The OnePlus 12R is shades of the Samsung S23 Ultra, only it's less than half the price!
The battery life is actually even better than the S23 Ultra, which was/is still stellar, with the OnePlus 12R having a higher 5500mah capacity battery; that in itself is pretty impressive considering how thin and light it is.
There is no Stylus or wireless charging, but considering I never used either with my old S23 Ultra, could care less. And wireless charging shortens a battery's lifespan from the heat it generates. As a matter of fact, I won't even use the "unbelievably included" 80watt charger; instead, I slow charge it with my PC.
Here is an example of how good the battery life is: I charged the 12R to 100% 36 hours ago, and right now it's sitting at 84%. I'm not a heavy user, but I texted and made calls as usual, went on Facebook, YouTube, Facebook app, messenger app, surfed the web & took photos. I can't stress enough how good the battery life is and was a major selling point to me along with it having the still very much of a Flagship 8 Gen 2 S.O.C. & really good screen.
Speaking of the screen, it's and LTPO4 AMOLED screen which can go as high as 120hz refresh rate & all the way down to 1hz. It's silky smooth and the screen looks incredible with colors that really pop and deep pure blacks.
Build quality is "Flagship" level, love the curved screen. The body is aluminum, front is Victus 2 glass, and the back is Gorilla Glass 5. No cheap mid-range plastic parts here. This phones' build is excellent.
As far as the camera(s), well the main 50MP is great, in fact it's the same sensor that's used in the non-R OnePlus 11 5G. the 8MP ultra-wide and 2MP macro cameras are a "meh".
Another plus is it has a pre-installed screen protector, saving me from having to order one online. Too bad BestBuy doesn't sell cases for this phone because I no choice but to wait for the one to ship from Amazon.
And one last thing: BestBuy is giving out $100 gift cards withe purchase of this phone, So I actually only spent $499 on the 256/16GB model. This should be awarded phone of the year.
So if you're looking for an amazing $500 flagship (killer) or want to step out of iPhones' sandbox of an operating system, this should be your first choice. I have the box sitting on my trophy shelf of high-end electronics, most of which were bought from BestBuy.

The OnePlus 12R is quite possibly the best midrange/budget phone in the market. The value for its price is fantastic.

Performance/Power:

In terms of performance/power, the 12R is equipped with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processing chip. In other words, it's powered by the same chip that powered several $1000+ flagship phones of 2023 (like the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra). Let that sink in - you're basically getting the performance/power of a 2023 $1000+ flagship device for a fraction of the price!

The phone will be largely faster than its competitors in the budget/midrange market. And it'll certainly handle gaming much better - giving performance on par with some more expensive flagship devices.

Despite being a processing chip from 2023 (which wasn't even that long ago yet), the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 still packs a punch. Not to mention that it's also incredibly efficient!

Battery:

Speaking of efficiency, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip and the phone's large 5500mah battery complement each other perfectly to give this phone excellent battery life. This phone can easily go a day or two with light to medium use. And the battery also held up well during prolonged periods of heavy gaming with graphically demanding games like Genshin Impact on its highest settings.

The phone can also charge faster than the most expensive phones from Samsung, Apple, Google, etc. with its 100 watt charging speed when using the included charging brick and cable. Oh, did I forget to mention that the phone comes with a charging brick and cable? Not even the $1000+ devices from the biggest companies include the charging brick anymore.

Camera:

When it comes to the camera, it's fairly decent. Nothing amazing, but nothing terrible, either. If you want professional, magazine quality photos that the most expensive phones can give, then this may be a deal breaker for you. But if premium quality photos aren't a huge priority, then the OnePlus 12R can definitely get the job done. If you just want to take simple pics of your pets, some nice scenery, your food, etc., and not do a whole professional photoshoot, then the camera is more than serviceable.

Conclusion:

Overall, the phone is packed with specs and features that make it a great value purchase. None of the big companies like Samsung, Apple, or Google can provide the same performance at this price point.

In my opinion, the 12R is a game changer that will hopefully push companies to innovate and improve their products.

Thank you for reading.

Buyer beware: the seller does not mention that this phone is built in India for sale in India only. The warranty may not be valid. That's not the only issue though. The charger the phone comes with is not built for North America and comes with an adapter plastic wrapped to the outside of the box. The charger and adapter are so heavy that they will not fit securely in a North American electrical outlet and often hang an angle. I've even tried plugging the charger in vertically to a power bar on he floor and it falls over. There's often sparks when plugging the charger in. Serious fire hazard. I've had to buy a North American charger that cost an additional $80.

On top of this, I've tried to order two different cases and they do not fit. Cases for the North American model do not fit this model as the power button is further down. Using a case for the North American model will trigger the power button constantly making it unusable.

The phone comes with a case, but it's not great. I usually get a Spigen case that has a bigger edge that protects the screen if dropped. This case does not have raised edge. The phone screen is scratched in several spots after a couple of weeks of use.

I'm seriously wondering if this phone is a knock off as my previous phone was 5-6 years old with very little scratching.

So far, I've liked most of what the OnePlus 12R offers. I bought it to replace a OnePlus 6 that had run out of storage. Size of a new phone was a concern as I have small hands. I could not see an actual phone "to try it on," so it was leap of faith that worked out. Size and feel are good, but screen shots using the buttons is cumbersome and I don’t always get all three fingers correctly on the screen to do the “gesture” version, but good that it offers two ways to get them. Camera is adequate for me. After all, I had a OnePlus 6, so it was an upgrade. I miss that OnePlus did not provide a clear gel case, like with the OnePlus 6, but I was very careful until getting one from Amazon. Without a case the phone was slippery and easily slid off surfaces and fell on the floor. Blue color is beautiful and I like the look of the curved screen edges. I also like that the fingerprint to unlock is on the front, too. I don’t like that, if I want notifications on lock screen (which I do), only choice is to have all the apps appear on the home screen, so I put the lesser used ones on the last “page.” Other dislike is that the screen quickly fades if I don’t have a finger on it. I did research and did not find how that could be changed. I also wish it had the option to add an SD card, but it seems only a few phone brands/models do. We’ll see how quickly I use up the 256 GB storage. My OnePlus 6 with 128 GB was a challenge during its last year of use as I had run out of storage and was constantly getting messages about it and restricted in how I used it. I really enjoyed my OnePlus 6 (until the last year or so), and hope to do the same with the OnePlus 12R. If it continues to perform as it has thus far, I would definitely buy it again. There is a plethora of video reviews of the 12 and 12R on the internet that include comparisons with similar phones, which helped me to make my decision. I rated the display quality 4 stars because of quickly fading and the camera a 4 also because there is better out there.