Long gone are the days when phones were distinguished solely by their design. Despite more modern form factors such as foldable phones, the contemporary design of the panel phone reigns supreme – because why reinvent the wheel when the current one gives you perfect traction on any road? That said, phone brands have never stopped coming up with new design tweaks to help phones stand out, and the color of a phone is the center of attention.
Within the limited dimensions of the rear panel, smartphone brands have constantly repeated different color choices, combinations and textures over the past few years. We’ve seen trends like under glass textures, gradients, vegan leather, etc. But OnePlus is taking a fairly simple step by launching a new white color variant of the OnePlus 12. The Glacial White OnePlus 12 has been available in China since the phone’s initial launch last December and is now leaving the continent in a limited edition. .
OnePlus has a long line of impressive designs, whether it’s the Marble Odyssey edition of the OnePlus 11 or the limited edition OnePlus 12R with artwork inspired by the popular role-playing game. GenshinImpact. Choosing white paint may seem like a lazy choice, but it’s actually a very bold step. Here’s why I think the new color is so exceptional.
What makes the OnePlus 12 Glacial White special
White is a timeless color that symbolizes elegance, perfection and purity, but smartphone brands rarely offer a white color, especially on their high-end devices. Apple and Nothing continue to defy trends – or rather make choices that other brands want to avoid – by constantly releasing iterations of white phones.
Other brands, including OnePlus, have switched white phones on and off. Neglecting the off-white Marble Odyssey OnePlus 11 (which is more like a light yellow bamboo), the last one was the OnePlus 9. And I really admire the fact that OnePlus has gone this route again.
As a phone reviewer, I juggle multiple phones. While the novelty of new phones and the variation in experience each offers is exciting, it’s equally distracting, especially when I have a crucial deadline to meet. To avoid instinctively picking up phones to discover new features, I tend to keep them on my desk with the screen facing down.
Among the swarm of phones, the OnePlus 12 easily stands out. The plain surface, along with the subtle reflections on its back and on the camera ring, are mesmerizing to look at, even from afar. The Glacial White OnePlus 12 is so attractive because of the scarcity of white phones these days.
But aside from the rarity of white (or clear, in general) phones, it’s the level of thinness that makes the Glacial White OnePlus 12 so special. There is a high level of detail here that I simply cannot ignore or attribute to color alone. Instead, every detail of the white OnePlus 12 feels intentional and meticulously calculated.
The OnePlus 12 already has a full-featured, premium design, so the brand didn’t have much to improve on that front. All the curves blend seamlessly into different materials and there are no sharp edges, giving the phone a very premium appeal.
Like several previous phones, OnePlus attributes the color inspiration to nature: magnificent glaciers to be exact, as the rather simple name also shows. “It is designed to reflect the power that balances the chaos of life,” says OnePlus. Beyond the poetic description, it’s the actual appearance of the phone that makes it so captivating.
Details that go beyond the color white
OnePlus has a great video on the making of the Glacial White OnePlus 12. But the artistry that went into creating it can only be seen when you watch it in person.
From the moment I took the phone out of the box, I couldn’t help but appreciate the pearlescent finish on the white back panel. I also couldn’t help but notice that the color isn’t just a stroke of paint on the top layer. Instead, it sits a few millimeters deep beneath the glass – further protected by an unspecified version of Gorilla Glass. The OnePlus logo in black is incised into the white and not simply printed, which is confirmed by the artifacts surrounding it under direct light.
Unlike the Emerald Green OnePlus 12 which is topped with a layer of satin-finish glass, the White OnePlus 12 uses a high-gloss bedding. This makes the back panel highly reflective, adding significant perceptible depth.
Looking closely at the back, I noticed an ultra-fine weave pattern that is only visible under light and at certain angles. It’s not easy to notice, but once I did, I spent the next few minutes examining all the different angles it’s visible from – and even revisited it several times.
OnePlus knows plain white is boring
Another thing I immediately noticed about the back panel is that it wasn’t made up of a solid white color. Although I’m not sure if this is due to the baseplate or the glass atop it, the back piece adapts the dominant colors of the environment to appear in different shades of white or gray. For example, it appears a creamier white in daylight, but turns a cooler gray color indoors. Under a warmer white source or ambient lighting, the back has an amber tint.
Unless there is an intense light source, the back of the OnePlus 12 diffuses light slightly. This streaming model also differs from that of the OnePlus 12R, which uses a similarly shiny and reflective glass back, but with a texture that resembles metallic paint. Speaking of which, there’s another part of the phone that OnePlus has generously sprinkled glitter on: the camera module.
Unlike the relatively simplistic finish of the rear panel, the circular camera module uses a shimmering surface with tiny glitter particles. Similar to the OnePlus Open – and other color variants of the OnePlus 12 – the Glacial White uses a vacuum-sealed camera bay, with three smaller rings surrounding the three cameras and a fourth for the flash and laser autofocus. This design choice, as OnePlus has already said, takes inspiration from high-end analog watches.
Depending on the light falling on the camera module, it forms flares rotated along the center of the circle. Flares easily attract attention, especially when the phone is held out to take a photo or video. Alongside these fragments of reflected light, markings indicating the aperture sizes and focal length of each of the cameras – as well as the “H” logo for Hasselblad – are happily highlighted.
Like the other color options, the metal frame extends to wrap around the camera bump. This section is made of aluminum and has a chrome finish, contrasting with the white of the rest of the phone. Thanks to its chrome finish, the surface is very reflective, but also very prone to smudges and fingerprints, which are otherwise less visible on the white back panel.
As magnificent as Elvis
The smartphone industry is constantly evolving and under attack from non-phone gadgets that are trying (but failing miserably) to replace phones. There is no sure way to guarantee whether white phones will continue to be in a controlled impasse or will return to fashion as they were a decade ago.
This doesn’t deny that colorful, flashy phones have a clear sales advantage. They catch your attention more easily, especially in a store with dozens of equally confusing options. So it is unlikely that brands will stop making such phones. However, more subtle color options, like white, will definitely be more palatable than cheesy gradient finishes.
The OnePlus 12, with all its capabilities and charm, reminds me of Elvis and his dandy white jumpsuits. It is also a reminder that the timelessness of white will prevail against all expectations and for all product categories, not just for phones.
However, if you want to buy the Glacial White OnePlus 12, you may have to rely solely on luck since it’s not coming to the US yet. Although it has been limited to China so far, OnePlus is now expanding its availability to India, but has not commented on global availability. The price is the same as other color variants, but the Glacial White OnePlus 12 will only be available in a single 12GB + 256GB variant. However, OnePlus has claimed that it is an edition model limited, which further limits your chances of obtaining a device. But if you manage to get one, know that you are in for something special.
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