We are less than a month away from the global launch event for the OnePlus 12, which could be called a launch countdown. Not to be overshadowed by the flagship device, we will know a lot more about the OnePlus 12R as well.

The company has released the first official images of the upcoming OnePlus 12R: Cool Blue and Iron Gray.

A quick look at the images reveals similarities to the OnePlus 11, partly due to the circular camera housing on the back. Cool Blue has a glossy finish with a slight shine, while Iron Gray has a matte touch. However, the patterned design of the back casing gives it a OnePlus 10 Pro feel.

Given the OnePlus 12R's position in the middle of the lineup, it is striking that it borrows so much from the flagship series. Don't get me wrong, the Nord series feels incredibly well-made for a sub-$500 phone, but it lacks the high-end materials and finishes of the flagship series.

Rounding out the design is the matte metal frame and OnePlus' classic left-most alert slider. This is a change from the usual right side placement and may take some getting used to if you are switching from the OnePlus 11 or OnePlus Open. The reason for this is due to the new integrated antenna system that OnePlus is implementing to provide enhanced performance for online gaming.

Aside from that, the official first look of the OnePlus 12R is almost identical to the leaked renderings of the phone we saw earlier - except the alert slider was on the far right. And while OnePlus has not revealed any details about the hardware, recent spec leaks suggest that it will be powered by a Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, feature a 6.74-inch OLED with a 120Hz refresh rate, and have a triple camera system.

We are also interested to know more about the price, as theoretically it should be somewhere between the Nord series and the OnePlus 12 flagship model. Whatever the final price will be, it could make some noise in the mid-range space to compete with models like the Google Pixel 7a and Samsung Galaxy 23 FE.