OnePlus 12: The Real Deal or Just a Gimmick?

So, chances are that you’ve at least heard of OnePlus as a phone manufacturer before. The company has historically made some of the best phones out there and that kind of makes me want to rephrase the previous sentence into “You’ve probably used a OnePlus phone before”.You know how it is in the world of tech: it’s a bumpy ride, but OnePlus managed to come through. The OnePlus 11 was one of our favorite phones in recent years, but that also meant that the OnePlus 12 will have some big shoes to fill.And we can finally talk about the act of the filling of the shoes, because OnePlus’s latest flagship is official — China first, then the rest, you know how it goes — and it looks to be a very solid successor. That also happens to offer a model with 24GB of RAM.What? Yeah, you’ve read that right: it’s not 2 or 4, or 2+4 — it’s 24GB of RAM. That’s, like, literally more than my PC has and that thing can render movies! For the record, there is another version of the phone with less RAM and memory, but come on: 24GB of RAM plus 1TB of Storage is the type of thing that turns techies into techies, so you know we’ve got to talk about that. So, let’s ask the big question: is this just clickbait or does it hold hidden potential? Let’s discuss.Before we dive in, let’s take a moment to define what RAM is. It stands for Random Access Memory and I can define it as the place where the things that you are doing and/or using go, while they are active. This means that RAM impacts how smooth your experience is while there’s a heavy load on your phone. Then what about types of RAM? In recent years, two types have been prevalent in the world of smartphones: LPDDR5 and LPDDR4. As you can imagine, they are the same thing, but LPDDR5 is 1.5 times faster than LPDDR4. LPDDR6 isn’t official yet, so we can rule that one out quite easily.So, which type can the OnePlus 12 come equipped with? Honestly, if it were a lower amount, I’d be willing to say LPDDR5, but given OnePlus’ history with fair — as in, lower — prices, I think that there is a chance that it may end up being LPDDR4 instead. But still, RAM is RAM (is RAM is RAM), so in either case: it will be used for the same things. So what can the insane amount of 24GB of RAM possibly lead to? Well, I’ve got a couple of conspiracy theories, so apply some salt and let’s go over each one:Better image processing for extra camera performanceA promising OxygenOS upgrade with tons of new stuffAn even smoother multitasking experience with extra optionsLongevityCould the OnePlus 12 take better photos thanks to its 24GB of RAM? One of the other cool things about the OnePlus 12 is that it is going to come equipped with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip. And, like, the 8 Gen 2 is already an admirable performer, so you can imagine what a Gen 3 can do, right? But how does that tie into phone photography?Well, easy: if a phone captures a lot of image data, that needs to be stored in a safe and reliable space, while the processor does its magic to create the best possible image. At the same time, you don’t really want to stop the phone’s user from… using the phone, right? Hence, this combo could absolutely make sense, especially given that throughout the years, OnePlus has partnered with Hasselblad, meaning that cameras are probably a solid selling point for the company’s flagship phones. Could the OnePlus 12 get the most impressive OxygenOS upgrade to date? I mean, why not? Historically, OxygenOS — which is what OnePlus calls its own version of Android — has been quite the RAM hog. Reports like this one from Reddit aren’t at all rare and numerous online users have shared their impressions regarding the phenomenon.So, quick maths: If OxygenOS eats a lot of RAM, then you can just add more RAM and fix the issue. Or, you could be planning an even bigger upgrade with a more impressive visual style and new extra features, which would take advantage of said RAM quantity.Now, that will undoubtedly impact performance, but hey: we’re just having fun theorizing together here! Could the OnePlus 12 offer a better multitasking experience thanks to its 24GB of RAM? Well, this one is a no brainer. If OnePlus’ engineers have done their part properly, the phone should absolutely perform better. Not only that, but it should be capable of doing some extra tricks, like allowing its users to keep multiple apps running simultaneously without issue. And I don’t mean just your contacts list, favorite notes app and Subway Surfers. It should totally be more than that. But how much? Too early to say for now. … Or, you know, OxygenOS could just eat up all the RAM without any major changes happening. But that’s the way less cool version of the theory!Could OnePlus start offering an extra-long software support cycle for the OnePlus 12? If you aren’t living under a rock, then you’ve seen Google’s announcement: 8 years of software upgrades, updates and security patches for Pixel phones. And if you ask me: that’s the spirit! So could OnePlus be taking a page out of Google’s book?Hear me out: few apps right now can take up 24GB of RAM — especially if you’re not multitasking. But if you equip your phone with an insane amount of RAM, then that can surely help it last longer whenever apps that require higher amounts of RAM start popping up. Sure, that would make for a slower phone. But it would still be a working phone, which is important for a lot of ecological and social reasons. Is the OnePlus 12’s 24GB of RAM just a gimmick-marketing trick?Honestly, it depends on what OnePlus does with it. If the company plays its cards right, we could very well have a wonderful phone on our hands. I mean, who’s to say that we can’t get all of the above and even more?The list is by no means exhaustive and I’m sure that you guys may have some crazy ideas on the topic, so please tell me about them in the comments below. Regardless, this was just me trying to give you some ideas on why you should be excited about OnePlus’ big RAM number. But will said excitement match the final product’s capabilities? Well, when the phone is in our hands, you’ll be the first to know!