OnePlus 12R Genshin Impact Edition review: A visual masterpiece that walks the talk like Keqing

REVIEW | The OnePlus 12R Genshin Impact Edition features an Electro Violet design inspired by the character Keqing. The device comes with exclusive collectibles, tailored interface, and a specially optimised gaming experience for Genshin Impact.

OnePlus 12R Genshin Impact Edition review: Keqing mains rejoice (Image Credits: Mohammad Faisal/ News9Live)

OnePlus 12R Genshin Impact Edition REVIEW: Every once in a while, smartphone manufacturers launch special edition devices to woo the fans of a particular movie franchise or video game. OnePlus is no alien to the approach as the brand has multiple special edition smartphones under its wings, such as the OnePlus 5T Star Wars Edition, OnePlus 6 Marvel Avengers Edition, OnePlus 6T McLaren Edition, and more. The latest special edition smartphone from the brand is the OnePlus 12R Genshin Impact Edition, which is based on the Electro 5-star character Keqing.

Notably, this is not the first time OnePlus has collaborated with the Hoyoverse to make a special edition smartphone. Earlier, the brand launched Genshin Impact editions of the OnePlus Ace Pro based on Pyro 5-star Hu Tao, the OnePlus 9RT based on Anemo 4-star Sucrose, and the OnePlus 11 5G based on Pyro 4-star Xiang Ling. However, this is the first time that a Genshin Impact Edition smartphone from OnePlus came to India, giving the fans of anime-style open-world RPG in the country a chance to flaunt their love for the game with a OnePlus phone.

Keqing mains– Assemble!

Being an AR59-ranked Genshin Impact player who’s been grinding in the world of Teyvat for over 2.5 years, I was really looking forward to the special edition smartphone. Since the new Genshin Impact Edition embodies Keqing’s theme, the phone is closer to my heart than any other Genshin-themed smartphone launched outside India. That’s because Keqing was the first 5-star character I pulled in the game.

The Yuheng of the Liyue Qixing not only carried me through the initial content as a main DPS character with her lightning-fast attacks and teleportation ability, but she continues to exist in several of my teams even after I managed to accumulate dozens of 5-star characters. Now let’s talk about the actual smartphone.

OnePlus 12R Genshin Impact Edition: What’s so special?

The OnePlus 12R Genshin Impact Edition features the same specifications as the standard OnePlus 12R, but it comes with a unique Keqing-themed design in Electro Violet colour with subtle yet unmissable elements, a Keqing-themed UI, and an optimised Genshin Impact experience. Just like other special edition smartphones from OnePlus, the new device also comes with a collectible gift box, filled with Keqing-themed items. Now it’s time to take a deep dive into each of these elements.

A visual masterpiece for the masses

The Electro Violet OnePlus 12R is a visual masterpiece, and it is hard to find someone who wouldn’t find it beautiful. If we were to make a Venn diagram to determine the likeness of the design with two sets of people– those who play/ don’t play Genshin Impact, it would proudly sit in the overlapping area. Let me explain.

#OnePlus12R Genshin Impact Edition – The first @OnePlus x @GenshinImpact smartphone that is available to buy in India. As someone who’s been playing the game for over 2.5 years, is AR59, and has #Keqing as a DPS in multiple teams, this device is a bit too close to heart ???? pic.twitter.com/rQIt8Ib2Ka

— Faisal (@itsmeFSL) March 16, 2024

The design of the OnePlus 12R Genshin Impact Edition is neither over-the-top to warrant the dismay of non-Genshin enjoyers nor too subtle to leave the fans of the game or the character disappointed. This is really difficult to pull off, but OnePlus managed to achieve it flawlessly. Remember the Realme GT Neo3 Naruto Edition? That device brilliantly captured the essence of Naruto with every element, and I absolutely loved it. However, it became a laughing stock in the hands of tech journalists who never watched a single episode of Naruto.

The OnePlus 12R Genshin Impact Edition doesn’t have this problem as its appeal is not limited to a niche audience. I can say this confidently as everyone who saw the phone in my hands absolutely loved the design. However, I doubt the target audience of the phone worries too much about others liking the design. Maybe, it’s just me, but I would have liked OnePlus to go overboard just like Realme did with the Naruto Edition smartphone. While I am planning to encase it in a glass box to use as a showpiece in my room alongside other Naruto collectibles I own, the OnePlus 12R Genshin Impact Edition is too subtle to be used as a prop. Instead, I am flaunting it without a cover.

The device carries a deep tone of purple starting at the base that blends into a light shade at the top, mimicking the colour profile of Keqing’s outfit which includes a ruffled dark-purple skirt, pale violet top, and light lavender hue of her hair. The glass back of the phone carries Silvery White Feather motifs that don’t just look amazing but also are a delight to the touch. The pattern is derived from the overflowing feathers and flowers on Keqing’s overcoat. Since Keqing’s dress has a lot of golden highlights, OnePlus had the room to be a bit bold and use golden rims around the camera module, but it decided otherwise. I am attaching a picture of Keqing in her regular outfit for a better understanding:

The base of the phone is etched with Keqing’s name as well as a Lightning Stiletto logo, which represents her elemental skill. She throws this Stiletto on the ground and in the air, allowing players to teleport to the point with a lightning-slash attack. The etching has sort of a 3D look and feels contrasting to the matte finish.

The top edge of the phone carries a carving of the letters K E Q I N G carved with an Electro Etching engraving technique, which is projected onto the surface when light falls on it. It is a welcome bonus, but I feel it could have been improved a bit since you seldom see the etching in action while the phone lays flat on a table. The angle required for the falling light is too demanding, reducing it to a gimmick at best. I showed this aspect of the phone to others using an LED flash of another smartphone and rarely got to see it naturally.

Collectibles for Keqing fans

The collectable gift box accompanying the OnePlus 12R Genshin Impact Edition carries a lot of exclusive stuff based on Keqing. My favourites in the box include the Keqing-themed phone case, the “Lightning Stiletto” SIM ejector tool, and a Type-C cable with a 90-degree right-angle connector. The box also includes a full-body acrylic Keqing model that doubles as a stand for the phone. I know I am acting a bit greedy, but as a man of culture, I would have happily traded everything in the box for a high-quality and exclusive Keqing action figure.

The full list of Keqing-themed items in the box is as follows:

• Custom Collectible Chibi Commemorative Metal Badge Set
• Custom Tinplate Shiny Character Badge
• Custom Acrylic Stand Ornament
• Custom Chibi Acrylic Phone Stand
• Custom Chibi Stickers
• A Letter to the Traveler
• “Exceed the Speed of Lightning” Poster
• “Glinted Lightning” 80W SUPERVOOC Power Adapter
• “Glinted Lightning” Custom Fast-Charging Cable
• “Lightning Stiletto” SIM Ejector
• Custom Phone Case

Oxygen OS 14 is KA-CHING-ED

The OnePlus 12R Genshin Impact Edition comes with a custom Keqing skin layered on top of OxygenOS 14. The UI includes custom system app icons, a tailor-made Always-on-Display, and a customised live wallpaper portraying Keqing in her Opulent Splendor outfit, holding the special edition phone in her hand. The UI also includes custom animations for actions like fast charging, powering on, and fingerprint recognition. However, it is a shame that you cannot control which elements of the UI get to stay on the phone. For instance, you cannot change the icons without having to completely remove the skin.

The UI also uses Keqing’s voice lines from the game as ringtones and notification tones. While it is super cool, you would definitely want to change them going forward once the novelty wears off or you simply don’t want to draw judgemental eyes in the public. You can change the ringtone and notification sounds via settings, but the default Alarm ringtone is still troublesome. You need to change it every time you add a new alarm.

OnePlus 12R: Genshin Impact experience

The OnePlus 12R Genshin Impact Edition is powered by a Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor from Qualcomm, paired with an Adreno 740 GPU, 16 GB LPDDR5X RAM, and 256 GB UFS 3.1 storage.

Genshin Impact runs at “Medium” graphics settings by default, exactly how you would expect. At this setting, the performance load is “Smooth” as Render Resolution, Shadow Quality, Visual Effects, and Environment Details are set at “Medium”. The SFX Quality is set at “Low” and the Frame Rate is clocked at 30 (FPS).

The game performs without any hiccups at these settings just like most devices powered by the SD8 Gen 2 chip. However, the game looks exponentially better thanks to the “Hyper HDR” toggle in the Game Toolkit as it renders shadows and lights much better. A long gaming session of Genshin Impact on the OnePlus 12R at Medium settings doesn’t result in overheating, which is probably due to the Cryo-velocity Vapour Chamber Cooling System installed within the device to ward off excess heat.

However, all of this was within my expectations and you could get the same level of performance as any other equally-powered Android smartphone in the market. The difference in performance becomes evident when you switch gears to run the game at higher frames per second. This is where the special optimisation shines brightly.

Pushing frame rates to 45 FPS or 60 FPS makes the performance load “Overclocked”. However, even at the highest graphics settings with 60 FPS mode, the frame rates surprisingly stay stable, allowing a smooth gaming experience. In this scenario, the phone did get hotter after a few minutes of gameplay, but never to the point that it became hard to grab a hold of the device.

To sum it up, the special edition phone managed to run Genshin Impact far better than other devices that become overclocked at higher graphics settings. In addition to a stable frame rate, the game also takes considerably less time to boot up on the OnePlus 12R Genshin Impact Edition. It also takes less time to jump from one waypoint to another within the game.

Since I didn’t get the chance to test out Genshin gameplay on the OnePlus 12 or Samsung Galaxy S24, I can’t draw comparisons between them. However, I do own an iPhone 15 (128 GB), which managed to run Genshin Impact at 60 fps while keeping the performance load “Balanced” and offered a much better experience. However, it should be noted that all these devices cost a lot more than the OnePlus 12R Genshin Impact Edition.

OnePlus 12R Genshin Impact Edition REVIEW: Verdict

The OnePlus 12R Genshin Impact Edition is an interesting device that can appeal to both Genshin Impact fans and tech enthusiasts alike. To recap, the phone sports a beautiful design inspired by Keqing, comes with a treasure trove of exclusive collectables, and offers a tailored interface. It features a specially optimised experience for Genshin Impact. With the rest of the specifications being the same as the regular OnePlus 12R 5G, the special edition becomes worth more than the extra Rs 4,000 you end up paying for the phone.

Price: Rs 49,999

Rating: 4.5/5