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OnePlus 12 vs Google Pixel 8 Pro: Which phone should you get?

The OnePlus 12 is headed to the UK, US and Europe following its China-focused reveal in late 2023 – but how does it compare to Google’s popular Pixel 8 Pro?

Though the OnePlus 12 has the upper hand in pure performance, the Pixel 8 Pro’s AI-powered camera and photo editing tech will be hard to beat. There’s also a notable difference in screen tech, battery life, charge speeds and more that’ll likely sway you one way or the other.

Interested? Keep reading to discover how the OnePlus 12 and Google Pixel 8 Pro compare. 

The OnePlus 12 has a brighter screen 

One of the best upgrades on the OnePlus 12 is its incredibly bright screen compared to its predecessors. The OnePlus phone also beats the Pixel in this area, though the two displays are otherwise quite similar. 

The OnePlus 12 has a 6.82-inch 2K Super Fluid AMOLED screen with a 120Hz variable refresh rate. The phone is also capable of hitting 4500 nits of peak brightness. 

The Google Pixel 8 Pro, meanwhile, has a 6.7-inch Super Actua OLED display with a 1344 x 2992 resolution and the same 120Hz variable refresh rate. However, the Google Pixel 8 Pro caps out at 2400 nits of peak brightness. 

OnePlus 12 on a table, face-down
OnePlus 12

The Google Pixel 8 Pro is powered by the Google Tensor G3 

When it comes to performance, both the Google Pixel 8 Pro and the OnePlus 12 are powered by flagship chipsets – the OnePlus 12 by the latest Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 and the Pixel 8 Pro by Google’s new Tensor G3. 

Both of these chipsets should offer powerful performance, but Qualcomm’s Snapdragon chips generally have the edge when it comes to speed, whereas Google’s Tensor line focuses on AI advancements which we found allowed for some unique software tricks. 

The OnePlus 12 supports faster charging 

The OnePlus 12 offers faster charging than the Pixel 8 Pro. 

The OnePlus 12 packs a 5400 mAh battery with support for 100W SuperVOOC wired charging and 50W AirVOOC wireless charging. The Pixel 8 Pro, meanwhile, features a 5050 mAh battery with support for 30W fast charging and up to 23W wireless charging. 

We found that the Pixel 8 Pro offered an all-day battery life and was able to charge from 0 to 100% in 87 minutes. The OnePlus 12, however, offers closer to two days of use from a single charge and also recharges much faster, with 100% in 26 minutes.  

Pixel 8 Pro camera bar and back
Google Pixel 8 Pro

The Google Pixel 8 Pro’s camera features 5x optical zoom

One of the features that makes the Pixel 8 Pro stand out is its camera array and software. 

The Pixel 8 Pro includes a triple camera array made up of a 50-megapixel main camera, a 48-megapixel ultra-wide sensor and a 48-megapixel 5x telephoto sensor. The phone is also packed with nifty camera software and editing features, like Magic Eraser, Photo Unblur, Real Tone and Night Sight. 

The OnePlus 12 also carries a triple camera, in this case consisting of a 50-megapixel main camera, 48-megapixel ultra-wide sensor and a 64-megapixel 3x periscope telephoto camera. 

The OnePlus 12 is cheaper

The OnePlus 12 represents a cheaper buy when compared to the Google Pixel 8 Pro, but there isn’t much in it. That’s because the OnePlus 12 comes in at £849/$799, a £130/$100 increase on the more wallet-friendly OnePlus 11, while the Google Pixel 8 Pro starts at an increased £999/$999.

The Google Pixel 8 Pro is available to buy now, while the OnePlus 12 is currently up for pre-order ahead of release on 6 February 2024.

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