December 5 will witness the launch of OnePlus’ next phone, but the company has already already spilled the beans on what it's going to look like. We are getting the signature sandstone black and a pearly white finish, but it’s really the new green trim that looks like a million bucks.
This boi goin zoomy!
OnePlus has already imitated the look of natural marble on the stunning OnePlus 11 Marble Odyssey edition, but it looks like the OnePlus 12 wants to enter the realm of godly gemstones for aesthetic inspiration. This time around, OnePlus has zeroed down on the best of them all – Jade – at least in the context of Chinese culture and mythology.
Jade, but why?
There's this old Chinese saying that goes something like 'gold has its price, but jade? That's beyond value.' In Chinese myths, there's this Jade Emperor who rules the sky and hangs out with a bunch of important gods.
If you're a good person and live a great life, you can join them after you die. You just have to cross this "silver bridge" and boom, you're reborn as a god.
Back in the early days of Chinese history, around 2070 to 256 BC, jade was super special and only the top dogs like royals and nobles got to use it. It's no shocker that the Chinese word for jade, Yu, which also means beauty and value, looks a lot like their word for king, Wang.
So, jade was all the rage for emperors and their fancy rituals. Confucius, the big-name philosopher, was totally into jade too. He thought it was a symbol for all the good stuff like virtue, kindness, and wisdom – pretty much everything from justice and manners to music and honesty.
He even thought jade linked Heaven and Earth. People believe jade can keep away bad vibes and bring in health and luck. Jade's up there with diamonds and sapphires for collectors. Some really unique jade pieces with cool histories have sold for mind-blowing prices.
A green nephrite seal from the 18th-century Qianlong Emperor of China went for a whopping $15.7 million at a Sotheby's auction in Hong Kong in 2010. And then there's this famous jadeite necklace that once belonged to Barbara Hutton. It was set by Cartier and snagged a jaw-dropping $27.22 million at a Sotheby's auction in Hong Kong in 2014.
Coming back to the phone, OnePlus is going to put Qualcomm's latest Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor inside the phone. Another major upgrade is that the phone is finally getting a dedicated telephoto zoom camera.
And we're not talking about a regular zoom lens. This is the next-gen folded lens implementation — also known as the periscope camera system — which offers a much larger zoom range, a la the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra.
Let’s hope the final asking price doesn’t destroy a few souls crushing hard over the jade green trim of the OnePlus 12.