Pre-orders are done and the OnePlus 12 series is now available. The flagship OnePlus 12 is available with a free storage upgrade, meaning that $800 buys you 16GB of RAM and 512GB storage. Try getting that out of Samsung or Google.
A quick overview of this Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 powered phone shows a 6.82” QHD+ display, a 120Hz LTPO panel with 10-bit colors. There’s also a 50MP main, 64MP 3x tele and 48MP ultra wide cameras with Hasselblad calibration. OnePlus brought back wireless charging (50W) to complement the wired charging (80W) for the 5,400mAh battery (30 minutes to full for the wired option). The one weak spot of this flagship is the IP65 dust and water resistance, i.e. it’s not rated for submersion in water, only sprays.
The OnePlus 12R doesn’t get any promos or discounts, but it is cheaper by its nature. This uses the older Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip and dials back the display to 1,264 x 2,780px resolution. Still, the 6.78” is still an LTPO panel with 120Hz refresh rate and 10-bit colors. The 50MP main camera has a slightly smaller sensor, the real downgrade is the 8MP ultra wide and complete lack of a telephoto. The 5,500mAh battery supports only wired charging, but it is 80W. The IP64 rating is expected but not ideal.
Google’s entire Pixel lineup is on sale. The Pixel 7a is the budget ticket to the pure-Google experience at $175 less than the equivalent Pixel 8. It’s powered by the Tensor G2 and has a 6.1” FHD+ 90Hz OLED display. The 64MP main camera is joined by a 13MP ultra wide. The 4,385mAh battery is slow to charge even by Google standards at 18W over a wire and 7.5W wirelessly. At least it has an IP67 rating.
The Pixel 8 may be the sweet spot. While still not perfect, the Tensor G3 was a marked improvement on the G2. Also, the 6.2” FHD+ display runs at 120Hz (it’s not LTPO, though) and you get a 50MP main camera with a larger 1/1.31” sensor (vs. 1/1.73”). There is a 12MP ultra wide but no tele. The 4,575mAh battery officially supports up to 27W wired and 18W wireless charging. This model also has better water resistance with an IP68 rating.
The Pixel 8 Pro does have an LTPO display (6.7” 120Hz not-quite-QHD+) and there is a 48MP 5x periscope. Even the ultra wide is better with a 48MP sensor. The 5,050mAh battery is mildly faster at 30W wired and 23W wireless, though in our review we found that both Pixel 8s charge at the same speed in practice.
Google’s first foldable, the Pixel Fold, also has a periscope, though with only a 10.8MP sensor behind it. This sits besides a 48MP main (1/2.0”) and a 10.8MP ultra wide. The 5.8” cover display has a squat 17.4:9 aspect ratio (FHD+ 120Hz OLED), the inner display is a 7.6” 120Hz OLED panel with 1,840 x 2,208px resolution. Unfortunately, this uses the old Tensor G2 chip, which isn’t great for a $1,400 device. The phone is also quite heavy at 283g, but it folds down to 12.1mm and it has IPX8 water resistance.
The Google Pixel Watch 2 has a more efficient Qualcomm 5100 chipset, which helped to improve the battery life compared to the original. For health tracking there is ECG on top of the usual heart rate and SpO2 sensors. The watch has an aluminum frame is rated 50ATM for swimming. For $50 more you can have the LTE model.
You can complete your Pixel kit with the Google Pixel Buds Pro or Pixel Buds A-Series. The cheaper model offer great audio, but battery life could be better and the Adaptive Sound is no replacement for ANC. The Pros do have ANC, though it’s not great. At least the battery life is much better.
The Pixel buds have great integration with the Google Assistant, Galaxy users might be better served by the Samsung Galaxy Buds FE. At $80 these do have ANC and some find that the wing tip design is more comfortable and stable.
Here’s an interesting design – the Soundcore VR P10 by Anker. As the name suggests, these are designed for VR headsets (and are co-branded by Meta). The dongle enables a low-latency (sub-30ms) 2.4GHz connection and has USB-C passthrough for charging. Besides the Quest, you can also use them with the Steam Deck or Switch, even PS5 and PCs. There’s Bluetooth connectivity (with the LC3 codec), so you can use them as regular TWS buds as well (they are rated IPX4, so they aren’t afraid to go outside). The two buds and their dongle pack into a standard-looking case.
The Motorola Edge (2022) is an old phone. It’s still waiting for its Android 14 update and worse than being late, this update might be it’s last. But look at that price – $160! This buys you a decent 5G chipset (Dimensity 1050), a good quality 6.6” OLED display with 144Hz refresh rate and 10-bit colors. There is a 50MP main camera (1/1.55”, OIS) and 13MP ultra wide, plus a 5,000mAh battery with 30W wired and even 15W wireless charging. The Edge (2022) is better than entry level phones that you can buy at this price, even if it won’t see Android 15.
For something more recent, here’s the Motorola Edge (2023). This one started at Android 13, not 12 like the 2022 model. And it has a newer Dimensity 7030 chip with more RAM and storage. It also has upgrades like 68W wired charging (keeping the 15W wireless) and an aluminum frame with an IP68 rating (vs. basic waterproofing). It will last longer in terms of support, but it costs more than double too.
Last week we mentioned the new Samsung Galaxy Tab A9+ and the old Galaxy Tab S6 Lite. The Tab S6 Lite price has dropped further and now costs the same as the A9+, $220 for the 128GB model. The S-series slate is better for the DeX and S Pen support if nothing else.
We will wrap up with the Logitech G Cloud. It’s back down to its pre-order price of $300 and comes bundled with the official carrying case. This is meant for streaming and it brings a 7” 1080p 60Hz LCD for that task, plus high quality controls. The PlayStation Portal is cheaper ($200) and has an 8” 1080p 60Hz LCD, but it is tied to the PS5.
Logitech G Cloud
SD 720G, 4/64GB, 7″ FHD+ LCD (60Hz)
$80 off
includes official carrying case
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