention one of the last available phones with bundled pressure-sensitive stylus. It's one of the S24 Ultra's unique features.
Display comparison
Both phones have pretty huge displays - 6.82 inches on the OnePlus 12 and 6.8 inches on the Galaxy S24 Ultra. We already mentioned that they have slightly different aspect ratios. The resolution is a bit different, too, but both panels are close in pixel count with QHD+ resolution and have very similar pixel density. You can technically expect to get the same sharpness and image clarity from either device.
Samsung has put a special anti-reflective coating on the S24 Ultra display exclusively this year, which does reduce reflections quite noticeably, but one of its arguably small but still present downsides is also a bit of reduced image clarity. It is very subtle, and most users probably won't notice it, so we won't hold it against the Galaxy and will celebrate its excellent anti-reflective properties instead.
Of course, there are other ways of battling reflection, notably through display brightness. The OnePlus 12 is advertised alongside a frankly ridiculous-sounding max brightness figure of 4,500 nits, while the Galaxy S24 Ultra markets a "measly" 2,600 nits. However, these numbers are wildly confusing since they are achieved in vastly different ways and scenarios. In our standardized brightness testing, the S24 Ultra managed 1,447 nits of max brightness, compared to 1,155 nits on the OnePlus 12. Both are very respectable figures that allow for an excellent experience even in direct sunlight, which is the important bit, but be sure not to get fooled by marketing on this point.
Speaking of brightness figures, we naturally arrive at HDR capabilities. Both phones offer an excellent HDR experience, but we have to give the OnePlus 12 the edge for its Dolby Vision support as well as 10-bit colors. For some inexplicable reason, in our book, Samsung still uses 8-bit color panels even in its best flagship. It offers HDR10+ support and no Dolby Vision, but that is a lot more understandable given the ongoing HDR format wars.
On the topic of colors, we will note that the S24 Ultra had quite a muted color rendition on release, even in Vivid mode. Samsung has already addressed the issue via a software update. We won't go as far as saying that all of the alleged display issues of the S24 Ultra have been addressed, but at least the colors are a lot more saturated post-update. You can dig into the whole fiasco further if you are interested.
Both phones offer 120Hz refresh rate and LTPO tech for dynamic refresh rate switching. Again, we encourage you to dig into the weeds of the particular refresh rate switching behavior for yourself if that interests you, but for all intents and purposes, despite slightly different approaches to refresh rate handling, both phones offer a very essentially similar experience on this front.
Battery life
Both phones have pretty large batteries. However, OnePlus managed to cram in a slightly bigger 5,400 mAh pack compared to the 5,000 mAh of the Galaxy S24 Ultra. Mind you, these are rated capacities and won't necessarily correspond to the daily charges you will get. Still, 400 mAh is a notable difference in the otherwise unsurprisingly comparable battery scores.
Both phones manage great test numbers and Active Use Score numbers across the board. The Galaxy handles gaming loads better, while the OnePlus lasts longer with Wi-Fi web browsing. These are pretty comparable and equally impressive results overall.