The OnePlus 12R was launched in India in January this year. In just a little over six months, the phone has established itself as a great flagship killer that gives users great performance and top-notch core hardware at a low price. Given the public perception of the OnePlus 12R, OnePlus is now offering it in a new colour. The OnePlus 12R went on sale in the Sunset Dune shade just a few days ago. And while it may not be the most stunning phone ever, it does look more attractive and appealing than the blue variant of the OnePlus 12R that we reviewed earlier on India Today Tech.

And not only does it look more glamorous and Insta-worthy, it also has one less flaw that I found in the OnePlus 12R when I reviewed it at the time of its launch.

But first, let’s take a look at the specs and pricing. Priced at Rs 42,999, the OnePlus 12R Sunset Dune variant is available in just one configuration: 8GB RAM + 256GB storage with a 6.78-inch LTPO 4.0 AMOLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate. It is powered by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset with Cryo-Velocity cooling system and has the same camera system as the OnePlus 12R, with a 50-megapixel Sony IMX890 primary sensor, an 8-megapixel ultra-wide-angle sensor, and a 2-megapixel macro camera, along with a 16-megapixel selfie camera.

Same heart, new skin

At its core, the Sunset Dune variant is very similar to the older OnePlus 12R, which, by the way, we absolutely love for what it offers. If you missed our review, you can read it here: OnePlus 12R Review: Return of the Flagship Killer. In terms of looks, while the cool blue was completely icy, Sunset Dune gives off a warm, rose gold aura that exudes pure aesthetics. The colour finish though is such that it subtly changes colour when light falls on it. Sometimes it seems closer to a deep, dark grey while other times it boils down to a vibrant and shiny bronze. This also means that while the Sunset Dune variant looks great in real life, it is a tricky phone to photograph

At the back, the OnePlus 12R Sunset Dune has the same glass finish, along with the round camera module topped with glitter glass. However, as much as the glass panel offers a clean and premium finish, just like the Cool Blue variant, it is also a fingerprint magnet. So, when using the phone without a cover, you might have to clean the back a lot. However, if not, you can use the cover, which is made of silicone and is a dark shade of brown, or as I like to say, the colour of sand dunes. Personally, as much as I liked the glossy finish of the Rose Gold 12R, I liked the pinkish-brown colour of its cover even more.

A better OnePlus 12R straight out of the box

Now, while the main highlight of this variant is its looks, there is one shortcoming that I did not find in this OnePlus 12R. You see, when the OnePlus 12R was launched in January, we noticed a few shortcomings during our review. We hoped that OnePlus would fix these issues, and it seems that OnePlus has focused on fixing these issues over the last few months. More precisely, in our review, we mentioned that the camera was a bit slow, with some focus issues, and macro photography was not that good. But when I tried taking photos with the new 12R—or the new Color 12R—the camera processing felt fast, and the autofocus did not show any issues.

Apart from this, there are some updates in the software, including a floating notification window like the iPhone’s dynamic island – a feature we also saw in the recently launched OnePlus Nord 4. When this feature is on, you see the battery percentage or updates from apps that are using this feature. For example, Spotify currently uses it.

The rest of the phone experience is similar to what we saw when we reviewed the OnePlus 12R. And to summarise what we said about the phone, here are a few lines from that review.

“At a price of Rs 39,999 or Rs 45,999 – all things considered – there is no better general-purpose phone than the OnePlus 12R. In fact, it is better than many phones that cost thousands of rupees more. Even in areas where it may not be the king of the hill, it is above average for its category.”

What we said for the OnePlus 12R at the time holds true for the OnePlus 12R Sunset Dune as well.